What Are The Professional Steps To Take When Your Home Suffers Water Damage?
Water can cause a great deal of damage to your home or business , and as Public Adjusters, we have seen many homeowners trying to clean up their homes and businesses from the damage caused by water. Unfortunately, a great deal of equipment and expertise is required to fully dry out water from walls, ceilings and floors. If the water is not fully dried, mold can grow in the walls and ceilings, so we always recommend a professional water mitigation company be called every time there is a water loss inside a home or business. Water can cause irreparable destruction depending on the volume of water and the main causes of water damage inside a home or business include; leaking faucet, leaking or a pipe that has burst, which are all covered losses. As Public Adjusters, we can make sure your insurance company pays to put your home or business back in pre-loss condition. If your home is built in a low lying area, flood waters from outside the home can also cause severe damage to your property as your contents, however you MUST carry specific flood insurance for water damage from outside the property or damages will not be paid by your insurance company!
Vital steps to take for water damage cleanup to your home or business:
1) Water Damage Assessment
The first call anyone should make when they experience a water loss is to an Atlanta Public Adjuster at 404-445-5671. We will asses the extent of the damage and we will represent you as well as call your Insurance Company to come and assess the severity of the damage while we are present. We are there to make sure they will cover every bit of the damage. Public Adjusters Atlanta will also assist you in finding a qualified water loss contractor to repair your property to pre-loss condition. DO NOT use a contractor the insurance company recommends. They DO NOT work for you!
The initial cleanup work needs to be performed by a reputable “Water Mitigation Company”, again NOT one that the insurance company recommends, and then a restoration contractor will need to be chosen to repair the damage. If the damage is large enough to file a claim, the only payment you are responsible for as the policy holder is your deductible. You would never have to pay more than your deductible no matter how much damage occurs.
2) Mitigation Assessment
Immediately after you home or business has experienced water damage due to one cause or the other, we will assist you and call a professional water cleanup company that will send their mitigation team to inspect the damage and stop more damage from occurring. For instance, they can locate the source of the leak and assist in the repair, before moving on to do other duties. The process also involves cleaning up debris or any dirt that is deposited inside your home or business, specialized equipment is required to do this type of work.
3) Dehumidifiers and Fans
The second stage is where the team sets up dehumidifiers and fans to dry out all of the water. In most cases water damage goes beyond what the eyes can see to deeper underneath and inside the concrete floors, and walls. The damage gets worse if the dry out is not dealt with immediately, At this stage the team will use technology such as FLIR imaging to assess the extent of the damage and figure out the best ways of drying it up. They will use Dehumidifiers to remove water from the air as it dries out inside the walls and floors. Once the process is over then they can proceed to the next step.
4) Drying Process
The third stage is where the specialized teams set up drying equipment, depending on the extent of the damaged caused by water, different material is employed under the supervision of a Mitigation Project Manager. The team ensures that all areas touched by water are dried well before moving to the next stage. Drying can be complex processes that involve the use of many types of equipment. The manager may recommend document drying or air quality testing to ensure all is well.
5) Reconstruction Process
In almost every instance, your property will need some reconstruction or renovation. We will happily recommend a professional Restoration Contractor that will work from the damage estimate we will help produce for you. As Public Adjusters, we can assess the and estimate what is required in terms of materials and costs for reconstruction. Various Estimators work on our Atlanta Public Adjuster team, and they do the estimation on your behalf. Once the estimator has analyzed and estimated every cost, the work with the Restoration Company to make sure every line item has been added to the estimate to ensure your property will be put back to it’s pre-loss condition, or better. The insurance company will also send out an Estimator or Adjuster and we will make sure that our estimate we present to them includes absolutely everything.
6) Reconstruction Project Manager
The Reconstruction Project Manager will then start the job and supervise the reconstruction work to completion, and be available to make sure the whole project is completed, and everything is tidied up. The entire process is not completed until and unless the homeowner signs a certificate of completion. As Public Adjusters, we will not tell the insurance company the job is completed until the home or business owner is completely satisfied with the work.
Make the process simple and let an Atlanta Public Adjuster handle your water loss claim and make sure the insurance company and contractor put your home back to pre-loss condition!