When you call one of our offices with a water loss

3/3/2021 (Permalink)

When you call one of our offices in Manistee, Ludington, or Cadillac with a water loss we will ask you a series of questions:

Customer information:

• In the first group is the standard name and address.
• Preferred contact info (home, office, or cell phone). Some customers actually prefer email or text messages
• Loss site info: this may be different from the callers contact info and we need to know where to send insurance and/or billing information.
• Self-pay or insurance company. This gets important if you are going to file a claim. We deal with hundreds of insurance companies and much of the information they collect is not industry wide standard. If we know the insurance company, we can collect everything they need up front without going back and redoing their specific forms.

Loss information:

• Type of structure. This tells us what we are likely to find on site. Is it a home or office, do people live or work there, and often tells us how the building was built.
• How old is the loss site. This tells us if we are likely to find lead paint, asbestos, or other harmful items.
• How many rooms are affected. The size of the loss lets us get enough technicians on site to get it under control and help make it "Like it never even happened."
• Are power, heat, and water available? Again, allows us to bring whatever is needed to attack the problem.

Claim information:

• Date of loss. If we know how long the problem has existed it allows us to determine if it is an emergency, is it likely mold has developed, will the insurance company pay after hours charges, or are we likely to run into biohazard issues?
• Adjuster information.  If you have filed a claim, we can contact the adjuster immediately and get permission for items that may be of concern to your insurance company.
• Agent information. Often your agent would like to be kept informed on the process and progress of working on the claim.
• When you would like a crew on site? Sometimes homeowners are out of town and do not have access to the building until they drive up to the loss. Or maybe do not want anyone onsite until after closing hours.

The last thing we may ask is how you found us. This allows us to fine tune our marketing so our customers can find us when they need us, whether by using references, Internet, phone book,  or social media.

It seems like a lot of information. But information we get up front really helps the process go smoother for you, your agent, your adjuster, and your insurance company. If you can’t answer all the questions, don’t worry. You can still call your friends at SERVPRO of Manistee, Ludington, and Cadillac at 877-350-4872 and we will still send a crew and begin to make it "Like it never even happened."