THE #1 MISTAKE BUILDING OWNERS MAKE AFTER A DISASTER

When a natural disaster strikes your business, it can turn your world upside down.

Not only are your business operations impacted, but your employees and the community you serve are forced to look elsewhere for employment and the services you provide.

Most business owners don’t have a disaster plan and are unsure of who to call. In an effort to get back to pre-loss conditions as soon as possible, oftentimes, their first instinct is to get as many professionals on-site as they can.

The reality?

This approach, though common, can cause many issues when it comes to closing your insurance claim and, most importantly, getting your business back on its feet.

Recently, our team was called to a project that showed why more boots on the ground are not always better.

A property owner engaged PCCC to restore one of their buildings that had been flooded several months prior. Immediately after the disaster, the building owner hired a mitigation company to dry out the property and get started on the restoration. Sometime later, mold was discovered in the building.

Now the building owner, insurance carrier, and mitigation company are forced to face complicated questions, such as whether there was mold present prior to the flooding or if it grew afterward due to poor mitigation practices. Ultimately, the answer determines who will be paying for the damages.

Not only can this result in lengthy delays and legal intervention, but these unexpected expenses can cut into your restoration budget, forcing you to dip into your own funds or modify the project scope to account for the unanticipated cost.

What you should do after a disaster to help avoid unexpected delays and out-of-pocket expenses:

1. Call your insurance agent: Notify your insurance agent of your loss. They will send out an adjuster to evaluate the scope of your project, which will help determine your payout.

2. Consult a full-service restoration company: A full-service restoration company such as PCCC will help handle your restoration from start to finish. We coordinate with your insurance carrier to stay on budget and restore and get your business back on its feet.

At PCCC, we bring our decades of experience in commercial construction merged with our restoration experts to oversee your project from start to finish. Our team utilizes the latest technology to take thorough and accurate scans of your building to help bring clarity to decision-making so you can receive the payout you are owed and your business can return to pre-loss conditions.