1. The county will test for hazardous materials on your property
2. You’ll have the option to opt-in or opt-out for lot clean up
3. Your insurance company will determine how much funds you’ll need to rebuild and what work will need to be done
4. Once the undisputed scope is agreed upon, your contractor can begin working one on one with you on rebuilding your home

If you decide to opt-in, the Army Core of Engineers can charge as much as they need to clean and grade your property, which will be billed directly to your insurance company. If you decide to opt-out, you can utilize a private firm that will only use the specific amount allotted for hazmat cleanup. Both options have their merits, and it’s up to you to decide which is best for your unique situation.

When you’re told you have policy limits, this usually means that your insurance carrier is talking about the first declarations page within your policy where it specifically states a number for structure, contents, other structure, ALE, landscaping, and debris removal costs. It takes a contractor or a public adjuster to activate your law and ordinance and/or code allowance and your extended replacement cost, if any, along with landscaping and debris removal based on your approved scope of repair.

No. Your policy limits stay the same. The only coverage that is extended by one year (sometimes 2 years) is the allotted time that your insurance company will continue to pay for your additional living expenses, which is stated within your policy.

In most cases, no. Only if you feel your policy has been misrepresented should you consider an attorney.

You may pay off your mortgage with your total loss and/or contents funds. Your dwelling insurance funds can be used to rebuild your home.

You do not have to rebuild what you had. And yes, you can make changes to your original plans, as long as you stay within the footprint of your property with no out-of-pocket expenses.

Yes! However, the specifics of what is and isn’t allowed can vary – to learn more about what is permitted in your unique situation, request a free, no-obligation consultation with our team.

It doesn’t affect your contractor at all. Water and Fire Restoration Team has worked with many public adjusters within the San Antonio area, and we know what they require to get their work done.

Design and architectural plans will roughly take 1-2 weeks. Due to Covid, county and city restrictions for permits within the building department may take anywhere from 4-6 weeks without corrections.

If you have a mortgage on your property, your mortgage’s loss draft department will open a restricted escrow account and deposit your insurance funds in this escrow account. Your contractor schedules progress inspections for your mortgage company to inspect before paying your contractor with the insurance funds. If you do not have a mortgage on your property, you, your contractor, and/or your public adjuster (if you have one) will open a separate bank account and deposit your insurance claims check(s) in such account, and a progress payment plan will be established by your contractor. Your contractor will schedule an inspection with you to inspect the phases completed before paying your contractor with the insurance funds.

We work hard every day to make Water and Fire Restoration Tema an industry leader. Our team believes in achieving success through empathy and compassion for our clients. We make sure we listen and communicate those ideas to you so we can rebuild your dream.

We’d be happy to answer them! Just send us a message online or give us a call at (726)224-2000 for a no-strings-attached, completely free consultation with Water and Fire Restoration Team. We also offer same-day services for your convenience!