Nasty Water Damage Loss; Insurance Claim

Upon returning to my office last Thursday morning after the July 4th “holiday”, we received a call from a client who returned to their office after the day off, only to find every square inch of their floor covered by 2-3 inches of water.

At first glance, they weren’t overly concerned about what they saw, but as they entered the building, they realized this was a severe loss for them. It turned out the sink in the break room had been building up pressure which caused the faucet head to shoot like a rocket across the room knocking a 5-inch wide hole through a wall and sprayed water like a fountain throughout the office for over a day.

The phones had been knocked out, employees couldn’t enter the building, and the entire office was under water. They needed help, fast.

We immediately called the claim in to the carrier and contacted a damage restoration company to get in there to begin cleaning up the mess. The restoration service company ended up spending the entire day Thursday sucking up the thousands of gallons of water.

On Friday morning, I visited my client’s premises to check it out and meet with the carrier claims adjuster, plumbers, contractors, and my client.

Here are some pictures of the damage:

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The good news is insurance coverage is in place to help with this loss. Not only are the repairs being made, but there is business interruption coverage and the carrier found a temporary office to relocate our insured while their office is being repaired. In a conversation I had with our client, they told me they see the value of their insurance more now than they ever had. Unfortunately, there are many businesses out there who don’t see the value of carrying insurance, thinking issues like this will never happen to them. And when it does, they learn the hard way. With a six-figure loss like this, would your business survive without insurance?