Insurance Restoration Contracting: Startup to Success - eBook (PDF)
This is the first complete manual designed to help you start and succeed with your own insurance restoration company. Written in easy-to-read language by an author with decades of restoration and writing experience, it's filled with real-world stories and practical tips. Includes fire repairs, restorative drying methods, contents handling and mold remediation techniques and much more. This e-Book is the download version of the book in text searchable, PDF format.
Insurance restoration – the repair of buildings damaged by water, fire, smoke, storms, and other disasters – is an exciting and challenging field of construction. It also offers contractors lucrative work that's immune to economic downturns – pipes still break, buildings still burn, and trees are still blown over, regardless of the economy. And with the insurance companies funding the repairs, your payment is virtually guaranteed.
But not just anyone can repair fire- and water-damaged buildings. You need the knowledge and the equipment to get the job done right, and that's what this book is all about. From understanding fire repairs and smoke odors to restorative drying methods, mold remediation, and handling contents, you'll not only learn how to provide top-notch property and content restoration services, but also how to become the person homeowners and insurance companies turn to first in an emergency – putting yourself first in line for all the best jobs.
This is the first complete manual designed to help you start and succeed with your own insurance restoration company. Written in easy-to-read language by an author with decades of restoration and writing experience, it's filled with real-world stories and practical tips.
THIS eBOOK IS A TEXT-SEARCHABLE, PDF VERSION OF THE PRINTED BOOK. Craftsman eBooks are for use in the freely distributed Adobe Reader and are compatible with Reader 5.0 or above. Get Adobe Reader.
| Weight | 0.000000 |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 978-1-57218-239-4 |
| Page Count | 640 |
| Author | Paul Bianchina |
| Publisher | Craftsman Book Company |
Contents
Introduction, 5
- Is Insurance Restoration the Business for You?, 7
The Pros and Cons of Insurance Restoration Contracting, 8
An Overview of How Insurance Restoration Works, 15
The Three Elements of a Loss, 17
Understanding the Insurance Industry, 19
A Look at Insurance Restoration Jobs, 20
The Three-Legged Stool, 25
Specialized Training, 26 - Understanding the Basics of Insurance Policies, 29
Understanding the Terminology, 30
The Basics of Named Perils, 32
Content Coverage, 37
Is Stupidity Covered?, 39
Deductibles, 39
You Can’t Profit from a Loss, 40
Building Code Upgrades, 42
Mold Coverage, 43
Outside Living Expenses, 43
What if it Isn’t Covered?, 46 - Understanding Water & Water Restoration Equipment, 47
What is Restorative Drying?, 48
IICRC Certification Classes, 48
Why Use Specialized Equipment?, 49
Your Equipment Investment, 50
The Basic Drying Process, 52
Equipment Prices & Purchasing Options, 54
How Much Equipment Do You Need?, 72 - Water Losses & Restorative Drying, 75
The Drying Process & the Repairs, 76
Ten Basic Steps in the Drying Process, 78
Winterizing a Loss, 104 - Mold Remediation & Contaminated Water Losses, 107
Mold Losses, 111
Contaminated Water Losses, 126
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), 131
HEPA Equipment, 135 - Specialty Drying Situations & Other Water Loss Considerations, 139
Class 4 Water Losses, 139
Natural Wood Floors, 143
Drying Other Wood and Synthetic Floors, 147
Coming in After Someone Else Has Done the Drying, 151
Leaving a Job Before It’s Dry, 152 - Understanding Fire & Smoke, 155
Training & Safety Considerations, 156
What is Fire?, 159
What is Smoke?, 163 - Structural Fire Losses, 173
Typical Fire Loss Situations, 173
Major Structure Fires, 190
Total Losses, 195
Reconstruction & Building Permits, 196
Structural Engineers, 200 - Structural Cleaning & Deodorization, 203
Training, 203
Your Primary Smoke Objectives, 205
Five Basic Steps in Smoke Odor Removal, 208
Duct Cleaning, 227
Other Odors, 229 - Wind, Snow, & Other Storm Damage, 231
Wind Damage Losses, 232
Ice Damming, 236
Snow-Load Damage, 239
Hail Damage, 243
Lightning Damage, 247 - Impact Damage, Vandalism & Trauma Scenes, 251
Tree Impact Losses, 251
Vehicle Impacts, 257
Explosion & Blasting Damage, 262
Vandalism, 266
Trauma Scenes, 270 - Mobile, Manufactured & Modular Homes, 275
Manufactured Home Construction, 279
Manufactured Home Loss Repairs, 286
Building Permits & Structural Engineers, 303
Modular Home Losses, 304 - Contents, 305
The Separate but Equal Parts of a Loss, 305
What Are Contents?, 307
Contents and Your Liability, 309 - Contents: On-Site Storage, Loss Inventories, & Nonsalvageable Items, 325
Moving Contents During an Emergency Call, 325
On-Site Storage, 328
Contents That Aren’t Salvageable, 333
Content Loss Inventories, 339
