Will My Insurance Pay for Water Damage?

8/17/2022 (Permalink)

Drying up after water damage in a residence in Dublin, CA.

If you have sustained damage from water in Dublin, CA, and need to calculate the cost of fixing it, you might wonder if you should file an insurance claim. If you have homeowners insurance, you may think that filing a claim is the best decision — after all, if you pay for insurance, you should be able to use it. However, it may be in your best interest not to file a claim. In fact, depending on how the damage occurred in the first place, you might not have a claim at all.

What Type of Water Damage Does Insurance Cover?

Damage from a water source is usually covered by insurance if the cause is sudden and accidental. A few examples of this include:

• Burst pipe
• Rain or snowstorm
• Damage from extinguishing a fire
• Sudden appliance failure

If you need water damage repair after a sudden accident, your insurance can help pay for related expenses.

Insurance will not cover damage resulting from events caused by lack of maintenance. If, for example, your roof leaks because of loose shingles that haven't been fixed, or if a pipe rusts over time and bursts, you will not have a valid insurance claim.

Flood damage is also not covered by insurance. You can, however, purchase home flood insurance under a separate policy.

Why Should I Think Twice About Filing a Claim?

There are no hard-and-fast rules about how an insurance company decides whether to accept a claim, or whether they will raise your rates afterward. It is in your best interest to talk to your agent ahead of time so you understand your coverage before a disaster occurs. If the cost of damage repair is minimal, paying for it yourself might avoid a rate hike. If you have catastrophic damage, you will probably want to file a claim, but the insurance company may still raise your rates.

If you want to know exactly what your options are for an insurance claim, the best thing you can do is talk to your agent. You will have the knowledge you need if you sustain water damage to your home.

3 Common Questions About Mold

7/27/2022 (Permalink)

Mold damage in a Pleasanton, CA residence.

Mold Growth and Cleanup

Mold is a vast and complicated subject with few easy answers. There are over 100,000 known types of mold and as many as three times this number of species are speculated to exist. Here are answers to three simple questions about mold growth and cleanup.

1. Is Mold Harmful?
Many types of fungus are allergenic and some mold species are toxigenic. It is generally advised that homeowners try to limit direct exposure to mold. Avoid pulling up wallpaper, drilling into walls, or otherwise disrupting any surfaces that may be moldy without proper personal protective equipment.

2. How Do I Identify Mold?
Mold is a fungus that grows in patterns. Black mold or stachybotrys chartarum, a toxigenic species, grows in a pattern of circular spots. Mold growth may appear fuzzy, slimy or shiny depending on the species, stage of the fungus life cycle and the characteristics of the surface supporting growth. Mold can permeate materials unlike mildew, which is a fuzzy or powdery surface-level fungus.

3. How Do I Clean Up Mold?
Homeowners can clean up small mold infestations by using undiluted white vinegar, ammonia and water in equal parts or a fungicide that has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Most experts recommend homeowners contact a mold restoration service for infestations affecting more than 10 square feet of a residence. Keep mold from returning by taking timely measures to lower high humidity or restore water damage.

Understanding the conditions that could support fungus growth can help to prevent a mold problem at a residence in Pleasanton, CA. Making speedy arrangements for professional water damage mitigation and restoration is the best way to prevent mold from starting to grow. Professional mold cleanup is recommended in situations where mold growth is already underway.

Making a Solid Inventory System for Your Business

3/16/2022 (Permalink)

Creating A Reliable Inventory System For Your Company

It's a good idea to create a thorough inventory of your business's items before you face a disaster and need to hire remediation professionals. This is the best way to protect your high-value items. It is also an easy way to speed up the insurance claim process. Here is how you can make a complete inventory that doesn't overlook anything.

Take Pictures

Take pictures to show your agent and chosen remediation company, such as SERVPRO. Including close-ups of serial numbers, manufacturer's tags, receipts, and warranties. This lets them know about any unique features they need to watch out for when performing a restoration. The items to take pictures of include:

• Televisions
• Media players
• Furniture
• Computers
• Appliances

Make a Game Plan

When making an inventory, you are documenting all of your valuable items. Obviously, this is something that you might not be able to do in a day. Instead, try to dedicate a few hours each week to working on this list until it is complete.

