Water Damage Mitigation claims in Fairfax County VA.

When water damage restoration projects have “specialty aspects” the difficulty level, liability & value of the project is automatically increased.  This often raises the question “will my insurance cover all my water damage restoration expenses?”  The answer to this question entirely depends on your water damage insurance policy, and the exclusions of coverage.

“For the most part, your homeowner’s insurance will cover all aspects of damage restoration included in the IICRC S500 & S520.”

It is a good idea to speak with your insurance agent and ask about coverage for “special circumstances” and “add on policies” such as mold remediation coverage, temporary housing coverage, personal property coverage, trauma scene coverage and other such circumstances.  Your project manager will be able to advise you per industry standards regarding the best way to handle your water damage claim.

Water Extraction Fairfax County VA

Early one Sunday morning a customer called from Fairfax, VA.  From their description, it seemed like an ordinary basement flood due to sump pump failure.  My customer was very concerned about water damage and for good reason.  After inheriting a home left to him by his father in Fairfax, VA, my customer was experiencing one unexpected home expense after another, not including the flooded basement he called me about.

Unfortunately, my customer had been burned by other Fairfax County, VA contractors and was very on edge about the water damage restoration process ahead.  Like many customers, he was unfamiliar with his homeowner’s policy and did not know if insurance would cover.  I patiently explained to my customer the insurance claims process:

“I can’t tell you what your insurance company will or won’t do, but I can tell you that sump pump failures are typically covered in Fairfax County, VA.”

 My advice to homeowners is do not short yourself when it comes to your homeowner’s insurance policy.  A small flood can easily add up to thousands of dollars in water damage, especially living in Fairfax County, VA.  With low water damage insurance caps, under 20k, a customer can quickly find themselves running out of money in their water damage policy, especially if specially services such as contents pack out and contents restoration are needed.

Fairfax County VA Water Damage Mitigation and Content Manipulation

The first specialty aspect for review on this project has to deal with content manipulation.  In mold and water damage restoration, content manipulation is moving property from one place to another and then back to its original position.  Content manipulation is an official Xactimate line item and is used in over 95% of damage restoration projects.

Any item moved in the execution of a water damage restoration project is invoiced as part of content manipulation.  However, not all contents are manipulated during the water removal phase of a water damage restoration project.

 Many inexperienced contractors can find themselves liable for damages when attempting to move customer property.   For example, a water damage contractor should never attempt to move a slate pool table, no matter many people are able to lend a hand.  The slate can actually break, and the contractor can be held responsible in Fairfax, VA.  This is true even if you have a clause in your service agreement about damages that may occur during the course of water damage restoration.

As with other industry caveats, your liability starts when the danger is identified.  Entertainment centers, bars, gym equipment, aquariums, grandfather clocks, bookshelves may also require expert moving and disassembly.

Fairfax County VA Water Damage Contents Pack out and Pack Back

Many times, the contents of a flooded area need to be completely removed from a home.  This may take place for several reasons.  One reason is to clean, deodorize and restore water damaged furniture.  Another reason is to clear space for reconstruction efforts such as installing carpet or other flooring.

 “If your water damage contractor does not have the IICRC CPT Certification, they should sub-contract that portion to a professional moving company or a water damage company with the cert.”

 Contents pack out is a specialty service not all water damage restoration companies provide.  The reason is because it is not a requirement for water running a water damage restoration company.  Damage restoration companies offering pack out/ pack back services should have a temperature-controlled storage facility, be able to catalog the property moved, and carry special property damage liability insurance.

At the time of this writing, Flood Metrix does not provide contents pack out and pack back services directly and contract with PSI Cleaning and Restoration or another reputable pack out company for these services.

Fairfax County VA Contents Restoration

Sometimes furniture and clothes can be damage by water, smoke and mold.  This damage isn’t only restricted to material degradation, but also includes smoke and mold odors.  Contents restoration also includes cleaning water damaged designer shoes, handbags, furs, and similar high-ticket items.  Electronics are also included in contents restoration.

IICRC CPT Certification

“The IICRC Contents Processing Technician certification is designed to demonstrate a technician’s expertise in the practice of contents recovery and processing procedures.  This certification covers the best practices of contents processing based on available technology and resources.  Topics include restoration of contents subjected to various sources of contamination as well as inspection, inventorying, wrapping, packing, transport, cleaning science, deodorizing, post-cleaning evaluation, storage, and pack back principles (chain of custody).”

Fairfax County VA Basement Flood Restoration

 This Fairfax County basement flood contained each of these specialty aspects, which were treated by specialists.  Most Fairfax County water damage restoration contractors do not provide all aspects of restoration directly in house and every insurance company is aware of this industry norm.  With insurance billing your mitigation contractor may add on a “sub-contractors fee,” as this is business standard.  However, Flood Metrix DOES NOT make this fee standard operating procedure for residential self-pay customers.

State Farm Covers Major Basement Flood In Fairfax County, VA

 The insurance adjuster who handled this claim was an inexperienced water damage claims adjustor, which made it easy to explain how the insured was hesitant to proceed with certain aspects of mitigation, because he was not sure what would be covered.  In the end, all of my customers’ concerns were settled and the customer ended up with ZERO out of pocket expenses for a Fairfax VA basement.  Choose Metrix over the Matter, Because the Power to Change the Matter is in the Metrix.

