Property & Casualty Insurance • Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 20,2070 • 15

Restoration firms help businesses, residents recover after fire, water damageBy Lori McGinnis Black

Dealing with damage caused by water andfire often is a job for professional restorationfirms.

Restoring property after fire or water dam-age is a process, said Kevin Bousema, presi-dent of ServiceMaster of Sarpy County.

According to Laura Ousley, owner ofMaxim Cleaning & Restoration, the mostimportant factor when damage occurs is safetyfor the occupants and their valuables.

Responding to damage quickly will helpmitigate it, said Mark Daly, chief operating

officer with Paul Davis Restoration.Working to restore a structure to normal

functions is an important task of .Ii restora-tion company, saidDeb Ash, commercialbusiness developmentdirector with ServProof Sarpy County.

The first step in re-pairing damage fromwater or fire, Bousemasaid, is contacting theinsurance company todetermine coverage.Many people assumethey have coverage Bousemafor damage when they do not, so it is impor-tant to periodically review coverage.

Once that is determined, ServiceMasterhas a process to restore damaged residentialand business properties to the way they werebefore the damage, Bousema said. The firststep for ServiceMaster is assessing the situa-tion and giving advice on how to remedy it.

In the case of water damage, the moisture

must be extracted from the carpet, floors orwalls and then removed from the air via de-humidifiers, he said.

Potential contractors should be thoroughlyquestioned and hard copies of certificationsand licenses should be obtained. Contractorsare available for every problem, and businessqualifications, reputation and practices shouldalways be checked, she said.

Each insurance policy is unique andshould be reviewed annually with the agent.

"One thing we see a great deal is sewerbackup and malfunctioning sump pumps,"Ousley said. "Most people think they auto-matically have coverage."

When damage occurs, responding to itquickly will help prevent further or secondarydamage, Daly said.

Every property owner should know where.their shut-off valves are for all water sources,he said. Property owners should look foroverloaded circuits that could create a poten-tial fire hazard in commercial and residentialproperties.

According to Daly, check storage areasand make sure items are off the floor or inplastic bins. Valuables should be photo-

Continued on page 24.

Ousley Daly"Typically, we can dry out a place in two

days or less," he said.When damage occurs, occupants of any

building must first make sure they and theirvaluables are safe, according to Ousley. Theyshould not, however, wait for catastrophes tooccur. Occupants need to continually assesstheir homes or businesses for potential prob-lems that could result in damage.

Continued from page 15.graphed and documented and kept in a safeplace, he said.

Daly recommends surveying propertyregularly to look for potential problems sothat issues can be addressed as needed. Roofsshould be inspected and repaired to preventleakage.

"Talk to your insurance agent to com-pletely understand your policy and coverage,"Daly said. "If you are engaged and involvedwith your insurance agent and coverage, therewill be no surprises if you have a claim."

ServPro responds to water, fire, biohazardand vandalism incidences with the goal of

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limiting further damage and costs, accordingto Ash.

Services offered include fire, smokeand soot restoration; odor identification anddeodorization; water removal and dehumidi- /fication; mold mitigation and remediation;cleaning of air ducts, carpets, drapes, blindsand upholstery; and document drying andcontents claim inventory services.

"We believe in pre-testing to help deter-mine which area of a structure was affected tonot only determine the best cleaning method,but also to minimize costs and to resumenormal business functions as quickly as pos-sible," Ash said.