Guides
Learn the claim
before it’s your claim
Every guide cites its sources: statutes, regulations, published standards, and government guidance. Read them, check them, and use them.
The claim process
What to do, say, and keep from the first hour to the final check.
Document Your Insurance Claim Like Evidence
How to keep a claim diary, confirm calls in writing, photograph damage methodically, build an inventory, track ALE receipts, and request insurer reports.
Mortgage Company on Your Insurance Check: How Loss Drafts Work
Why your lender is named on claim checks, how loss draft departments release funds in stages, what to send them, and limits on assigning benefits.
Recorded Statements, EUOs, and Proof of Loss: Know the Difference
A recorded statement, an Examination Under Oath, and a sworn Proof of Loss are not the same thing. Learn what your policy requires and how to prepare for each.
The First 72 Hours After Property Damage: What to Do and Not Do
Safety, notice to your insurer, stopping further damage, and documenting everything before it moves. A plain checklist for the first three days of a claim.
You Choose Your Contractor: Preferred Vendors Explained
What insurer 'preferred vendor' programs are, who those contractors answer to, when a policy can limit your choice, and how to vet any contractor yourself.
Your policy
Read the contract you paid for, and know what it really promises.
ACV vs. Replacement Cost: How Depreciation and Holdback Work
Why your first insurance check is smaller than the estimate, how to recover withheld depreciation, repair deadlines, and the state-by-state fight over labor.
How to Read Your Homeowners Policy: A Section-by-Section Guide
Declarations, Coverages A through F, loss of use, ordinance or law, exclusions, and endorsements, plus how to get a complete copy of your policy after a loss.
Reading Your Insurance Estimate: Xactimate, O&P, and Matching
How Xactimate estimates and price lists work, how to compare estimates line by line, and when overhead and profit, matching, and code upgrades apply.
Restoration standards
What the IICRC standards say the job requires, in plain English.
IICRC S500 Explained: What a Proper Water Damage Job Requires
What the ANSI/IICRC S500 water damage standard is, how water categories and classes work, and how to use it when an adjuster disputes removal or drying days.
IICRC S520 Mold Remediation Explained for Property Owners
What the ANSI/IICRC S520 mold standard requires: Conditions 1-3, containment, source removal, clearance testing, and how mold limits in your policy apply.
IICRC S700 and Smoke Damage: What Fire Restoration Should Include
What the ANSI/IICRC S700 fire and smoke standard covers, why 'just paint over it' is disputed, cleaning versus replacing contents, and wildfire smoke claims.
Disputes & pushback
Denials, lowball offers, appraisal, complaints, and who can help.
Claim Denied or Lowballed? A Step-by-Step Plan for What to Do Next
Get the denial in writing, request your claim file, rebut with evidence, use appraisal, mediation, and DOI complaints, and protect your deadline to sue.
How to File a Department of Insurance Complaint That Gets Read
What a state insurance department can and cannot do on a claim, what to include in a complaint, and how to file in California and other states.
Public Adjuster vs. Attorney vs. Appraiser: Who Do You Need?
What public adjusters, policyholder attorneys, and appraisers do, how they are paid, examples of state fee and contract rules, and questions to ask first.
The Appraisal Clause: How It Works and When to Use It
How property insurance appraisal works, who picks the appraisers and umpire, what it can and cannot decide, what it costs, and California's § 2071 rules.
Insurance law
The claim-handling rules insurers must follow, and what bad faith means.
California Fair Claims Settlement Regulations: Deadlines and Rights
The key rules in 10 CCR § 2695 for California property claims: 15-day acknowledgment, 40-day decision, 30-day updates, written denials, and matching.
California Wildfire and Disaster Claim Rights: What the Law Requires
California rules after a declared emergency: time to rebuild, rebuilding elsewhere, living expenses, contents advances, appraisal, and nonrenewal limits.
Insurance Bad Faith Basics: What It Is and What It Is Not
What bad faith means: the implied covenant, first-party claims, key California cases, the genuine dispute rule, Florida's civil remedy notice, and evidence.
Unfair Claims Practices Laws: What Insurers Are Not Allowed to Do
How the NAIC model act and state unfair claims settlement laws work, what conduct they prohibit, and how policyholders use them in letters and complaints.
For contractors
Documentation and conduct that protect your customer and your invoice.