Categories Claim Tips

How to Get Insurance to Pay for Water Damage?

how to get insurance to pay for water damage

How to Get Insurance to Pay for Water Damage?

The 2 Secrets a homeowner should know when placing a Water Damage Insurance Claim are:

· What is the Source of the Water Damage?
· Was the Water Damage “Accidental and All of Sudden”?

When a homeowner places a Water Damage Insurance Claim these are 2 Secrets that you will want to know when you call to place a claim. Keep Reading to Learn More.

What is the Source of the Water Damage?

The source of water damage determines if the Insurance Company can provide coverage. Sources of water damage that almost always are covered include:
· Broken Pipes
· Burst Pipes
· Water Supply Lines to Sinks and Toilets
· Water Heater Failure
· Appliance Failures

how to get insurance to pay for water damage

Was the Water Damage “Accidental and All of Sudden”?

This is a very important phrase to remember when placing an Insurance claim for water damage.
Most Water Damage is accidental and all of sudden….
But sometimes a small leak can turn into a big leak and turn into a broken pipe….this might sometimes look like a long term maintenance issue rather than something that is “Accidental and All of Sudden”.
This is a judgement call by the Insurance Adjuster who is the Water Damage Insurance Claims representative who determines Insurance Coverage for a Claim.

Author Corbin Clow, Restorex
Categories Claim Tips

Insurance Claim for Water Damage to Kitchen

insurance claim for water in kitchen

Insurance Claim for Water Damage to Kitchen

Bottom line up front: Water damage in a kitchen is covered by Insurance….

But there are 2 big questions that should be answered, before a homeowner calls an insurance company to place a water damage insurance claim.

1. Where did the Water come from?
2. Was it “Accidental and all of Sudden?”
We will explain these 2 questions below.

Learn the 3 Secrets You Should Know Before Placing an Insurance Claim

Where did the Water come from?

Where did the water come from? Or what is the source of the water?
This is the first question an insurance company will ask when you are placing a water damage insurance claim.

Sometimes this is an easy question to answer, for instance if the sink it is overflowing and there is a small waterfall in your kitchen, you can say I know where the water came from….

But, this still doesn’t answer the actual reason the water damage is occurring.
Is there clogged drain? Is the garbage disposal broken? Is the dish washer broken?

Getting a true understanding of the source, usually requires a water damage professional and a plumber. We highly recommend having an onsite inspection and assessment by a water damage professional before call an Insurance Company.
It could be the difference in getting insurance coverage or not.

indianapolis water cleanup

Water Damage is it “Accidental and all of Sudden”?

“Accidental and all of Sudden”? Normally the answer is Yes!

When our customers are confused on this question, is if they just noticed a water damage issue for the first time, but maybe it was leaking for a week.
The answer is still Yes….

A refrigerator water line has been leaking for a week because you moved the fridge to do some spring cleaning and did not realize you had a leak until your wood floor started to buckle, it is still “Accidental and all of Sudden”.

This question trips up a lot of people and the wrong answer can cause an Insurance Company to deny a water damage insurance claim.
If a homeowner stumbles over it or says “maybe” or “no”, this will cause an agent or insurance adjuster to assume it is not a covered claim.

We highly recommend that a homeowner has a water damage professional do an on-site inspection and assessment, before calling their insurance company to place a water damage insurance claim.

The water damage professional can help them understand the insurance claims process and navigate them through it.

Author Corbin Clow, Restorex
Categories Claim Tips

Renters Insurance Water Damage

Renters Insurance Water Damage

Renters insurance does cover water damage…. but normally only for the renter’s personal possessions. This includes furniture, electronics etc. The property owner’s insurance company will pay for the water damage that has affected the structure to include the floors, walls, and ceilings.

As a property owner it is important to get an understanding of 2 key things before you place a water damage insurance claim:
· Is the Water Damage “Accidental and all of Sudden”?
· Where did the water come from? What was the Source?

