Dealing with property damage is stressful enough. The claims process shouldn't make it worse. Rainbow Restoration of Dickinson takes an education-first approach, walking you through every step so you can make confident, informed decisions. We believe restoration is about more than fixing property: it's about rebuilding lives.
Customer Education: What Every Dickinson Homeowner Needs to Know About Insurance & Restoration
Need-to-Know Information for Community Members Navigating the Insurance Process
Customer Education: What Every Dickinson Homeowner Needs to Know About Insurance & Restoration
Need-to-Know Information for Community Members Navigating the Insurance Process
Why Choose Rainbow Restoration of Dickinson?
Restoring Buildings. Restoring People.
We see restoration as more than fixing property. It's about rebuilding lives. Our culture centers on empathy, dignity, and helping clients move forward after loss.
Education-First Approach
We provide extensive education so customers fully understand the claims and restoration process. Our discovery process identifies each customer's unique needs, ensuring solutions are tailored to them.
Why Choose Rainbow Restoration of Dickinson?
"I know this is a stressful time, and we're here to make the process as smooth as possible. If you're ready, we can take care of the authorization so we can get started and keep your claim moving forward." —Tony Kott | CEO
About This Guide
Our Purpose
It is our intention to bring clarity to the insurance process, educate customers, and empower everyone to make well-informed decisions in their own best interest. We aim to alleviate the confusion commonly observed in this industry and to empower all parties equally through transparency and awareness.
Many professionals in the industry and homeowners alike have little understanding of their roles, responsibilities, and limitations in the process. This guide exists to change that. With clarity as its purpose.
Disclaimer
All information included is derived from general experience and the opinions of a consensus of experienced restorers. We do not claim to be licensed adjusters. Insurance matters should be primarily settled between the customer and the carrier. This is informational only and intended to provide a helpful overview of the countless inquiries we've received over the years. All information from all sources should always be verified with due diligence.
About This Guide
Standard Misconceptions and Clarifications
What Is the Homeowner's Responsibility?
As a policyholder, your responsibilities include:
- Pay your premiums and deductible as previously agreed with your carrier
- Mitigate damage to your property immediately to prevent unnecessary loss or escalating costs
- Allow the carrier their right to inspect before completing permanent repairs
Immediate mitigation is best practice and in the best interests of all parties: the owner, the carrier, and the restorer. Any party instructing you to delay mitigation without analytical reasoning is ill-informed.
Important: The carrier has the right to inspect damages. Damages should be mitigated and documented, but NOT repaired until the carrier has fulfilled their right to inspect. Failure to allow this will justify the denial of the claim.
When Should a Claim Be Filed?
Before filing a claim, consider the following:
- Compare your deductible against the approximate total cost of damages. Filing when costs fall below your deductible is not practical
- Every claim on a home in the past 7 years is documented on your CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) report. This is how carriers assess risk and determine premiums
- Below-deductible, denied, and paid claims are all reported and can result in higher premiums due to filing frequency
- You generally have one to two years from the date of loss to file. You do not need to rush
- Time frames may be shortened or extended in circumstances such as catastrophic events or hailstorms
Consider the likelihood that the claim will be covered by your policy before filing. Knowing your policy and determining if it is likely to cover the damage is a very important step many homeowners miss.
How Do I Know If My Loss Is Covered?
In general, sudden and incidental damage that is well documented is covered at reasonable and justified costs. Understanding your policy type is critical:
- All-Perils / All-Risk Policy: Covers all perils unless specifically excluded
- Named Peril Policy: Excludes all perils unless specifically named as covered
The source of loss, as stated in the policy language, is always the determining factor for coverage, not opinions.
Is Everything Paid for in Full? The ACV vs. RCV Talk
"We are committed to honest, transparent communication with homeowners, property managers, and insurance professionals."
What Does Insurance Pay For?
Carriers pay for damages included in the policy, regardless of any contrary opinion. The policy language is the ruling body over any claim. No party has the right to change the policy after the fact: not the adjuster, the insured, the contractor, or even the owner of the insurance company.
Step 1: Coverage Determination
The first step to a paid claim is coverage determination. The carrier confirms the loss is covered and accepts liability per policy language. A definitive source of damage must be identified. Without it, coverage cannot be determined.
Step 2: Documenting and Justifying Mitigation
All mitigation work must be documented before, during, and after the process. Work is billed after completion using preset industry-standard protocols. What an adjuster needs is a well-documented, itemized scope of work that justifies the costs so they can approve costs quickly and without dispute.
"Fix house $30,000 will not be accepted. These types of bids are a giant red flag for our industry."
Step 3: Reconstruction Estimate
Present a detailed reconstruction estimate justified by the required mitigation. If the mitigation is justified and the reconstruction scope is directly related to it, it is absolutely owed and will be paid. Carriers generally require 7 to 10 business days to review and approve. You do not need multiple bids. One properly formatted estimate is sufficient.
A Note on Honest Claims
Claims that are handled properly by all parties are generally easy to settle. Well-documented claims with honest, reasonable parties are resolved quickly, quietly, and to the satisfaction of all.
Insurance is a service you pay for. You are the customer and should be treated as such.
Who Is in Charge of My Claim? Should I Be Worried About What I've Heard?
