Home
Full guide to protect your claim and move reimbursement forward.
1) The Legal Reality: Your Adjuster’s Word Is Not Law
Adjusters represent the insurance company’s financial interests. Your responsibility is to protect your home and your rights under the policy. When a licensed emergency restoration company like Advanced Vacuum & Extraction completes extraction, containment, drying, and monitoring, the work is done, the structure is stabilized, and the documentation is complete. That’s an invoice—not an estimate.
Process Tip: Insurers release payment faster when you submit a clean packet: signed Proof of Loss (if requested), mitigation invoice, proof of payment, and a documentation packet (photos, moisture mapping, daily dry logs, psychrometrics).
2) Homeowner Liability: You’re Responsible for the Invoice — Not the Insurer
When you hire a contractor, your contract is with them—not with your insurer. That means you’re responsible to pay the mitigation invoice once the work is complete. Your carrier’s role is to reimburse you for covered losses per the policy.
Loss Payment Checklist (Submit Together)
- Signed Proof of Loss (if requested)
- Mitigation invoice from your contractor
- Proof of payment (cleared check or receipt)
- Documentation packet (photos, moisture maps, daily dry logs, psychrometrics)
Subject line example: “Loss Payment – Claim #[_____]: Mitigation Complete – Invoice + Proof of Payment.”
How to Pay Your Contractor (3 Simple Steps)
1 · PAY
Pay the water damage restoration company upon completion of mitigation. Keep the final invoice and receipt/cleared check.
2 · SUBMIT
Send your insurer: Proof of Loss (if requested), mitigation invoice, proof of payment, and the documentation packet.
3 · REIMBURSE
The carrier reviews and issues payment for covered mitigation under dwelling/structure coverage. Repairs are handled separately.
This shuts down the “it’s just an estimate” argument for completed mitigation—it’s an invoice.
3) Don’t Let Them Call It an “Estimate” — It’s an Invoice
Insurers sometimes try to re-label completed emergency services as “estimates” to pay less. That’s inaccurate. Completed extraction, drying, and monitoring are performed services and bill as an invoice. Future repairs may have estimates, but completed mitigation does not.
Standards-Based Proof
Our documentation aligns with accepted industry standards (e.g., IICRC S500): daily logs, moisture readings, psychrometrics (GPP), equipment logs, and photo sequencing. Measured data = objective proof.
Adjuster Tactics → Counter-Moves
| They say… | You show… |
|---|---|
| “It’s just an estimate.” | Paid invoice + receipt + full documentation packet. |
| “Drying took too long.” | Daily logs showing RH/GPP trends, targets, and equipment adjustments. |
| “Scope is excessive.” | Room-by-room readings, affected materials, demo justification photos. |
| “Use our contractor.” | Your right to choose a qualified contractor; decisions should be based on scope and price, not a vendor list. |
💰 Pay First, Get Reimbursed Faster
Your mitigation invoice isn’t part of ALE — it’s a covered emergency service under your dwelling/structure coverage.
Pay your restoration contractor immediately once mitigation is complete. Every day you wait slows your reimbursement because insurers require proof that the work was done and paid for.
- ✔ Paid invoice from your contractor
- ✔ Proof of payment (cleared check or receipt)
- ✔ Complete documentation packet (photos, dry logs, psychrometrics)
Submit these together to trigger your policy’s Loss Payment Provision.
Pay now → Submit proof → Get reimbursed faster.
4) Additional Living Expense (ALE / Loss of Use) — Quick Primer
ALE generally reimburses the increased living costs you incur when your home is uninhabitable or partially unusable due to a covered loss (hotel, meals above your normal grocery spend, added mileage/parking from temporary housing, temp utilities). Keep receipts and a simple baseline of your “normal” costs. ALE is usually subject to limits and/or time frames in your policy.
Track These
- Hotel folios or short-term rental invoices
- Meal receipts + your normal grocery baseline
- Mileage logs + parking (before vs. after)
- Laundry, pet boarding, storage, temp utilities
Beyond ALE: 100% Reimbursable. Rapid Payout.
Mitigation is typically reimbursed under dwelling/structure coverage (not ALE). Pay your contractor, then submit invoice + proof of payment.
5) Don’t Play Their Game — Support Your Local Pros
Every time a carrier squeezes local contractors by mislabeling invoices, your community loses: fewer jobs, slower response, and delayed recovery. Support the professionals who showed up at 2 AM with extraction equipment, drying chambers, and industrial dehumidifiers — the team that actually saved your home from secondary damage.
What You Get from Advanced Vacuum & Extraction
- 📋 Claim-ready documentation
- 📸 High-resolution before/during/after photos
- 🌡️ Daily dry logs & psychrometric data
- 🗺️ Moisture mapping of affected areas
- 💬 Direct adjuster communication (so you don’t have to)
Mini Case Snapshot
4-Day Mitigation: 22 airmovers / 2 dehumidifiers. RH 64%→29%; GPP 72→37. Moisture readings reached dry standard. Carrier reclassified “estimate” to “invoice” and issued payment after packet submission.
Your Next Step
If your insurer is dodging calls, delaying payment, or mislabeling your contractor’s invoice, get backup now. We’ll assemble your packet, reference your policy provisions, and help move your claim to payment.