Restoration companies are who you call when you have a flood, water damage, mold, fire, or smoke damage in your home. Our job is to mitigate your damages, gather data for the insurance company, and restore your home. The homeowner’s insurance claims process can be complex and can add more stress to an already stressful time. Here are 4 things you should know before hiring a restoration company.
#1 You Can Call Us Before Your Insurance Company
The first thing you must do is get everyone in your home to safety and seek emergency medical care. Then file your insurance claim, or you can call us first. The advantage of calling a restoration company first is that we will provide your insurance company with an initial assessment. This will help you determine if you want to file an insurance claim. For example, if the damage is less than your deductible you may not want to.
After we provide your assessment, you can submit your claim. Many insurance companies have 24/7 electronic claims processes. Once you have your claim number, we do most of the heavy lifting for you:
- You can take your own photos and video evidence, but we submit the detailed evidence your insurance company requires.
- We work one-on-one with your insurance adjuster.
- We submit the damages to the insurance company and provide our suggested restoration plan.
- We mitigate, remediate, and restore your home.
#2 First We Mitigate Your Damages
Another reason to call us first before filing a claim and scheduling an insurance adjuster is because we are proactive.
For example, if a pipe burst and has flooded an area of your home, we can minimize mold growth—or prevent mold growth altogether. Mold begins to grow 24 to 48 hours after water damage, so we can advise on what needs to be done ASAP to minimize your damages.
Mitigating damages not only saves costs but can get you back into your home faster.
The restoration company you hire has no control over whether your insurance adjuster determines that your damages are covered by your policy. If your damages aren’t covered by your policy, we can continue with your restoration, but you’ll have to pay out of pocket.
#3 Your Homeowners Insurance May Not Cover All The Damages
Understandably, many homeowners aren’t familiar with their insurance policy until they need to file a claim. Insurance policies typically fall into one of three categories:
- Actual cash value policies that restore your home to its market value before the damage. This may or may not include covering items in your home that need to be replaced.
- Replacement cost policies that cap your home restoration and the replacement costs of items damaged within your home.
- Guaranteed replacement policies are rare and expensive and often cover the full cost of rebuilding and replacement of property.
In addition to the type of policy you have, you may have a deductible and a dollar amount your claim or insurance maxes out at.
#4 We Advocate For You, But We Can’t Guarantee Claim Outcomes
EliteClean Restoration can minimize the stress of an already stressful time by working with your adjuster and insurance company. We advocate on your behalf and keep you in the loop. There may be a variety of routes that we can take to restore the damages in your home. We advise you on your best options, but we can’t guarantee that all restoration costs will be covered. Or that the costs will be covered in full.
A common misconception is that we can negotiate your claim payout for you or that we can include the cost of upgrades in your settlement. However, neither of these is true.
Most insurance companies have a cut-and-dry claims process. We submit your images, video, and evidence into a software system called Xactimate. Based on the work required and performed, the system generates a “standard price” for repairs. This means that your insurance company may not pay your policy’s maximum amount and that they may not cover upgrades.
There is no way around an insurance companies standardized pricing and we have no control over what their standardized pricing is.
#5 Additional Living Expenses May Be Covered
In addition to hiring a restoration company to restore your home, some of your personal expenses may be covered. If your home is temporarily uninhabitable, check your insurance policy’s Additional Living Expense (ALE) coverage. In addition to the restoration, they may provide a rapid and upfront check that minimizes your out-of-pocket financial burden.
Each policy is unique, but your ALE coverage may cover costs including:
- Hotel expenses
- Food
- New clothing costs
- Laundry costs
- Furniture rental
- Storage costs
- Moving or displacement costs
- Pet boarding
- And more!
We’re Available 24/7 For Commercial Projects And Homeowners
EliteClean Restoration understands that emergencies arise any time of day or night. As mentioned above, mitigating your damages is a top priority. Call us directly at 317-764-9833 if an emergency flood, fire, or damages occurs in your home.