These are 2 critical items to know before you call the insurance company. A water damage professional is one of the best people to call to inspect and assess to answer these questions.

Learn the 3 Secrets You Should Know Before Placing an Insurance Claim

Is the Water Damage “Accidental and all of Sudden”?

When a property has a renter, this question can be really important when the insurance company is determining insurance coverage…. Mostly they are looking to see if the “renter” or “tenant” was negligent in maintaining the conditions of the property.

One of the more common circumstances, is if the renter did heat the property during the wintertime, which leads to frozen and burst water pipes.

Where did the water come from? What was the Source?

The source of the water damage is also really important when placing as water damage insurance claim.

Broken pipes, burst pipes and frozen pipes are common sources of water damage and are also covered in most homeowner’s insurance policies.

Learn about the Categories of Water Damage Insurance Coverage
Other scenarios can have limited coverage such as a drain backup or sump pump backup in a flooded basement.

We always recommend having a water damage professional or a licensed plumber come out early in the process.

Scheduling a water damage professional to do an on-site inspection and assessment, can help a property owner get their “facts” straight before they call their insurance company.

Author Corbin Clow, Restorex
Categories Claim Tips

Water Damage Covered by Insurance

Water Damage Covered by Insurance

Water Damage Covered by Insurance

Water damage is caused for many different reasons and we explained the ways water damage is covered by an Insurance Provider.

Water damage insurance claims can be frustrating if you do not have experience or understand the process. If you want to read about the water damage insurance claims process… Click Here.

Learn the 3 Secrets You Should Know Before Placing an Insurance Claim Here

Categories of Water Damage Insurance Coverage

Water Damage Insurance Coverage can be broken down into these categories:

·  Broken Pipe or Burst Pipe Insurance Coverage

·  Broken Appliance or Appliance Failure Insurance Coverage

·  Drain Backup or Sump Pump Failure Insurance Coverage

Broken Pipe or Burst Pipe Insurance Coverage

When the source of water damage is a broken or burst pipe, the insurance coverage is good and usually will not have issues with a limit.

The only thing that will not be paid by the insurance company is the cost to repair the broken pipe…
But the insurance company will pay for the emergency water mitigation services as well as the water damage repairs to the structure.

This includes:
· Water Removal
· Material Removals
· Structural Drying
· Water Damage Repairs
· Personal Contents

Broken Appliance or Appliance Failure Insurance Coverage

The insurance coverage for a broken Appliance or an Appliance failure is very similar to a broken or burst pipe…
Again, the only thing that will not be paid by the insurance company is the cost to replace and repair the Appliance that caused the water damage.
The water mitigation and repair services will be covered by the insurance company.

Drain Backup or Sump Pump Failure Insurance Coverage

Drain Backup or Sump Pump Failure insurance coverage is usually limited to $5000, $10000, or $25000.
The limits are usually written in an insurance policy as “Drain Backup” “Water Backup” or “Sump Pump Backup”….
Each insurance company will write the description differently in their policies.
Now, limits do not always mean that there will be an issue with the coverage. The only times a homeowner will have a coverage issue is if they are underinsured for their property.

This is most common with large, finished basements….
If a basement is over 1500 square feet and has a wet bar, kitchen, or bathroom, the homeowner probably needs a $25,000 limit to not be underinsured for a flooded basement.
In any scenario, when a property owner is experiencing a drain backup or flooded basement due to a sump pump backup, its best to get a professional water restoration contractor involved early to iron out all the details and to move forward with the best plan.

Author Corbin Clow, Restorex
Categories Claim Tips

Water Damage Insurance Claims Process

water damage insurance claims process

Water Damage Insurance Claims Process

We are Sorry you are Dealing with Water Damage…but Restorex Can Help!

Water Damage Insurance Claims can be frustrating and stressful if you do not have a professional contractor walking you through the process. Restorex Disaster Restoration specializes in helping our customers with Water Damage Insurance Claims and recovering from Water Damage Disasters.

