Name: Excel Adjusters
Rating: 4.9

If your commercial building has experienced water damage, you have the right to a fair adjustment on a claim. In fact, insurance companies are obligated to compensate you for your losses. A commercial business owner’s policy, also known as a BOP, will typically cover water damage to a commercial building. However, this does not mean the insurance will approve your claim. It’s important to understand which events qualify as water damage under commercial building insurance policies and any steps you need to take to defend your claim.

A public adjuster works for you and can help with the entire claims process to ensure you get the payout you deserve from your water damage insurance claim.

What is Considered Water Damage in a Commercial Building?

Water damage that occurs from sudden damage is covered under commercial business owner policies. This would involve the following situations:

Sudden and accidental leaks that occur in less than 2 weeks
Burst pipes
HVAC leaks (sudden and accidental)
Toilet overflow
Sometimes external leaks will be covered in commercial claims, but this depends on the master policy and the CC&R
Wind-driven rain (including hail storms, however, rain alone is typically not covered)
Roof collapse (primarily for incidents related to wind-driven rain)
Sewer backups
Slab leaks (State Farm is the only carrier that excludes slab leaks)

Natural causes might be covered depending on your insurance policy, however many widespread natural disasters will not be covered, such as earthquakes and flooding.

Flood Damage vs. Water Damage

Flood damage is not considered water damage under business owner insurance policies. Flood damage occurs when there is excessive water on land that would otherwise be considered dry. Water damage occurs before water touches the ground.

Water damage is almost always covered under a business owner’s insurance policy, whereas flood damage is not covered.

If you want to protect your commercial building from flood damage losses, you should consider purchasing a separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private company.

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The Following Are Not Covered Under Business Owner Insurance:

Flood Damage: As mentioned above, flood damage is not covered under commercial insurance policies and is not the same as water damage.

Gradual Damage: Some insurance policies will not cover issues that have been existing for a long period of time, typically longer than 14 days.

Source of Damage: Most insurance policies do not cover the source of the damage - For example, if your commercial building has water damage that was caused by a broken sink, the costs of replacing the sink would not be covered under the policy.

Did You Experience Water Damage in Your Commercial Building? Follow These Steps

Collect Evidence of Any Damaged Property

While it might be tempting to immediately contact your insurance provider to notify them of water damage, this is not what you should do. The very first thing you should do is collect evidence of any damaged property within your building. Photos and videos are the best way to document the damage. Make sure to also take photos/videos of the floor. Do not throw any damaged items away. By saving them you’ll have additional evidence for your insurance claim.
Call a Licensed Plumber

A plumber’s incident report will end up serving as additional proof for your insurance claim. The report will provide a timeline of how long the leak occurred and where the leak came from. Insurance companies will not cover leaks that last longer than 14 days, which is why it’s critical for you to hire a plumber as soon as you notice any sign of water damage in your building.
Contact a Licensed Public Adjuster

Water damage claims can be time-consuming and confusing if you’ve never filed one before. To make matters more difficult, insurance companies will often try to avoid paying for water damage. The first thing your insurance provider will do after you file a claim is a process known as “field scoping.” This involves them sending out a claims adjuster (who they’ve hired) to determine the exact cause of the damage and what they believe needs to be replaced.

The result is often you, the policyholder, being left with water damage that the insurance company does not want to reimburse you for in your claim. A licensed public adjuster is on your side to help gather evidence that supports your claim and defend your claim against the insurance company to get you the payout you deserve.

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Water Damage Rebuild

The water damage rebuild process occurs after the licensed plumber has surveyed the area and addressed any leaks. This stage involves drying out the building to prevent mold growth. However, the water damage rebuild process can have challenges, especially for commercial building owners. One possible challenge is that the building might be contaminated if the flood water had been below the foundation before entering the building. If this is a possibility, tests should be run by special hygienists prior to removing the water to determine if there are toxins. Specific guidelines must be followed if the water is found to be contaminated.

Another challenge that is very common is your insurance provider will typically recommend a list of water damage rebuild vendors for you to use once your claim is approved. But since insurance companies have the authority to dictate how much gets paid out during your water damage claim, they are able to use leverage against their water damage rebuild vendors.