Download an App

Once you've documented your items, you are going to have hundreds of pictures to organize. The best thing you can do is download an inventory app. These let you organize pictures, create descriptions for your items, scan barcodes, and estimate values. Most will also let you save your list as a PDF so you can easily share it with your agent and speed up the insurance claim process.

Store It in a Safe Place

You can always print out a list and store it the old fashioned way in your Pleasanton, CA, business' file cabinet. Just keep in mind that doing this could result in it getting damaged in a disaster, so it is better to store it off-site or in the cloud to keep it safe.

Seeing your business get damaged is a stressful time. To minimize your stress, create an inventory that you can easily give to your insurance agent and speed up the insurance claim process.

Reasons To Make SERVPRO a Part of Your Disaster Recovery Team

2/14/2022 (Permalink)

These drying machines were used in this home to dry up water after heavy rains caused a storm water intrusion in this home.

The Benefits Of Including SERVPRO In Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Every area has its own unique brand of extreme weather. A natural disaster in Pleasanton, CA, can cause great damage to your home. When this happens, it is good to have a great storm damage remediation company to provide quality disaster recovery services. The best companies combine the local expertise of an area franchise with the resources of the corporation that backs it up. Here are some reasons to make SERVPRO an integral part of your cleanup team.

Specialized Storm Protocols

The benefit of having a local franchise of a well-known restoration company is that it can provide specialized storm response according to weather patterns that are typical in your area. SERVPRO can help with cleanup in your home after several types of storms:

• Blizzard
  
• Hurricane
  
• Tornado
  
• Flood

Each team is primed to handle damage from storms that frequent its area. You can count on your local technicians to have the special skill set needed to handle the damage in your home.

Skilled Insurance Liaisons

When it comes to filing claims with your insurance company for disaster recovery and repairs, it helps to work with a company that understands the kind of information your adjuster needs. SERVPRO is a preferred vendor for many insurance companies. The company works with your adjuster by providing an itemized list of damages and an estimate of the cost of the restoration through electronic records that can easily be stored and shared.

Access to Corporate Resources

No matter what kind of storm damage your home has, SERVPRO has a team ready to handle it. When a major disaster occurs, storm teams mobilize to get the necessary equipment and technicians to the affected area quickly. Every local franchise has the backing of corporate resources, particularly during a weather crisis.

If your home is damaged by a natural disaster, you need remediation specialists you can depend on. When storms rage, the SERVPRO disaster recovery team is Here to Help.

3 Important Facts About Black Mold

1/3/2022 (Permalink)

This white cabinet looked fine from the outside but once we removed it from the wall, we revealed mold growth on it and the wall behind it

Three Crucial Facts About Black Mold

While some types of mold that exist in your Pleasanton, CA, home can be simple to clean up, others are more stubborn and can even be dangerous. Of all mold types, Stachybotrys, or black mold, can be the most difficult to eradicate. If you find this fungus growing in your home, it can be important to learn about the possible reasons for its presence and what you can do to remove it.

1. It Is Not a Surface Fungus

Unlike other types of fungi, such as mildew, black mold cannot be wiped away easily with a rag and a household cleanser. This is due to the way it grows, as it sinks roots deep into building surfaces like wood and drywall. This makes mold cleanup difficult, especially if the fungus has been present for some time.

2. It Can Appear Less Than 24 Hours After a Flood

Stachybotrys can grow rapidly after the introduction of moisture and humidity. For example, if a weather event caused your home to flood, the dirty water can encourage mold growth almost right away. As a result, walls, floors and carpeting may start to show signs of this type of mold as early as that same day. You can identify it by its slimy dark surface, which differs from the type of dry, fuzzy mold you might find on old food.

3. Professional Removal Might Be Required

If you are experiencing a widespread infestation of Stachybotrys mold, then it is a good idea to call a mold remediation and removal service for help. Not only can professional technicians properly identify the fungus, they can also give you options for removal and the restoration of building surfaces that have been affected. This may give you greater peace of mind that your home can be returned to normal.

When black mold invades, it can be stressful for you as a Pleasanton, CA, homeowner. Knowing as much as possible about this fungus can help you better understand your options when it comes to the cleanup process.