Insurance Water Damage
“Our role as it pertains to your homeowner’s insurance is to educate, advise and advocate on behalf of the homeowner.” ~Joe Colombo (Owner of Gold Coast)
The Insurance Process
When homeowners first contact us, we educate them on the insurance process. This includes what is typically covered and not covered, based on our experience. Every policy is different so our team at Gold Coast takes the time to advise the homeowner to talk to their agent and/or adjuster to get specifics.
Often our team members prefer to advise them that if the problem seems minor to let us come take a look at it first. Often times the problem is not as bad as it seems and can be handled without the need to file a claim. Once a claim is filed, it is on your insurance record and can adversely affect you. If you are going to file a claim we want to make sure it is worth it and you can get all the benefits out of it.
Our highly trained team will educate the homeowner on what to say and not say when filing a claim. The wording used to file a claim and speak with your adjuster is important. The wrong thing said can get your claim denied.
The next phase is to advise the homeowner and adjuster on proper procedure for the mitigation of water damage. This includes things like advising whether a damaged hardwood floor is salvageable or if damaged cabinetry is reparable or need to be replaced.
We also are the advocate for the homeowner. Homeowner’s insurance is not in the business of handing out money. Often times we must work on behalf of the homeowner to make sure that they receive what is due them on the claim. We work for the homeowner, NOT the insurance company. We want to make sure you receive every dollar possible if you file a claim.
Your Insurance water damage Company’s Preferred Vendor vs Gold Coast Flood
Who do you call? Who should you use for your water damage restoration? This is an ugly part of our business. Gold Coast Flood has been the “preferred vendor” before so we have a unique perspective on this issue.
The preferred vendor gets a massive amount of work from the insurance company and they actually come to depend on this work for their existence. At the end of the day, they truly serve the insurance company and not the homeowner. Like it says in the Bible, “you can’t serve two masters….”.
Our job is to work and advocate for the homeowner. For example, if an engineered hardwood floor of a customer is partially damaged and can’t be salvaged, we are going to fight for full replacement of the floor and not be satisfied with a “repair”. The preferred vendor may be motivated to not fight as hard because they know it will cost the insurance company a lot of extra money to do it right.
Conversely, we see often where the preferred vendors grossly take advantage of the the insurance company by performing unnecessary work. They often get away with this because they are not usually questioned, being the “preferred vendor”. We have seen this countless times when we (at Gold Coast Flood) are called in for a second opinion.
One thing to remember: although your insurance company may tell you that you have to use their preferred vendor… you do not. You have a choice. You have a choice to work with the company that has your best interest as their top priority. Rather than the preferred vendor who has the insurance companies’ best interests in mind.
The Bottom Line
Plain and simple…….we have homeowner’s insurance for a reason; to cover damages when there are unexpected problems. Not all insurance companies are created equal and there are a lot of good ones out there.
This page to inform you of issues we have ran across and things we have seen when dealing with some not so great companies. We look out for the best interests of the homeowner and help them to not get ran over by the insurance company in the process. In the state of California it is the basic right of the homeowner to use the contractor of their choice to repair their home.
Most insurance companies will press homeowners very hard to use their preferred vendor, some will even cross the line on this issue and insinuate the loss will not be covered unless taken care of by their vendor.
The bottom line is that they have national corporate deals with these vendors that yield them large savings on each claim if handled by their vendor.
Just remember that with them, it is always about the money! (they want to pay out as little as possible…and keep as much of your monthly premiums as possible.)
Many of the insurance companies ‘preferred vendors’ lack experience and quality but have paid for a big box name.
At Gold Coast we’re here for you until the end and will do what it takes to get the job done right. We try to put ourselves in your shoes and do all the things we would want done for us.
If you have questions about whether you should file a claim or not, please feel confident in giving us a call! – insurance water damage
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