Essentially, the risk of using a water damage rebuild vendor that is recommended by your insurance company means they might look for shortcuts in the drying process to appease an insurance company that they regularly work with.

Instead of automatically agreeing to use the water damage rebuild company recommended by your insurance, we suggest finding a licensed and objective water damage rebuild company that is able to do honest work. The water damage rebuild company of your choosing will most likely bill your insurance company directly. As long as the water damage is caused by an incident that is covered in your policy, your insurance company should cover payment for this service.

Why You Need a Public Adjuster For Your Commercial Water Damage Claim

Licensed public adjusters can be extremely helpful if you have experienced water damage within your commercial building. You might be wondering, why do I need a public adjuster when I can get my own repair estimates and talk with the insurance company myself? While it’s true that you can work with an insurance company alone, there are a few primary reasons it can be very difficult to process your claim by yourself:

Dealing with water damage claims requires in-depth knowledge of insurance policies and commercial building repair, making it possible for the insurance company to take advantage of you and provide you with a lesser payout than what you are owed.
It’s easy to become emotionally involved since your livelihood is at stake.
Water damage can destroy not only your building but could potentially cause harm to your employees and/or any building occupants as a result of mold growth. This makes it even more important to ensure you receive the amount you are owed from the insurance company so that you can get the repairs done quickly that you need.

If you disagree with your insurance claims adjusters’ evaluation of the water damage that was done and/or you are facing a significant amount of damage (which can make the insurance claim even more difficult), you can benefit from hiring a public adjuster.

It’s important to hire an experienced public adjuster because they will be able to effectively speak with your insurance provider regarding your commercial building claim and get you the payout you need for repairs.

How Much Will a Public Adjuster Cost?

There are no upfront costs to you, making it affordable to get the help you need. We only charge a small percentage based on what we settle for with your insurance.

How Excel Adjusters Can Help With Your Water Damage Claim

At Excel Adjusters, our goal is to ensure your rights are upheld during the water damage process and maximize your payout. If you experience water damage in your commercial building, we will accompany the field insurance adjuster during the field scoping process and help you negotiate a fair payout.

We are not provided by the insurance company, making us fully independent and able to prioritize your needs as the policyholder.

We’ll help to:

Notify Your Insurance Provider

Whichever step of the claims process you are at, it helps tremendously to have a public adjuster speak with your insurance provider on your behalf.

Maximize Your Payouts

As your licensed public adjuster, we know how to speak with insurance carriers about water damage claims and do everything in our power to get you the money you need.

Many contractors and floor experts are actually not licensed by the Department of Insurance and therefore are not legally allowed to represent you on your water damage public claim. But as your public adjuster, we are licensed by the state and can provide legal representation for you throughout the claims process, helping you to have one less thing to worry about.

Guide You Through the Water Damage Claim Process

We are there to support you during the entire claims process - this includes advising you and negotiating payouts with your insurance company. We also handle any necessary paperwork.

Assist with Every Stage of Your Water Damage or Flood Claim

Whether you’re at the beginning of filing a water or flood damage claim, or several weeks into the process, we can help.

If your insurance company is refusing to cover Loss of Use expenses, we can work with your insurance company in an attempt to get you reimbursed for any costs you incurred while not able to access or use your commercial building.
Sometimes insurance companies will try to cut corners in your repairs by doing a poor repair job to your floors, hiring cheap damage rebuild companies, and failing to remove things such as cabinets for drying when the drywall has been damaged. If you are not happy with the repair of your hardwood floors in your commercial building, we can help negotiate with your insurance company in order to get the “like-for-like” standard outlined in your policy. Also known as the “like kind and quality,” if your business owner insurance policy includes these terms, you are entitled to receive a payout from your insurance company that covers the entire cost to replace items of the same quality as what you previously owned. Again, some insurance policies cover replacement costs, while others might not cover a replacement cost, so each situation is unique to your specific policy.
If your water damage rebuild insurance claim has been denied, we can speak with your insurance company and provide evidence and reasoning as to why your water or flood damage claim should be covered by your carrier.

If you’ve experienced water damage and need to file a claim, we can help with the water damage insurance claim process.

*According to the Insurance Information Institute

Water Damage Claims Adjuster for Commercial Buildings In Orange County