Water Damage is All About TIMING!
It can happen suddenly and without notice. Emergency water damage cleanup is something you should take very seriously and act on immediately. Acting fast and taking the right steps can help you get the most insurance coverage possible and minimize out of pocket costs. Olde Fort Restoration in Cincinnati has advice for what to do next when your basement floods, a storm infiltrates your home or an appliance overflows.
Who Should Be the First Call I Make?
Call your local property insurance agent! If you’re not sure who that person is, then call the agency that houses your policy. Whether you own your own business or your own home, you should have property insurance. Always calls your insurance company to make sure you know what’s covered under your policy. Then, you call us. Once your insurance company knows about the water damage problem, they can begin working on the claims process and then Olde Fort Restoration can begin the water cleanup process. We’ll arrive on site promptly and start mitigating the damage and drying out the moisture to prevent mold growth. You should immediately begin documenting the damages done and keep records of what may need to be replaced.
What Do I Document?
Before Olde Fort Restoration gets there to start taking care of the damages, take as many photos and even videos of the damages as possible. It’s crucial that you record what the damage looked like and what was affected BEFORE any cleanup or restoration has taken place. Your property damage insurance claim adjuster will need to know how severe the damages were before anything was restored. DON’T throw ANYTHING away! Don’t even throw our items you believe are unsalvagable due to their level of damage. Your claims adjuster will need to inspect these items as part of the claims process. Here are some major items you should definitely be documenting:
- Date and cause of the water damage or flood
- Rooms and other areas of the property affected by the water damage
- Detailed inventory of personal items damaged or destroyed by the water damage or flood
- Detailed communication records from your insurance company including phone logs, email, and names of associated spoken with at what date and time
- Restoration work estimates and cleanup cost quotes from Olde Fort Restoration
- Restoration and cleanup work receipts from Olde Fort Restoration
- Hotel stay receipts if necessary
- Other expenses related to your disaster
What Will My Insurance Cover?
Everyone’s policy is different. Go over your homeowners or renter’s property insurance policy if you have it on hand, or ask your agent if you can get a copy. If it got damaged or destroyed in the flood or water damage disaster, you’ll need to get another copy of it from your insurance agent. The most important information to locate first is on the declarations page. This will give you what you need to know about your particular policy’s water damage coverage, deductibles, limitations and exclusions. Always be aware of filing deadlines! Make sure you don’t wait too long to file your claim or get the process started or you may end up paying out of pocket for the work to clean it up. Especially when it comes to flooding damage, many homeowners or renter’s insurance policies do not cover flooding.
When you experience water damage or severe flooding, you need help – fast. That’s why ServiceMaster Elite Cleaning Services in New Orleans has technicians on call to help you need when you need it most. Call us right away at (800) 932 – 9940.