Insurance is a wonderful, practical and a highly recommended manner of safe-guarding our properties, our interests and securing our future from unexpected eventualities. However, the system has evolved to be so complex that it is almost beyond ordinary reading to understand the terms, conditions and the small print involved in policies. Then there are opportunistic contractors who are eager to make many extra bucks at your cost and expense. Now, in such a scenario, what are the tips for how to hire a contractor for insurance claims?
- Take time to make a detailed background check on the contractor; in fact, make a short-list of a few contractors, contact each of them, have them give you quotes for work. The short-listing can be done by consulting friends, family, neighbors, and fellow workers at your office. Surely, one of them would have used services of a contractor to settle insurance claims sometime or would know someone else who has done so.
- Simultaneously, contact your insurance company and get the adjuster to give you an estimate of their assessment of damages to your property and their proposed costs for the repairs. This is a good starting ground for discussions with your prospective contractor.
- When you are talking to the contractors, ask them to speak about their experience in their domain as well as in dealing with insurance claims. Find out if the contractor has any accreditation and affiliation with their associations, guilds, the Better Business Bureau and the home builders associations. Ask if you can visit properties that the contractor has recently worked on. Get the contractor to provide you copies of government registrations such as under employment, labor and tax laws. If he claims to have a professional qualification, then it is good to inspect a certificate to back that claim.
- Get the contractor to provide you a firm quotation of costs and expenses for both temporary and permanent repairs and or replacement for your property. If possible, obtain a bill of materials, ask what mark-up is being made by the contractor and calculate labor costs by making inquiries at local hardware shops and suppliers.
- Once chosen, it is most likely that your contractor will ask you to sign a contract for services to be rendered by him. Here, ensure that the language is straight-forward and simple to understand; feel free to re-word anything that is ambiguous and unclear. Next, check to see that all employment and labor related compliances and liabilities are the contractor's responsibility and that it is specifically mentioned in the contract. Get the contractor to commit to using standard quality materials, qualified personnel, adopt all necessary safety measures and to diligently complete the project within stipulated time. If possible, include a clause for damages in case of delays on account of the contractor.
- Payments are to be made in milestones based on completion of work by the contractor. All bills and communications must be recorded in writing and acknowledged by the contractor. Maintain a file of all documents relating to the contract for easy access and reference.
Ensure the above mentioned and it is likely that you have a taken good steps to hire a contractor.
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Just had a water heater break so it was "raining" downstairs. The water found it's way from the top floor (kitchen with the water heater) down into the basement's ceiling & exited through a ceiling light fixture. (Ultimately, the ceiling needed replacement.) First I called a plumber from the yellow pages who could come on a Sunday morning. He removed the water heater and in the process, damaged our water filter, thereby creating a new leak. He also knew nothing about where the piping seemed to go or why, let alone could he manage more than the bare minimum. Worse, after he broke the water filter, he tried to change the contractual estimate to make it look as if I had assumed the risk that he'd break the water filter!. I called his boss who sent out a new plumber to "repair" the water filter. It still leaked. So I called our insurance company and told them of all the problems, along with the fact that the plumber I had called didn't seem well informed. The company recommended someone who came out within 2 hours, with a team of professionals who used good equipment to show where the water damage went, to dry what they could, using fans and dehumidifiers and re-doing the celing without a speck of extra dust. I have had remodelling done and this was by far the best job done in terms of competence, and timeliness and craftmanship. I finally felt I was in good hands and the ceiling ended up looking better than before. I felt confident that they knew what they were doing. For me, the lesson learned is that next time I'll call my insurance company first and ask them. That way, if there's a problem, you have some recourse. My insurance company is Fireman's Fund through USAA, for what it's worth.
