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How Do I Start the Process with my Insurance Company?

home insurance

 

When fire, water or storm damage occur your insurance company will usually schedule an adjuster to inspect and assess the damage upon filing a claim. If you’ve read through some of our other resources, you will know that can happen after a fire in as little as a few hours or up to several days depending on the carrier. We want to help you understand this process, what to expect and what the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has to say about this process. (We have included some language from  TDI and a link below)

CONSUMER BILL OF RIGHTS Homeowners. Dwelling and Renters Insurance, Section 29

29, SETTLEMENT OFFER. You have the right to reject an settlement amount, including an unfair valuation. offered by the insurance company If you reject a settlement offer your options include continuing to negotiate with the insurer or pursuing legal remedies, such as mediation. arbitration, or filing a lawsuit. You have the right to have your home repaired by the repair person of your choice.

http://www.tdi.texas.gov//rules/2012/documents/Consumer_Bill_o3.pdf

The adjuster assigned to your claim should be working to create a scope of repair that would be appropriate to restore your property to its pre-loss condition. We have seen that more often than not the scope created by is not fully adequate to complete a proper repair to your home. These scopes are generally pretty good, but your adjuster lacks the true restoration and construction knowledge required to get all the necessary details. This is the very reason you need to hire a restoration company that fully understands this process. One that has been checked and vetted – we have some in our network if you would like to visit with any of them. These are companies you can trust that will be working for you throughout the claim process. Whoever you choose they should be creating a comparative scope of repair, to include everything they note that needs to be included in addition to the adjuster’s scope.

The insurance company will review both assessments and negotiate for the true and proper repair scope to return your property to its pre-loss condition.

Your insurance company will most likely push you toward a  restoration vendor that they recommend. We advise you to be cautious here because this vendor works for and was hired by the insurance carrier and not for you. Additionally, many of the insurance company vendors aren’t full service restoration companies. Which means they will only do portion of the clean-up then you have to switch companies again to finish the repair! You want someone who is going to be your advocate in the claim process. Someone you are comfortable with who has been screened and approved. A company that can provide full service to return you back to normal – faster.

The ReNetwork vendors can do just that. Too often insurance companies only cover about 50% of what would truly be required to properly repair your property. If you work with the insurance carriers vendor (who was hired by your insurance), who is going to hold your insurance company accountable for the items they left off your scope? (Certainly not the insurance company’s vendor) Note: Not all these companies are bad, but exercise caution. It is very important to remember that Texas State Law allows you to use the company of your choice. Make sure you select a team that you are comfortable with and that meets your needs. If your insurance company told you who to use to fix your car you would be upset and what to use the best company out there. You wouldn’t want to take and chances with your $30,000 car, but why should that be any different with your $300,000 home.

Choose a ReNetwork vendor and get the best companies in the market, and an advocate on your side. Our vendors have been proven to be successful at taking care of customers and holding insurance companies accountable. Remember they work as your advocate in the claim process, hired by you, working for you. Your needs are our priority.

 

 

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Resources Timeline

After a Fire (1 to 2 months)

 

At this point, your mortgage company will require documentation from your contractor. It will vary depending on the mortgage company, but the goal is to ensure that you have hired a qualified and insured contractor such as one of our rē:network specialists.

It also serves to protect all parties financially during the repair process.  Once the mortgage company has all the required forms and information, they will issue the first check toward the repair.

Typically this is on some sort of schedule and requires inspections before the release of future payments.

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Resources Timeline

After the Fire (2 weeks to 1 month)

 

If everything has gone well to this point–hopefully you should have the initial scope of repair from the insurance company.

The scope should also come with a check for the repair–minus any depreciation but don’t sweat that right now.

Most policies allow for you to recover the depreciation once the repairs are complete. Most of the time that check will be made out to you as the property owner and the mortgage company who financed the property.

Your rē:network specialist can help you navigate the process of getting all the documentation completed and to the appropriate parties, so that your mortgage company can release the initial funds to get your restoration and your recovery under way.

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After a Fire (48 hours to 2 weeks)

During this time, the restoration company will finish the pack-out of the contents and the initial debris cleanup.Typically you will talk to or meet  with your restoration company representative to discuss the rebuild portion of the claim.

This is a great time to discuss the process and timeline of the restoration. Your insurance company owes you to put your home back to its pre-loss condition, but that doesn’t mean everything has to go back exactly like it was.

It just means that is all they will pay to have done. But if you were planning to install granite countertops anyway, you might as well discuss doing that now. It’s cheaper to pay for that upgrade now than to have new ones installed and take them out in 2 months to be replaced.  Just something to think about.

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After the Fire (24 to 48 hours)

 

Your insurance company will send an adjuster to your home to assess the damage. Often this is an employee of your insurance company or a third party adjusting firm. Depending on the severity of the fire, the first adjuster may be able to create a scope of repair on the home.

Often larger fires require that the claim be turned over to a “Large Loss” adjuster. Many times the claim has to be reviewed by a desk adjuster before the scope can be “finalized” and payment issued for the repair of the home.  All of this is important because it affects how quickly repairs will actually start on your home.

Obviously you don’t want to actually start the repair process until you get the insurance to commit to the necessary repairs. You also want to make sure that you have an advocate on your side to ensure that the proper scope of repair is created.

Most insurance policies are written so that for a covered loss the insurance company is obligated to make you whole.Meaning that they owe to pay for whatever it takes to put your property and your contents back to a pre-loss condition. Too often clients get short changed in this process.

Remember, you have the right to choose any qualified contractor you want to restore your property! Our partners will be happy to help you.

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Resources Timeline

After a Fire-Timeline

 

24 to 48 hours –Your insurance company will send an adjuster to your home to assess the damage. Depending on the severity of the fire, the first adjuster may be able to create a scope of repair on the home. At this time you can choose a restoration company such as one of our partners, to help you.

48 hours to 2 weeks-The restoration company will finish the pack-out of the contents and the initial debris cleanup.This is a great time to discuss the process and timeline of the restoration. Your insurance company owes you to put your home back to its pre-loss condition, but that doesn’t mean everything you cannot pick out upgrades if you were planning to do them eventually.

2 weeks to 1 month-If everything has gone well to this point–hopefully you should have the initial scope of repair from the insurance company.The scope should also come with a check for the repair–usually made out to you as the property owner and the mortgage company who financed the property.

1-2 months -Mortgage company will require documentation from your contractor. It will vary depending on the mortgage company, but the goal is to ensure that you have hired a qualified and insured contractor.Once the mortgage company has all the required forms and information, they will issue the first check toward the repair.

2-3 months-The first check arrives from the mortgage company for the contractor and the restoration process is officially underway.Appropriate permits are pulled, the structure cleaning is completed

4 months-Demolition has been completed, the structure is clean and the rebuild process is underway.Permit inspections have been completed and approved.Damaged framing or roof decking has been replaced and the plumbing/electrical are most likely in place.The HVAC system has been addressed, framing has probably been sealed and drywall is ready to go back into the home. Depending on the scope of your claim it is possible that the project is at or near the 50% completion mark.

5 months– The drywall is most likely installed, doors and trim are being replaced, painting is close to completion.The restoration company has cabinets ready to be installed, plumbing fixtures are being completed, light switches and covers are installed and flooring is scheduled.

6 months– Customer walk-thru takes place and a list of items to be completed is noted by the restoration company. The task list is completed, flooring is installed and final cleaning will take place and the contents will be moved back into the home. You will be able to return home and begin the process of getting back to normal.