Cost & Insurance

What a restoration invoice contains, and which lines insurers actually question.

7 articles

• Does Insurance Cover It? — Sudden Versus Gradual Decides Everything

  Almost every denied water claim turns on one distinction the policy makes and the homeowner does not: whether the escape was sudden or gradual.

• File the Claim or Pay It Yourself — Where the Line Actually Falls

  Most people compare the estimate to the deductible and stop there. Two other numbers usually matter more, and one of them lasts seven years.

• What Category Does to the Bill — Same Room, Three Prices

  Two identical rooms, identical square footage, identical amount of water. One is dried and one is gutted, and the difference is where the water came from.

• Dry It Yourself or Call Someone — Four Questions That Decide

  Rental fans and a shop vac handle more than people expect. What they cannot handle is water that went somewhere you cannot see or measure.

• Mold Remediation Cost — What Containment Adds to a Water Loss

  The square footage barely moves the number. What moves it is whether the work area has to be sealed and held under negative pressure.

• Equipment Days — The Line That Grows, and How to Read It

  Rates on a mitigation invoice come from an industry price database and barely move. What moves is how many machines were there and for how many days.

• Water Damage Restoration Cost — What Drives the Per-Square-Foot Number

  Per square foot is the wrong unit and the industry uses it anyway. What decides the bill is how much has to be thrown away.