Freddie Gray, Lead Poisoning as a Child Lead to a Life of Chaos, Violence and an Early Death

Freddie Gray, the young man who died in police custody in Baltimore, had serious issues with lead poisoning. As a child, he lived in an apartment where paint was peeling from nearly every wall and window sill. There were always piles of paint chips on the floor that his mother continually tried to sweep up.

In 2008, the family won a judgement against the owner of the apartment building he grew up in because of the unprecedented exposure to lead. Freddie and his family were living off of the judgement at the time of his death.

How do we know that Freddie suffered from lead poisoning? It is all documented in the lawsuit.

Freddie has his blood checked for lead 3 times before he was 2 years old. At 22 months of age, his blood lead level (BLL) was at 37 micrograms. That level is more than 7 times the amount recommended by the CDC for children and nearly 4 times the amount recommended for an adult. 

Since it is documented that lead poisoning in children contributes to or causes; learning disabilities, anger management issues, physical complications and social problems, it is no wonder that Freddie Gray had been arrested over a dozen times and spent 2 years in prison by age 25.

The body treats lead, like calcium, depositing it in the same places the body uses calcium; primarily the nervous system and the bone structure. It is possible that the acute lead poisoning left his bones compromised and made him primed for a broken neck from the scuffle with the police, something that would likely not have occurred in someone without lead poisoning.

Lead poisoning is by no means justification for Freddie Gray's negative behavior, but it is a warning shot across the bow of society of the social and emotional cost of lead poisoning in our young people. Ever more reason to have children checked, homes renovated and lead out of our bodies.

How Do You Keep The Cash Flow Going?

This was the question I posted on the RIA forum on LinkedIn. This particular forum is populated with contractors that are working in the restoration industry. They are all primarily owners of restoration companies, sub-contractors and suppliers.

There were many great insights and suggestions to remain solvent, especially during the heavy crunch times. Here is the list of tips I distilled from the discussion.

1. Always have a line of credit available. If you can't get a line of credit, have 10% of your annual gross income as cash in the bank. If you can't do that, life may be hard at times.

2. Acquire the line of credit in advance of emergency needs. Once the heavy freezes happen or the tornado strikes, you don't have time to get a line of credit. It may also take a month or more to gather all the documentation, gain the approvals and set up a line of credit.

3. Make the conscious choice, in advance, to not extend credit to clients. It's like loaning money to family, don't do it unless you expect to not be paid back. There are many good people that will commit to a schedule and pay you back in full. The problem you face is, usually you are not set up to offer credit, charge interest, and follow up on collections. Also, once the emergency is past, the insurance adjuster and the owner lose their urgency to act now and make you happy.

4. Bill mitigation costs separately and invoice immediately. Progressive billing is the easiest way to avoid long payment wait times. Lien holders and mortgage companies do not have claim on any mitigation costs so they are left off the check. This enables you to get paid much faster with less effort on your part.

5. Once the building is stable, take the time to: 
        A. Complete repair estimates. Now that the building is stable, you can more clearly see what should be done and write an accurate estimate. Always include a comment to allow for supplementals that may not be included in your estimate. 

        B. Agree on a price with the payee. With an accurate estimate in hand, you can arrive at an agreed upon price with the adjuster or owner. Without a concrete price, everyone is uneasy with the situation. In some States, it is actually illegal to sign a contract without a price and a completion date included.

        C. Sign a contract. Until you sign a contract, you are dependent on the integrity of the owner for payment. Even if the insurance company pays the owner, you may not get paid if there is not a signed contract in place with the owner.

        D. Collect mitigation fees. You should always insist on the mitigation payment before any work begins on the repairs. Again, once the work is done, urgency and oral commitments seem to dissipate in the wind.

        E. Collect a deposit for the repairs before starting the restoration. Just as with payment for mitigation work, you should also get a deposit before you start the repairs. There are smaller jobs where this seems impractical, but 10 - $5,000 jobs quickly equal $50,000 in receivables that you may not be equipment to float.

6. Partner with companies that insure receivables and guarantee payments. There are some companies that will buy your receivables. Once the work is done, they collect the amounts owed. These companies are actually credit companies and have the machinery in place to collect money, something the typical restoration contractor doesn't have.

7. Offer instant credit card services for owners to pay deductible or emergency services on the spot. There some credit card companies that will do on-the-spot approvals. Many retail outlets use them for Lasik surgery, cosmetic surgery, expensive sewing machine and other equipment sales, etc. It is literally a phone call and 5 questions, then approval is issued on the spot. The credit limits range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. Synchrony is one institution that offers these types of cards.

