# Restoration Education > Protect your largest investment: your property, your business. Independent, sourced education for policyholders with property damage and the restoration contractors who serve them: insurance policies, IICRC restoration standards, claim-handling law, disputes, and documented carrier conduct. Not legal advice. ## Key pages - [Know your rights](https://www.restorationeducation.com/know-your-rights): rights most policyholders have and duties after loss - [Red flags](https://www.restorationeducation.com/red-flags): warning signs a claim is being mishandled - [IICRC standards](https://www.restorationeducation.com/standards): S500 water, S520 mold, S700 fire and smoke - [Carrier Watch](https://www.restorationeducation.com/news): auto-updated news on property insurer lawsuits, fines, and investigations - [The carrier record](https://www.restorationeducation.com/carrier-record): sourced regulatory and court outcomes on property claims handling - [Resources](https://www.restorationeducation.com/resources): United Policyholders, Restoration Industry Association, IICRC, state regulators ## The claim process - [Document Your Insurance Claim Like Evidence](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/document-your-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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/mortgage-company-checks-and-direct-pay): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/recorded-statements-euo-proof-of-loss): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/first-72-hours-after-property-damage): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/you-choose-your-contractor): 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 - [ACV vs. Replacement Cost: How Depreciation and Holdback Work](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/acv-vs-replacement-cost-depreciation): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/how-to-read-your-homeowners-policy): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/understanding-your-estimate-xactimate-op-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 - [IICRC S500 Explained: What a Proper Water Damage Job Requires](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/iicrc-s500-water-damage-what-it-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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/iicrc-s520-mold-remediation-explained): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/iicrc-s700-fire-smoke-restoration): 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 - [Claim Denied or Lowballed? A Step-by-Step Plan for What to Do Next](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/denied-or-lowballed-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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/how-to-file-a-department-of-insurance-complaint): 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?](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/public-adjuster-vs-attorney-vs-appraiser): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/appraisal-clause-how-it-works): 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 - [California Fair Claims Settlement Regulations: Deadlines and Rights](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/california-fair-claims-settlement-regulations): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/disaster-and-wildfire-claim-rights-california): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/insurance-bad-faith-basics): 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](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/unfair-claims-practices-laws-explained): 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 - [Contractor Documentation That Gets Restoration Invoices Paid](https://www.restorationeducation.com/guides/contractor-documentation-that-gets-paid): For restoration contractors: work authorizations, photos, moisture logs, IICRC-based scope notes, supplements, and avoiding unlicensed public adjusting.