Before you place an Insurance Claim for Water Damage…Please Read our 3 Secrets You Should Know Before Placing a Water Damage Insurance Claim.

Water Damage Insurance Claims  

The 7 steps below walk you through the water damage insurance claims process.  Below each step is a brief description of what a property owner can expect during the insurance claims process. 

If along the way you would like to know more information, please give Restorex Disaster Restoration a call (317) 315-5071 and we can help answer any questions.  

7 Steps of the Water Damage Insurance Claims Process:

A Water Damage Insurance Claim is “filed or started” by calling your Insurance Agent and telling them that you have “accidental and all of sudden” water damage in your property and would like to place an Insurance Claim. 

If you read our 3 Secrets You Should Know Before Placing a Water Damage Insurance Claim, you will know the Insurance Company will want to know the Source of the Water Damage and a Cost Estimate. 

Why?  Well, the source of water damage, will tell them if you have insurance coverage and the cost estimate will tell them if the damage cost, will be over the insurance deductible, to justify the claim. 

Important: Restorex ensures that our Water Mitigation Services and Repair Services will be covered by the Insurance Claim.  The only out of pocket expense our customers pay is the Insurance Deductible when we are working directly with an Insurance Company.

Now, that the Insurance Claim has been filed and the Insurance Company has confirmed coverage, the Property Owner Hires a Water Mitigation Company to complete the Water Mitigation Services. 

Water Mitigation Services include:

·   Water Removal and Extraction

·   Building Material Removals

·   Structural Drying and Cleaning

The emergency water mitigation services are estimated and invoiced to the Insurance Company after the fact… 

Important: Restorex will document and take pictures of all our services to justify our Invoice to the Insurance Company.  If the insurance company adjusts our Invoice, we will not pass the charges to our customer.

After the water mitigation services are completed and the property is safe and dry, the Insurance Adjuster will inspect the property.

At this point, depending on the Insurance Provider’s Policy, the Insurance Adjuster or a Water Damage Repair Contractor will write a Water Damage Repair Estimate, to return the property to its pre-loss conditions.

Important:  Our team will meet at your home or business with the Insurance Adjuster to answer any questions and to be a voice and advocate for our customer.  We help the adjuster understand the scope of the water damage and make professional recommendations for the repairs. 

The water mitigation and water damage repair estimates are submitted to the adjuster in 2 separate Xactimate Estimates. 

What is Xactimate?  Xactimate is an Estimating Software most Insurance companies use and approve.  Restorex specializes in writing Xactimate Estimates to submit to Insurance Adjusters.

The repair estimate can be written by the Insurance Adjuster or Repair Contractor. 

Important:  Restorex prefers to write the repair estimates when working with our customers because we are better at writing estimates than most Insurance Adjusters.  If the Insurance company requires the adjuster to write the initial repair estimate, we will review the estimate and submit a supplement estimate if necessary. 

After the estimates have been approved by the Insurance Adjuster, the Insurance Company will send payments to the property owner. 

The water mitigation payment can be paid directly to the water mitigation contractor, but the initial repair payment will go to the property owner. 

Important: The Initial Repair payment will be for the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of the total estimate.  This amount excludes the Insurance Deductible and Recoverable Depreciation…Recoverable deprecation will be paid when the repairs are complete.

Now, that the payments have been received from the Insurance Company the repairs can begin!

Important:  Depending on our customer’s circumstances and the repairs needed to be completed, Restorex isn’t always the best option.  We will advise our customers on the best way for them to use their funds to repair their property. 

The repairs have been completed and the final payments can be released to the contractor.  This is when the Insurance Company will release the Recoverable Depreciation to the property owner.

Important:  The recoverable depreciation can be significant on some repairs and will need to be collected from the Insurance Company before a final payment can be made to the repair contractor. 

Author Corbin Clow, Restorex
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