Tenant Contents, 343 - Contents: Pack-Outs, Cleaning, & Off-Site Storage, 345
Content Pack-Outs, 346 Content Cleaning & Repair, 353
Processing Smoke-Damaged Contents, 358 - Getting Set Up for Emergencies, 371
Setting Up Crews for Emergencies, 373
Handling Emergency Calls 24/7, 377
An Emergency Response Van, 386
It’s One of the Best Parts of Restoration!, 394 - Responding to Emergency Calls, 395
Arriving at the Job, 396
Mitigating the Loss, 398
Emergencies in Unoccupied & Vacant Homes, 408
Multiple Losses, 409
Paperwork, 411 - Your Business Plan, 417
Making a Business Plan, 418
Getting Some Help, 420
Gathering Your Team of Professionals, 422
Your Business Structure, 428
Buying an Existing Company, 429
The Franchise Option, 431 - Setting Up Your Company, 435
Name Recognition, 435
A Space to Operate Your Business, 437
Company Uniforms, 440
Company Vehicles, 443
Company Operations, 449
Legal Paperwork, 453 - Staffing Considerations, 457
Your Staff, 459
Finding & Hiring Good Employees, 468
The Employee Handbook, 473
Some Finals Thoughts about Employees, 475 - Finding Work, 477
Promotional Materials, 477
Advertising, 480
Introducing Your Company, 486
Success Will Come, 495 - Working with Insurance Adjusters, 499
The Role of the Insurance Adjuster, 500
Different Types of Adjusters, 504
Working Out-of-Town Jobs for Adjusters, 508
Insurance & Code Upgrades, 511
Overlapping Claims, 517
Not Every Job is Worth Taking, 518
Some Thoughts on Working with Adjuster, 520 - Structural Estimating, 523
Unit Costing, 528
Find & Stack the Categories, 535
Overhead & Profit, 542
Matching Materials, 544
Five Rules for Successful Structural Estimating, 548 - Estimating Books & Software, 553
A Word About Estimating Books & Programs, 554
National Renovation & Insurance Repair Estimator, 555
Xactimate, 561
The Need for Estimating Books & Programs, 568 - Dealing with Finances, Remodeling & Clients, 569
Managing Finances & Collections, 569
Doing Additional Remodeling Work, 573
Disclosure Laws, 590
The Emotional Side of Restoration Work, 590
A — Information Sources, 593
B — IICRC Course Descriptions, 597
C — Sample Mold Remediation Protocol, 603
Glossary, 607
Index, 625
Insurance Restoration Contracting: Startup to Success
Insurance restoration — the repair of buildings damaged by water, fire, smoke, storms, and other disasters - is an exciting and challenging field of construction. It also offers contractors lucrative work that's immune to economic downturns — pipes still break, buildings still burn, and trees are still blown over, regardless of the economy. And with the insurance companies funding the repairs, your payment is virtually guaranteed.
But not just anyone can repair fire and water-damaged buildings. You need the knowledge and the equipment to get the job done right, and that's what this book is all about. From understanding fire repairs and smoke odors to restorative drying methods, mold remediation, and handling contents, you'll not only learn how to provide top-notch property and content restoration services, but also how to become the person homeowners and insurance companies turn to first in an emergency — putting yourself first in line for all the best jobs.
In this practical manual you'll find all the information you need to enter into and thrive in this highly- specialized field of construction, including:
- Starting & Running Your Business
- Creating a business plan
- What training classes to take
- Setting up and staffing your company
- How to find work
- Understanding the insurance industry and insurance policies
- Effective advertising and marketing techniques
- Estimating strategies and unit costing
- Equipment needs — now and in the future
- Safeguarding yourself against liability
- How to handle a 24/7 operation
- The pros and cons of franchises
- The Restoration Work
- Water losses and restorative drying
- Structural fire and smoke damage restoration
- Structural cleaning and deodorization
- Thermal fogging, ultrasonics, and ozone
- Effective mold remediation
- Damage from storms, impacts, vandalism, and trauma
- Proper handling, restoring and storage of contents
- How remodeling and restoration go hand-in-hand
- Mobile, manufactured, and modular homes
This is the first complete manual designed to help vuu start and succeed with your own insurance restoration company. Written in easy-to-read language by an author with decades of restoration and writing experience, it's filled with real-world stories and practical tips.
About the Author:
Paul Bianchina has over 35 years of experience as a contractor, author, syndicated columnist, and community college instructor. He and his business partner built a thriving insurance restoration business from the
ground up, which included all aspects of structural and contents restoration. His goal in writing this book is to share decades of hard-won, practical knowledge with other contractors who are entering the insurance restoration field, and to help them succeed.