Five Important Considerations When Documenting A Water Damage Restoration Job

Properly documenting a water damage restoration job is one of the most important parts of the job for cleaning and restoration companies. High-quality documentation will get you paid sooner, get paid more, and avoid long-term complications. However, proper documentation isn’t always as easy as it seems. From our insurance claim experts at One Claim Solution who regularly work with documentation and insurance adjusters, here are the five most important things that go into properly documenting a water damage restoration job. 

Be Thorough

While maintaining thorough documentation is one of the most important aspects of a water damage restoration job, it is not always as easy as it sounds. Only time and experience can teach someone how to effectively document water damage restoration jobs. One key aspect of this is learning what to be thorough about. Take copious notes on any specific part of the restoration job that was abnormal for some reason. As the owner/manager of a cleaning and restoration company, it’s important that you teach your employees the appropriate skills for doing this

Small Details Matter

The devil is in the details. This is never more true than when it comes to filing insurance claims. It’s always better to err on the side of providing more detail than necessary. By providing additional information and documentation in your insurance claim, you can help ensure that you receive the full coverage you are entitled to and avoid potential delays or complications in the process.

Take Notes Immediately So You Don’t Forget

A key skill for documenting a restoration job is taking care to write down observations immediately. Giving into the temptation of “I’ll just write this down later” has created countless problems for restoration companies and insurance adjusters later on down the road. It’s helpful to train your employees to always keep a notebook or tablet on hand where they can write down notes if they think of anything important.

Make Sure Your Employees Are Properly Trained On Documentation

One common error that managers of cleaning and restoration companies make is assuming that new employees know how to properly document a restoration job. It never hurts to go over the basics of documenting restoration jobs with your employees.

Proper Documentation Makes Everyone’s Lives Better

It all boils down to one simple point — properly documenting restoration jobs makes everyone’s lives better. This can include clearly identifying the scope of work, walking the customer through what will be done, explaining your work authorization, and providing before-and-after photos that demonstrate the progress and completion of the restoration work. These steps can all help minimize misunderstandings and ensure that the job is completed to the customer’s satisfaction.

As you can see, there are some major benefits for properly documenting water damage restoration jobs, and there are some useful tools that can help. And the work you put in upfront will save you a world of headaches down the line when filing a claim.