Water damage - dealing with insurance questions?

[diyjake]

This morning I woke up to about 1/2" of water covering roughly 75% of the lower level of our bi-level home. I filed a claim with my insurance, and the adjuster is coming out tomorrow. We mopped everything this morning but theirs water underneath the flooring. We have laminate on concrete slabs.

For those of you who've been through something like this, what should I expect? I'm assuming all of the laminate flooring will need to be ripped out. The baseboards and some furniture also have water damage.

Will the insurance company handle all of the demolition (like removing the flooring), or do they just pay for the damage and let me do the work myself? Also, do I have to use their contractors and the flooring they choose, or can I hire my own contractor and pick my own flooring?

 

[SC Maintenance]

Been there a long time ago. They will send someone over like Servepro to rip everything up and get dryers going so you don't have a mold problem, which is much more expensive.

After its all dry the adjuster should come in, total up all the damage, and send you a offer for how much the check will be. Be prepared for it to be about half of what you expect.

Never heard of an home insurance company having there own contractors, but things may have changed. They might have some they can recommend, which could be OK as long as you check them out first. I just took the check and DIY. Hindsight being 20/20 I wouldn't even have called insurance if it was a do over.

 

[diyjake]

Been there a long time ago. They will send someone over like Servepro to rip everything up and get dryers going so you don't have a mold problem, which is much more expensive.

After its all dry the adjuster should come in, total up all the damage, and send you a offer for how much the check will be. Be prepared for it to be about half of what you expect.

Never heard of an home insurance company having there own contractors, but things may have changed. They might have some they can recommend, which could be OK as long as you check them out first. I just took the check and DIY. Hindsight being 20/20 I wouldn't even have called insurance if it was a do over.

Did they raise your premium afterwards?

 

[SC Maintenance]

Did they raise your premium afterwards?

Of course, and it stayed higher for many years across different insurers. I think 7 year or something? But what else are you going to do?

I was out of town and a bathroom flooded. The bath was over the tuck-under garage. It really didn't end up being that much damage but I was gone - only wife home, and I also didn't really understand all this stuff so it worked out fine for me. I don't really know how much Servepro cost - they paid that direct, so maybe it was more than I thought but in the end I am sure they got there money back.

 

[GaryMX5]

This morning I woke up to about 1/2" of water covering roughly 75% of the lower level of our bi-level home. I filed a claim with my insurance, and the adjuster is coming out tomorrow. We mopped everything this morning but theirs water underneath the flooring. We have laminate on concrete slabs.

For those of you who've been through something like this, what should I expect? I'm assuming all of the laminate flooring will need to be ripped out. The baseboards and some furniture also have water damage.

Will the insurance company handle all of the demolition (like removing the flooring), or do they just pay for the damage and let me do the work myself? Also, do I have to use their contractors and the flooring they choose, or can I hire my own contractor and pick my own flooring?

If the drywall behind the baseboard got the least bit wet it will have to be trimmed several inches (or more) above the floor and replaced. Mold loves the drywall environment. Hopefully all your floor plates under the wall were treated or a water resistant wood. As mentioned, thorough drying will be the name of the game. Make sure the concrete under the removed flooring gets plenty of time to dry before installing any new floor as well. Like a car repair, you're allowed to get your own estimates and can dispute their estimate if too low.. Before accepting a check up front make sure that you have a written agreement that they will pay for any additional hidden damages not identified in the original estimate.