Water Mitigation is the Homeowners Responsibility

Every homeowner understands the importance of having homeowners’ insurance, but according to private research conducted in house by Metrix Restoration, less than half all homeowners know how to use their homeowner’s insurance in case of a flood or fire emergency.

“Most people do not know that according to their homeowner’s policy, they are OBLIGATED to conduct day to day living in a manner that mitigates damages, which means its your responsibility to take action”

This is why educating the general public on this subject is near and dear to the culture of Water Damage, Mold & Flood Metrix.  Homeowners want to trust their insurance companies, especially in emergency situations, such as a flooded basement or other water damage.  With all the of the stress inherent to a mitigation project, most people do not have the attention units required to process the details involved with filling an insurance claim.

At Flood Metrix we estimate that CUSTOMER EDUCATION helps to reduce the stress of a water damage project by at least 60%.  But why doesn’t your insurance company do a “better job” of educating their customers about the water, fire, & flood damage claims process?

Well, its not that this information is “top secret” or even “classified” information; in fact, this information is provided with ever policy.  However; insurance companies are smart & they understand “statistics.”  According to insurance bureau demographics, roughly 82% of policy holders will never study their policy.  I don’t know whether this shows “trust” or “ignorance” on part of the homeowner, but I do know that it works in favor the company and not the customer.

What happens when your insurance company receives a claim?

First, the homeowner calls to report a flood, fire or water damage.  During this process, the insurance representative will ask a few standard questions in order to gain a better understanding of the damages.  At the end of this short process a claims number will be generated and an adjuster will be assigned to your water mitigation claim; typically within 48-72 business hours.

If you have not contacted Flood Metrix by now, the insurance representative will initiate the claim assignment process.  This involves sending your claim to a program vender for water damage restoration services. 

A program vendor is a mitigation contractor participating in your insurance networks’ “claims program.”  If insurance companies had it their way, every flood, fire & water damage restoration property claim would be handled by a program vendor.  Not because program vendors are better or more professional, but the reasoning all boils down to money.

“Your insurance company prefers to deal with program contractors not because the policy holder receives the best water mitigation services; but because it costs them less money.”

However; as the homeowner, you have the right to hire any water damage restoration contractor you choose.  This water damage contractor is known as a “direct to customer water mitigation contractor.”  So, what is the main difference between a program contractor verses a direct to customer service provider?  The answer is that a water damage restoration program contractor incurs zero-dollar advertising or marketing costs for a job, because the job is provided by insurance restoration network.  In exchange for this referral, the mitigation contractor agrees to forfeit 25%-50% of each water damage claim provided by the network.

Insurance program contractors do not and cannot work for the homeowner, because they already work for the insurance company and every decision made to mitigate water damage is made to benefit the insurance carrier.

Policy holders want to believe that the best way to avoid unwanted expenses is to use program contractors.  Homeowners do not normally understand how homeowners’ insurance differs from car or health coverage.  For example, unlike health coverage, there are no penalties or additional clauses to “restrict coverage outside of the insurance network.”

Sometimes a policy holder can report a basement water damage, but experience huge time delays when waiting on the insurance company to handle mitigation within the network.  Vendor Profitability & availability are two major reasons why.  Remember, program partners agree to forfeit a huge chunk of the mitigation invoice “gross fee” to the “TPA or third-party administrator.  Check out study video associated with this article.

By law your insurance company cannot provide mitigation services directly.  To solve this “technical problem,” the insurance industry created “third-party administration agencies” whose job it is to “screen and onboard” contractors & to over-see claims management by contractors. 

However, it’s not easy to recruit & retain skilled contractors willing and able to participate in these programs due to company size requirements, reduced profitability & the “wait list.”  The wait list refers to the time it takes for a new program contractor to receive enough program work to make it profitable.  The only way for program work to be profitable for a contractor is to receive it in “bulk”, but bulk program work is reserved for large national franchise organizations and smaller businesses are used as “stand-by options.”  This creates a vicious turnover cycle within the restoration industry.

Water damage restoration is a SCIENCE and the goal of a water damage professional is to become a Master of Mitigation.  The more one progresses in the field of their chosen career path, the more valuable one becomes.  Unfortunately, program work creates extremely marginalized profits for mitigation companies, making it difficult to fairly compensate experienced & certified professionals.   

Metrix Has The Solution

The ideal Metrix client believes that the best business deals are “win-win” for each party involved and is willing to cooperate to make that happen.  Water Damage, Mold & Flood Metrix made history as the first Damage Mitigation company in the DMV to offer the market a customer portal.  Through your customer portal you can create a custom referral code, which is GOOD FOR LIFE.  You can earn points exchangeable for cash and services by following Flood Metrix on all social media @metrixoverthematter.  Points earned on social media can be tracked from your customer portal.

In part two of this article we will discuss advertising costs & direct to customer to better explain the benefits of the Metrix Solution to water and mold damage.