What Insurance Restoration Companies Do
Insurance Reinstatement Building Specialists
Restoration companies are specialists in their field and have stripping out and reinstatement building skills that are unique to their trade. Unlike general builders, who are usually building new projects, restoration companies have the additional challenge of stripping back material that has flood damage or fire damage, or even combined fire and water damage, after a house or office fire has been extinguished by the fire services. This means that building restoration companies have to make on the job assessments, as the work progresses, as to how far back they need to strip before reaching a solid base from which the building restoration process can commence. New onto old building work is generally accepted as being harder than new builds and requires specialist industry skills. The reinstatement contractor has to be ever mindful of unseen and hidden issues. They will constantly be prepared to assess every part of the building reinstatement project as it progresses, stage by stage.
General builders usually lack the specific experience of restoration companies when it comes to these types of new onto old building projects. This can lead to problems with over-estimation of building costs and then onto further problems with insurance reinstatement policies not providing adequate cover. Insurance restoration policies will usually require additional evidence of underlying problems that go beyond the insured loss, caused by fire or flood damage. However they will often agree to additional stripping back if the evidence is provided by a trusted reinstatement contractor that they have worked with on previous building reinstatement projects they have insured. The fact is that experienced restoration companies will probably have long term relationships with several insurance loss adjusters and insurance companies. This will mean that trust has been built up, over time, which gives insurance companies a high degree of confidence that the additional cost estimates are genuinely required, valid and reasonable. The reinstatement company will also very likely have an experienced understanding of what the insurance companies will likely accept or reject, ensuring there are no delays during the insurance restoration project.
As David Hunt, MD of Paradigm Reinstatements says “Sometimes when you start stripping back after flood damage or fire damage, you can find old or substandard structures that would be inappropriate or even dangerous to use as a base on which to start rebuilding . You then have to make a judgement as to what needs to be done to ensure you strip back a little further than the visible recent fire or flood damage itself. Water damage repair strip backs can reveal damage that has been building up over several years on occasions, finally resulting in major flood damage”.
Insurance loss adjusters understand that trusted restoration companies will quote on a “can see” flood damage or fire damage report. This also applies after a damp survey. However when the stripping back commences and further damage is revealed, the restoration specialist will then issue a what is called a ‘variation specification’ for insurance approval. It is far likely to be accepted from an approved restoration contractor than from a general builder.
Trusting the judgement and advice of a respected building restoration company that provides a range of building restoration services is advised when faced with a building restoration project.
Based in Central Scotland, Paradigm Reinstatements is one of the leading specialist building restoration companies in the UK regularly appointed by several of the UK’s leading insurance companies to deal with dampness in buildings, removal of water ingress and building reinstatement services in general. We offer a Free Quotation service for whatever issue you are facing. You can even send photos of the damage so we can quickly assess what may be involved in your restoration process.
