WHO DO I CALL FIRST?
Your house has sustained storm damage, water damage, flood damage, or fire damage and you need help…and fast…but who do you call first? Should you call your homeowner insurance company’s 1-800 emergency number first or not?
The first call you should make is to a reputable emergency restoration company that offers 24/7/265 response in order to mitigate the damage as quickly as possible. Per your homeowner’s insurance policy, it is every homeowner’s responsibility to do whatever reasonably they can to mitigate or lessen the loss as quickly as possible. Upon calling the restoration company, ask if they work with your insurance company for payment and if they will provide a free estimate on the cost of the mitigation as most restoration companies will. The next call to make is to your insurance agent, not the insurance company’s 1-800 emergency number! Your insurance agent is there to protect you, offer guidance, and provide information.
If you get that free estimate from the restoration company and the cost of the mitigation happens to not be over your insurance plan’s deductible amount, then you will not be able to make a homeowner claim; however, if you call the 1-800 number and inquire as to what to do, even if you end up not filing an insurance claim, it will be noted in your account that you had some kind of property loss and your premium will more than likely increase because of that. Your insurance agent will not want you to report a property loss unless you end up filing an actual claim because it also affects their “loss ratio” and the less losses their clients have, the better for them. Of course, if your home water damage, flood damage, fire damage, or storm damage occurs in the middle of the night, which seems to be when this kind of emergency generally happens, you may not be able to call your insurance agent then and so that is why keeping a restoration’s emergency 24/7/365 phone number somewhere easy to find is so important as they will respond anytime during the day or night, allowing you to rest easy knowing that knowledgeable help and guidance is on the way. A good place to keep a restoration’s emergency contact information is by your main water shut off valve and on your refrigerator.
So don’t procrastinate as this is an easy assignment which can save you lots of panic and worry and dollars, go now and put Havoc Heroes Emergency 24/7/365 contact information on your water shut-off valve and refrigerator and enter into your phone contacts under “Emergency Home” and relax knowing that you will get help from the best in the industry!