When water damage strikes your Riverside home, contacting an experienced water damage repair and restoration company is your best line of defense. Your local restoration professionals will arrive at your address shortly and inspect the property to evaluate the extent of the damage.
Based on their findings, they’ll come up with the most efficient strategy on how to save your water-damaged floors, as well as dry out your wet walls and mitigate further damage to your residence. However, aside from the usual hassle, you’ll also have to deal with all the insurance-related matters as well. If you have no experience in this filed, it’s best to rely on your water damage company to help you handle the claim.
Here is what you need to know in order to maximize your chances for approval:
How to maximize your water damage claim?
To get the most out of your homeowner’s policy in California, take a look at the following tips and don’t hesitate to contact professionals if you run into a rough patch:
Know your policy
If you want to ensure that your claim won’t be denied and that you’ll get the most out of it, you need to read your policy carefully and be familiar with it down to the tiniest detail. First of all, you need to know what exactly is covered by your policy. Not every water damage can be classified under the same category and it can be caused by different circumstances that will determine if it will be covered or not.
Besides, you need to be familiar with all the exclusions listed in your policy so that you’re aware of all the exceptions that can be the reason why your claim may be denied. Having in mind the complexity of insurance terminology, you might need to hire professionals who know the ins and outs of California insurance regulations and have years of experience in handling water damage claims.
Report the damage asap
One of the most common mistakes that can even lead to your claim being denied is to postpone contacting your insurance company after your property has suffered damage. Instead, you should do this as soon as possible.
This will give you a chance to ask any questions that you may have regarding the filing process and request a “proof of loss form” that you should fill in. If you have any additional concerns, your restoration specialist can help you out and handle the rest of the work for you.
Keep the damage under control
Once your property has suffered water damage, your task is to take all the necessary steps to mitigate any further harm. If you fail to intervene timely, your insurance carrier reserves the right to deny your claim. This is why you should have your emergency water repair technician on speed dial and contact them as soon as possible to avoid letting the situation get out of hand.
Gather evidence
Your insurance company won’t be able to assess your claim unless they have enough evidence. Therefore, before conducting any repairs, you need to take photos of the damage. Aside from including the photos of the actual damage, you should take pictures of anything that might have been the cause of the damage. If you deem it necessary, you can always supplement your file with a piece of video evidence as well.
In addition to visual evidence, you need to put everything in writing, too. Start by creating an inventory of all the belongings and the parts of your property that have been damaged, their value and estimated costs of replacement. Your restoration expert will help you calculate roughly the value of your hardwood floor, drywall, and similar.
Check all your documents before sending them
Sending incomplete data is not only unprofessional, but it can also be one of the main reasons why your water damage claim is denied. With this in mind, you should make sure to be precise enough when answering questions and gathering information. In case something is not clear, you shouldn’t shy away from asking for clarification.
Finally, don’t forget that only after your claim has been accepted, can the restoration process begin. This is one more reason why you should act promptly and deal with all the insurance-related hassle as efficiently as possible.
Looking for dependable water damage repair & restoration services in Riverside or the area?
Count on EHS! Our services are available in Downtown Riverside, all the other neighborhoods and the surrounding towns. Regardless of whether you’ve booked our leak detection, water damage repair, mold remediation, or any other services, our experienced crew will do its best to cater to your needs and keep you satisfied.
On top of that, EHS has a vast experience in handling water damage claims, so you may rely on us to help you with this step of the restoration process as well. We honestly care about your needs and will go above and beyond to make this unpleasant experience the least stressful possible.