Your home is miles away from the water and situated on high ground; you have no cause to worry about flood damage, right? Wrong. According to statistics provided by the National Flood Insurance Program, 30 percent of flood claims are filed by those living in low to moderate risk areas. Just one inch of water can cause major damage in a home.Though flooding is the nation’s number one disaster, there are many calamities that can besiege a home including fire, storm damage, earthquakes, and tornadoes. Prepare yourself in advance of a catastrophe to reduce the headaches that can come after; and if the worst does happen, know how to navigate the insurance and remodeling process required to resurrect your home.
KNOW YOUR STUFF
Most homeowner insurance policies cover a complete range of natural disasters except flooding and earthquake damage, but that doesn’t mean the coverage is enough to reimburse you for a substantial loss. Especially if you have made significant changes to your home since the policy was written-invested in a big screen television or redone your kitchen-it is critical that you know the parameters and coverage allowed by your policy and update it accordingly.
“We recommend that you call your insurance company and ask three questions: do I have enough to completely rebuild my home; do I have enough to replace all my belongings; and do I have enough insurance to protect my assets?” says Jeanne Salvatore, consumer spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute. “If everyone called their insurance company and asked those questions there would be no bad surprises when it comes time to file a claim.”
In addition to making a yearly review of your policy, fully document all your belongings. Insurance is on the hook to bring your home back to its original state before the damage-the more you have to document that original state, the better off you will be. Keep documentation of purchases like new cabinetry and if you have blueprints of your house, have them readily available. Take video of the house, including close ups of custom items such as crown molding, and photographs of your belongings. (Salvatore says this itemization is such an important step, her group offers free home inventory software at knowyourstuff.org). Keep a copy of the insurance policy and all the accompanying documentation in a safe deposit box or somewhere else outside the home where it will be safe if there is a disaster.
When the worst happens, the first thing to do is call the insurance company. Next, it is the homeowner’s obligation to mitigate and document the damage. For example, if you come home and a pipe has burst, turn the water off at the road to mitigate any further damage. Then, take photographs to document the damage.
Unlike a typical building and remodeling situation, rebuilding after a disaster is a three-way relationship that happens at high speed. It is not just the homeowner and the remodeler but homeowner, remodeler, and the insurance company doing business together. And if you want to get back into your house quickly, there’s little time for shopping the work around to a lot of remodelers, gathering many estimates. Most insurance companies maintain a pre-screened list of “insurance restoration contractors” from which to choose. But just because you are making decisions under stress and time pressures, be cautious.
After a fire burned this Clarksville, Maryland home nearly to the ground, Welsh Construction Remodeling leveled the structure to its foundation and worked with an architect to create a new home, complete with expanded second floor and a rear addition. Photos by Morton Tadder
RESTORATION CONSTRUCTION
“I always tell people that the thing they should be concerned about is the quality of the contractor,” says Frank Nemshick, president of ACCORD Restoration, Inc. “Are they licensed? Experienced? Do they do the work themselves or use subcontractors? Review four people and pick the one you are most comfortable with and then let them work with the insurance company.”
Help Stop Disaster Before it Happens
Turn off outside hose bibs to avoid freezing and thawing that can lead to breaks that flood into the home.
Turn off the water to laundry machines when going away and leave the heat on when on vacation during the winter so pipes don’t freeze.
Get a Megger test by a professional electrician to look for faults in wiring.
Keep trees near the house pruned and free of loose and dead limbs.
Use common sense: make sure lit items-hot fireplace coals, cigarettes-are completely out before throwing them in the trash.
Normally when you want to have work done on your home you gather recommendations on contractors or use a trusted professional you’ve used in the past. When you are cleaning up after a disaster, you want to use an insurance restoration contractor specifically. (Using one recommended by your insurance company could have an added benefit-if the contractor isn’t doing a good job, the insurance company can lean on them, not you.)
A chimney fire caused extensive damage to this Glydon, Maryland home. The owners called in Welsh Construction Remodeling to rebuild the property with materials that were suitable to the look of the neighborhood and respected the home's original architecture. Photos by Alain Jaramillo
“We have a relationship with insurance companies and part of the expertise is that we can provide the detailed estimates insurance companies require,” says Rory Russell, insurance coordinator at Welsh Construction Remodeling. For many contractors inexperienced with disaster repair, the instinct when faced with a damaged house is to rip everything out and replace it with new materials. In actuality, specialized contractors have the tools, for example, to dry wallboard and seal it so it does not develop mold and to clean and seal walls so smoke residue does not bleed through new paint and they have the know-how to write a line-by-line estimate that will satisfy the insurance company.
“The tendency if you are not familiar with restoration work is overkill,” says Nemshick. “Your insurance provides for you to go back to exactly how you were before the damage; if a contractor comes in with a big budget, the insurance company is not going to pay for it.”
Don’t plan on pulling a fast one on the insurance company either by providing them with a hefty bill from an inexperienced contractor. “The insurance companies have adjusters who are knowledgeable, so if you have a builder that says “every piece of sheet rock in this house needs to come out,” the insurance company is going to say ‘no, this can be repaired,’” says Russell. “It’s a unique line of business that requires a unique contractor.”
Christianna McCausland is a Contributing Editor for ChesapeakeHome.
Contacts:
ACCORD Restoration, Inc: accordrestoration.com or 410-277-0651
Insurance Information Institute: iii.org or 212-346-5500
Welsh Construction Remodeling: welsh49.com or 410-732-1360
