Who Pays for Water Mitigation? The Invoice and Your Policy
BYSteve Jafari, General ManagerNORTHERN VIRGINIA, MARYLAND & D.C.
Restoration Doctor invoices the property owner, and you are responsible for payment under your signed agreement, whether or not your insurer pays. Our agreement and your insurance policy are separate documents. We provide an itemized invoice, moisture readings, a drying record, an equipment log and photographs, and we share them with your insurer at your request. Coverage depends on your policy and your insurer's decision. Questions about coverage belong with your insurer, your agent, or a licensed public adjuster or attorney.
Call 1-888-29-FLOODWho pays for water mitigation, and who owes the difference?
Restoration Doctor invoices the property owner. You are responsible for payment under your signed agreement, whether or not your insurer pays. Our invoice reflects the work performed under that agreement.
Your insurance policy is a separate agreement between you and your insurer. Coverage depends on your policy and your insurer's decision. Questions about coverage belong with your insurer, your agent, or a licensed public adjuster or attorney.
Restoration Doctor is a water mitigation company. We are not a public adjuster or an attorney, and nothing here is legal or insurance advice.
Why are the contract and the policy two separate agreements?
The agreement you sign with Restoration Doctor records the work requested and the price of the work performed. Your policy records the terms between you and your insurer. Each is a separate document with its own parties.
For that reason the amount on our invoice and any amount your insurer decides to pay are not the same figure, and one does not change the other.
| Question | Agreement with Restoration Doctor | Policy with your insurer |
|---|---|---|
| Parties | You, the property owner, and Restoration Doctor | You and your insurer |
| What it records | The work requested and the price of the work performed | The terms between you and your insurer |
| Who sends an invoice | Restoration Doctor | Not applicable |
| Who decides what is paid | Not applicable | Your insurer, under your policy |
What does the Restoration Doctor invoice show?
The invoice is itemized, with each line priced for the work performed. Equipment is listed in unit-days, a unit-day being one machine running for one day. Each line ties back to our records for the job.
Which documents does Restoration Doctor provide?
For every mitigation job we produce the records below, and you receive them. We share these records with your insurer at your request. If your insurer asks us for our records, we provide them with your permission.
- An itemized invoice, priced line by line for the work performed
- Daily moisture readings for each affected area, with the temperature and humidity conditions they were taken in
- A drying record showing what was wet on arrival and what the readings were each day
- An equipment log showing what ran, where it ran and for how many unit-days, a unit-day being one machine running for one day
- Time-stamped photographs of the affected materials, the work performed and the equipment in place
Where do questions about the amount your insurer pays go?
Coverage depends on your policy and your insurer's decision. Questions about coverage belong with your insurer, your agent, or a licensed public adjuster or attorney.
Restoration Doctor does not represent you in your claim and does not decide, predict or negotiate what your insurer pays.
Virginia defines public adjusting in Va. Code § 38.2-1845.1 as "soliciting, investigating, negotiating, adjusting, or providing advice to a policyholder in relation to first party claims." Restoration Doctor does not do that work. We document what we found and what we did, and we invoice the property owner.
