How an Insurance Claim Works, Start to Finish
Most homeowners go through an insurance claim once. We go through them every week. This is the whole process, from the day you find the damage to the day your warranty starts, in the order it actually happens.
Click any card to see what happens at that step and what you can do to keep the job moving. The path splits by loss type after the inspection, then comes back together for the rebuild.
If you are in the middle of a loss right now, skip the reading and call us at 858-397-2270. We answer 24 hours a day.
Discover Damage
Click or tap to flipCause of loss
A supply line lets go, a toilet overflows, a tree comes through the roof. Note when you found it and what failed. Whether the policy pays turns on that.
What is coveredFile Claim
Click or tap to flipCall your carrier
Open the claim with your homeowners insurance. Photograph everything before it is moved, and write down a timeline: what happened, when you found it, what you did.
Claim Triage
Click or tap to flipCarrier or TPA
Your carrier either handles the claim in house or assigns it to a third-party administrator (TPA), a company that manages the claim on the carrier’s behalf. Either way, the next steps are the same.
Choose Contractor
Click or tap to flipYour choice
The carrier or TPA gives you a list of approved contractors. You can also use a contractor you already know. CCR is an approved vendor on more than ten carrier programs, and you can ask for us by name.
Site Inspection
Click or tap to flipSeverity, scope, next steps
The contractor schedules an inspection and assesses how bad it is and what has to happen. In an emergency you sign an emergency work authorization so the crew can secure the home and stop the damage that night.
Who pays for what: you pay to repair the cause (the pipe, the toilet, removing the tree). On a covered claim, insurance pays for the resulting damage. We can usually quote the cause-of-loss repair on site.
Who pays for whatWater Mitigation
Click or tap to flipStabilize, test, dry
The technician makes the area safe, sets the scope, and sets air movers, dehumidifiers, and air scrubbers. Materials are checked for mold, lead, and asbestos; older homes get tested.
Negative results come back in 24 to 48 hours and drying usually takes 3 to 5 days. Positive results add carrier approvals, abatement of up to about two weeks, and third-party clearance testing before the rebuild.
Water damage restorationFire Mitigation
Click or tap to flipSame process, larger scope
Soot and ash travel through the whole building, and the water the fire department put in has to be dried. Board-up and roof tarping come first, often where firefighters cut openings in the roof.
Fire and smoke damageEmergency Services
Click or tap to flipSecure first, paperwork after
Tree removal, board-up, tarping, and shoring, done fast under an emergency work authorization and submitted to the carrier afterward. Some losses need a structural engineer or a city permit, which adds time.
24/7 emergency responseRebuild Inspection
Click or tap to flipScoping the repairs
Once mitigation is done and clearances are in, the contractor returns to scope the rebuild. On an average job the estimate takes 1 to 3 days to write. It goes to the carrier or TPA, not to you yet.
Carrier Review
Click or tap to flipAbout a week
The carrier or TPA reviews the estimate and approves it or asks for changes. Expect about a week, longer on large or complex losses. The approved estimate is released to you and the contractor at the same time.
Contractors are not allowed to share it before approval. That is a carrier rule, meant to make sure the repairs are complete and done to standard.
How an insurance rebuild gets paidPlan & Sign
Click or tap to flipThe meeting that decides the job
Within 24 to 48 hours of approval we walk you through the scope, answer questions, and sign the home improvement contract. Then material selections, upgrades, change orders, and scheduling.
Our strongest advice: have every material selected, ordered, and delivered before work starts. Jobs that start and then stop are the number one frustration on insurance repairs, and this one step prevents it.
Repairs
Click or tap to flipSupplements and change orders
Opening walls often uncovers hidden damage. A supplement is extra work sent to the carrier, which reviews, approves, and pays for it. A change order is extra work or an upgrade you request, which you approve, sign, and pay for.
Either one pauses the schedule briefly. It is normal on insurance claims.
Punch List
Click or tap to flipWalk it together
Near the end of the job we walk the work with you and list every touch-up and fix. Those get finished before final sign-off, not after.
Final Walkthrough
Click or tap to flipCertificate of Completion
We take final photos and you sign the Certificate of Completion. It goes to the carrier and starts your warranty. Final payment is collected here.
Payments: your contract may have a payment schedule, and you are responsible for the full contract amount. Some carriers pay the contractor directly. Most pay you, and you pay the contractor on time.
Surveys
Click or tap to flipThey rate the contractor
You may get surveys from the contractor and the carrier. They score the contractor, and in the insurance world anything under a 10 counts as a miss. If we are ever below a 10 for you, tell your project manager while the job is running so we can fix it.
Concerns about the carrier, TPA, or adjuster belong in a separate letter to the carrier. We will help you write it.
Warranty
Click or tap to flipFive years on workmanship
Program work carries a 5-year workmanship warranty. Material warranties come from the manufacturers, so keep the care instructions for anything new. The wrong cleaning product can void a flooring warranty.
Warranty items are rare. If something is not right, call us and we will take a look.
Future Projects
Click or tap to flipBeyond the claim
CCR is a general contractor that specializes in insurance restoration. We also do remodels, kitchens, bathrooms, ADUs, and new builds. Estimates are free.
Call your project manager, or the office at 858-397-2270.
Contact usContact CCR for Water Damage Restoration in San Diego
If water is in your home or building right now, shut off the source and call CCR Construction and Restoration at 858-397-2270. We respond 24 hours a day anywhere in San Diego County.
We will stop the loss, dry the structure to documented readings, work with your carrier, and rebuild what had to come out, with one team from the first call to the final walkthrough.