Insurance & claims
Most people we work with have never made a claim before.
Nothing here is complicated once someone explains it. The hard part is that it usually gets explained to you on the worst day you have had in years, by someone who does this every day and forgets that you do not.
- Billing
- We bill your carrier for covered work
- You pay
- Your deductible
- Reporting deadline
- Generally one year in Florida
The question people are afraid to ask
Do I have to use the contractor my insurer sends?
Usually not. Unless your policy carries a managed-repair or right-to-repair endorsement, your insurer’s preferred-vendor list is a recommendation, not a requirement — you can hire whoever you want, including us.
The exception is real, so check for it. Some Florida policies are sold at a lower premium precisely because the carrier keeps the right to choose the contractor and manage the repair. If yours has that endorsement, it will be named on your declarations page.
Send us the declarations page and we will read it with you before you commit to anything. If it turns out the carrier does control the repair, we will tell you that plainly — and you still have the right to a written scope of work, a materials list, and repairs that meet code.
What decides the payout
A claim is settled on the documentation, not on the damage
Two identical losses can settle very differently depending on what was recorded, and when. Almost everything an adjuster needs has to be captured before the drying starts — after that, it is gone.
What an adjuster needs
- Moisture readings, dated, taken before drying started
- Photographs of every affected room before anything was moved
- A scope of the affected materials, room by room
- Equipment type, count and the days it ran
- The cause of loss, and whether it was sudden and accidental
What we hand them
- Daily moisture logs for every chamber, from day one to sign-off
- A timestamped photo record, taken before we touch anything
- A written scope with the drying plan and the chamber diagram
- An equipment log the adjuster can check line by line
- Direct contact with your adjuster so you are not relaying messages
You stay the policyholder throughout and you control the claim. Florida no longer permits assignment of benefits on residential policies issued from 1 January 2023, so anyone asking you to sign your benefits over is working from an old playbook.
Plain answers
The things people actually ask us at 2am
None of this is legal advice, and your policy is the document that governs. But these are the answers that are true for most Florida homeowners, and nobody else seems willing to write them down.
None of the above is legal or coverage advice, and your policy governs. We are contractors, not adjusters or attorneys — but we read a lot of declarations pages, and we will happily read yours with you.