The simple answer is you. The customer is in control of their property and any claim that involves it. You are the owner, the paying customer, the boss.
No one, regardless of their role, can mandate that you do anything in your own home. Professionals should educate and give honest, unbiased recommendations. The decisions are always yours.
Common Fear Tactics to Watch Out For
Over the years, we've heard many statements used to influence homeowners' decisions, not always in the consumers' best interests. Here are two common ones:
- "If you have them do the work, I can't guarantee it will all be paid for." This is a fear tactic. You have the right to hire whom you choose.
- "You need a public adjuster or lawyer on every claim so they don't take advantage of you." While sometimes well-intentioned, you do not need to rush to legal representation on every claim.
Do I Have to Use My Carrier's Preferred Vendor?
No. You do not have to hire any preferred vendor of the carrier to receive payment for your covered loss, regardless of who says otherwise, unless laws change.
Preferred vendors are companies that have contractual agreements with insurance carriers, setting standards of operation. They work for the insured, not for the insurance carrier, even though many vendors and carrier representatives are confused about this. Being on a preferred vendor list means a company is compliant with carrier program rules, no more, no less.
Note: Steering is a troublesome legal term used to describe attempts to force an insured to use a preferred vendor. You should never be confused about who works for whom.
You Are in Charge
You hire who you want and do what you want with your property. There are certain conditions a consumer must meet for the carrier to process claims and issue payments, but the insured's minimal requirements are straightforward. Understand your situation clearly so you can make the best decisions. That is what matters most.
Who Is in Charge of My Claim? Should I Be Worried About What I've Heard?
The Choice Is Yours
Be forthcoming with information and allow the carrier to inspect the damage. You are in complete control until you decide to relinquish that control. Do not shut down the carrier process if you expect their cooperation and, ultimately, payment.
A successful team works together. The carrier, adjuster, restorer, and agent are all different parts of the same team, and the insured is the boss. When the team operates with transparency and fairness, claims processing is smooth. When it doesn't, it isn't.
The boss needs to clearly understand the situation in order to give the team good direction. This is why team members must give unbiased, transparent information to set good expectations. No surprises due to inadequate information.
Do I Wait for My Insurance Adjuster?
If your damage potential worsens the longer you wait, do not wait. You have a duty to prevent ensuing damage. Document damages and proceed to mitigate further loss. Failure to do so can be detrimental to your claim.
If additional damage is unlikely, decisions made in haste are unnecessary. However, it is always best practice to get a quality assessment from an honest professional. Many quality restorers will provide opinions at no cost.
"It is the duty of the insured to mitigate regardless of any contrary opinion. Any party stating not to take preventative action is ill-informed."
If you decide to wait for any reason, it should be fully documented and defensible with logical, verifiable reasoning.
Roles & Responsibilities: Who Does What?
Understanding the role of every party involved in your claim removes confusion and helps the process run smoothly.
Types of Adjusters
Several types of adjusters may be involved in your claim:
- Staff Adjuster - Part of the carrier's internal staff; directly employed by the insurance carrier
- Independent Adjuster - Employed by a third-party firm contracted by the carrier to act as a field adjuster; no decision-making power in most cases
- Desk Adjuster (your main point of contact) - Assigned to overall processing of a claim; officiates initial coverage determination; has decision-making power up to certain dollar amount limits
- Field Adjuster - Sent to your property to collect information; solely the eyes and ears of the desk adjuster; cannot determine coverage in most cases
- Public Adjuster - Employed by a third-party firm contracted by the insured to represent the insured; typically takes around 10% of the claim payout
- Large Loss Adjuster - Assigned to claims exceeding large dollar amounts; generally acts as both field and desk adjuster
Restorer - Mitigation Company
A restoration mitigation company is responsible for:
- Responding to emergencies 24/7/365
- Understanding the importance of response time, communication, and documentation
- Attempting to salvage every material reasonably possible
- Assessing losses and explaining industry-standard procedures and recommendations
- Preventing secondary damage and ensuring the damaged area is left clean, dry, and safe
- Justifying all completed work with documentation and billing at reasonable, customary market pricing
- Excellent documentation from the mitigation company is key to expeditious claims processing.
Specialty Vendors
Specialty vendors specialize in specific fields. In claims, this commonly includes:
- Electronic restoration
- Soft goods and textiles restoration
- Fine art restoration
- Contents restoration
Who Is Rainbow Restoration of Dickinson?
"Our commission is to empower our community through restoration and love." This is our mission statement.
Our company culture is to add value to others, including our internal and external communities. We consider you part of our community, and we hope you will consider us part of yours.
Restoration and insurance is messy. We hope that you will choose our team to help you through this time when you need a trustworthy and ethical restoration professional.
Who Is Rainbow Restoration of Dickinson?
What Our Customers Are Saying
View All Testimonials-
"They were professional and communicative during the entire restoration process."
Margaret H. -
"Chris was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the process of drying my house after flooding. His team was very professional and made the whole process look easy. Great communication and service. Highly recommend this company."
Kay M.
The Neighborly Done Right Promise® delivered by Rainbow Restoration®, a proud Neighborly company.
Frequently Asked Questions About Insurance & Restoration
We've spent years answering homeowner questions about the claims and restoration process. Here are the most common ones, answered clearly and without bias.
Restoration begins now.®