What to Do When a Typhoon Damages Your Home? Damage Assessment, Insurance Claims and Rebuilding Subsidies
Key summaryAfter typhoon damage to your home, take photos and preserve evidence before filing a report. Homeowners' insurance and government-subsidized rural housing insurance cover different losses; here is a full breakdown of dangerous-building assessment and rebuilding subsidy procedures.
Step One: Ensure Safety First, Then Talk About Losses
When returning home after a typhoon, first check structural safety: do not enter houses with cracks running through walls, broken beams and columns, or sunken foundations — report immediately to the village/residential committee and apply for a dangerous-building assessment. If the roof has been torn off but the structure is intact, prioritize temporary tarpaulin covering to prevent rainwater from causing further damage — note that roof surfaces are slippery after rain, and working at height always requires a safety harness or professional help.
The Evidence Chain: The Key to a Successful Claim
- Take photos and videos immediately: shoot an overview of the damage, close-up details, and each item of household property, with a timestamp watermark
- Do not rush to clean up or repair: keep the scene intact until the loss is assessed; if emergency work is unavoidable, record the entire process on video
- Keep purchase deeds, renovation contracts and invoices for major appliances (for items without invoices, photograph the brand and model)
- Report within 48 hours: notify both the insurance company and the village/residential committee
Which Insurance Policies Cover Your Home?
| Policy type | Coverage | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| Household property insurance | Building structure + contents | Typhoons are a listed peril; note exclusions such as flooding of basements |
| Government-subsidized rural housing insurance | Self-built rural houses | In most typhoon-prone provinces the government provides pooled coverage; limits are modest but generally cover the gap in rebuilding costs |
| Catastrophe insurance | Pilot schemes in some provinces and cities | In Guangdong, Zhejiang and other places, typhoon catastrophe index insurance is triggered for payouts by the government |
| Mortgagor home insurance | Mortgaged homes | Required by the bank; check the beneficiary clause carefully |
Whether garages, walls, solar panels and outdoor air-conditioning units are covered generates the most claim disputes — ask about them at the time of purchase.
Government Relief and Rebuilding Subsidies
- Subsidies for restoring and rebuilding damaged housing: the civil affairs (emergency management) system provides tiered subsidies based on collapsed / severely damaged / generally damaged classification, applied for through the village/residential committee
- Houses assessed as Grade C/D dangerous buildings can apply for inclusion in the rural dangerous housing renovation program
- Affected residents can apply for transitional living relief and temporary resettlement assistance
Common Disputes and Pitfalls to Avoid
- The "wind or flood" argument: policies may cover wind damage but not flooding, so describe the cause of loss truthfully and accurately (spell out the full chain of losses caused by typhoon wind and rain)
- If the assessed amount differs sharply, you can apply for independent third-party loss assessment or file a complaint with the financial regulatory authorities
- Beware of post-disaster "claims handling" intermediaries charging high commissions — claim settlement is a free, statutory service