1. How it usually happens
Damage almost always arrives without warning: you park peacefully, return, and find the mark. Or you leave your car under a "cloudy but manageable" sky and come back to a roof resembling a golf course.
Weather events have a peculiarity: they strike many at the same time, so widespread traces exist (weather reports, photos from others, news reports). Vandalism, on the other hand, is more isolated and often unwitnessed.
On the side of insurance or third parties, they need to understand when the damage occurred and the asset's condition beforehand. On your side, the risk is noticing the problem hours later, perhaps in a different location.
A recurring anecdote: someone who has a photo of their clean, intact car taken the same day manages to avoid endless arguments. Someone who doesn't finds themselves answering questions like "but wasn't it already like that?".
Here, prevention is concrete: having a documented "before" is worth almost as much as documenting the "after".
2. What you need to prove
The central point is building a clear comparison between before and after, embedded in a credible context.
You need to be able to show:
- state of the vehicle or object before the event
- existence and characteristics of the damage after the event
- moment or timeframe when it happened
- external conditions (weather, location, context)
- any immediate communications or reports made
Basically: "it was like this before, it became like this after, and it happened in this context".
3. What to collect
This is where everything plays out. Material should be thought of in two phases: prevention and event.
Before (prevention, to be done when everything is calm):
- full photos of the vehicle or object (front, back, sides, details)
- short video showing the general condition
- close-up photos of delicate points (rims, glass, surfaces)
- copy of the insurance policy or relevant documents
- any photos taken on the same day you activate or renew insurance
During and after the event:
- photos and videos of the damage from different angles
- wide shots showing the context (street, car park, area)
- close-up details of marks or breakages
- photos of related elements (hail on the ground, fallen branches, scattered glass)
- screenshots of weather or alerts at the time of the event
- any reports from others (local groups, news, messages)
- communications with insurance or authorities
- receipts for urgent interventions or temporary repairs
A little trick: including the number plate or an identifying element in the photos helps link the damage unquestionably to the specific asset.
4. How to proceed
The effective procedure starts before anything even happens.
When you activate or renew an insurance policy, take five minutes to shoot a full set of photos and a short video. It is a simple gesture that creates a very useful temporal reference.
Then:
- keep original files without modifying them
- organise a folder with date and description
- timestamp main files to secure their existence in time
If an event occurs:
- document the damage as soon as you notice it
- take wide and detailed photos
- include context elements (location, conditions, other damage nearby)
- save any external evidence like weather reports or news
- avoid moving or fixing things too much before documenting
After:
- organise everything chronologically
- keep communications and receipts
- keep files in their original version
The idea is to have a continuous visual narrative: initial state, event, consequences.
5. Mistakes to avoid
Some mistakes make everything more complicated:
- not having "before" photos of the damage
- shooting only close-ups without context
- documenting hours or days later
- modifying or compressing files
- not saving external evidence like weather reports or alerts
- intervening on the damage before documenting it
A practical tip: always take at least one full photo and at least one detailed one for each damage.
Having free, pre-organised, and timestamped documentation allows you to show a clear sequence without having to reconstruct everything after the fact.
6. After documenting
With everything ready, you can move more linearly.
- contact your insurance or the relevant service
- send an organised selection of evidence
- keep claim number and communications
- if necessary, collect quotes or appraisals
- keep all documentation until the case is closed
If disputes arise, having a well-documented "before and after" allows you to reply with precision, avoiding arguments based only on memories or assumptions.