8. Possibly consider "program work" as shorter, guaranteed payment schedules often offset the lower prices paid and keep the cash flow going. Many start-up restoration companies can benefit from "program work" offered by large insurance companies. There are trade offs, but generally you have guaranteed payments on a shorter schedule. These programs are rife with regulations, monitoring and paperwork, but can help keep you solvent.

9. Lower your overhead costs by purchasing the equipment that you use everyday and renting all other specialty or seldom used equipment and labor. Generally you can rent equipment 10 times for the cost to purchase it. If it is not in the field every week or two, sell it and rent. This lowers your storage costs, equipment purchase costs and maintenance costs. You can set up accounts with your local rental facilities like Sunbelt or Interlink. Many times these rental places will also maintain and service the equipment on site, which also lowers your labor costs.

10. Sub-contract work to pre-screened, pre-trained contractors. Using the same principle as in #9, keep only the staff you will use on a daily basis and sub out the other work. You should screen and train these subs so that they will do the same quality of work as an in-house crew. When the lean times come, you don't have to lay them off, they will just work for someone else until your work picks back up again. If you take good care of them, they will always want to come back and they will put your jobs ahead of others.

11. Maintain a constant presence with the payee regarding invoices due. Call regularly and/or email often. Be just persistent enough to not quite be irritating. This will keep your invoice constantly moving up to the top of their piles. 

12. Provide incentives to pay quickly; discounts, interest, start of work, etc. It is easier to give a discount of 5% if the bill is paid within 10 days than spend weeks or months on the phone trying to collect. For many, 5% may seem like a lot, but look at the numbers. 

On a $50,000 job, 5% is $2500. If you spent 3 hrs/week for 16 weeks (4 months) trying to collect, you spent 48 hours. If your time is worth $50/hr, then you have lost another $2400, 48 hours x $50 = $2400. But, if the $47,500 came in without you have to spend any extra time collecting, you could use that 48 hours to generate additional work, and realize thousands of dollars in extra income, far more than you sacrificed. 

13. Never return contents or property to the owner without payment first. Once you have relinquished control of the property, you have lost all leverage you possessed. Let it be known from the onset, that nothing will be returned until it is paid for in full. All moving and storage companies will not release the property until it is paid in full. You may also need a clause that states, "Any property not paid and claimed within 30 days will be sold." The storage unit companies do it all the time.

Now, go to and make your business grow.

Photos courtesy of:
http://englishwithatwist.com/2013/05/24/money-is-liquid-10-metaphors-about-money/
https://www.synchronybusiness.com/markets/home-improvement-financing.html

Re-ordering the Line Items in an Xactimate® Macro

Currently Xactimate® has no mechanics to re-order the line items in a macro, but there is a work-around that will enable you to quickly place the items in the order you wish them to appear.

The ideal way to order your macro is to enter all the items in the order you wish them to appear. Problems arise when you:

     1. Add one or more new items - the new item(s) are placed at the bottom of the list.

     2. Modify an existing item - the modified item(s) are moved to the bottom of the list.

     3. Import a macro - the macro is often inverted with the first item being last and the last item is first.

Since there is currently no way to drag and drop the line items, nor is there an arrow to moved items up or down, we need to use the existing protocol to change the order.

How to re-order a macro:

 Use the following steps to move items where you want them to be.

     1. Input your line items, they can be in any order or

     2. Make any modifications or edits to any items in the macro.

     3. Select the item you want to be in #1 position.

     4. Select Edit.

     5. Select Add Item.

     6. This will move this item to the bottom of the list.

     7. Select the item you want to be in #2 position.

     8. Select Edit.

     9. Select Add Item.

     10. This will move the item to the bottom of the list.

     11. Continue this procedure until you have gone through all the line items.

     12.They will now be in the order you wish them to appear when imported into 
           your estimate.

     13. A macro with 10 line items should take about 20 - 30 seconds to re-order.

Thanks for Reading

Disaster Survival Tips has been around for 6 years. This month we topped 7000 page views from all over the world. While this is nothing like The Drudge Report that has over 700 million hits per month, I hope I have been able to help some people with the problems they face with their homes and offices.

Thanks again for reading.

dlm

What To Do With Wet Electronics

Alan growled as he started down the basement stairs and found the light switch didn't work. There was no way to replace it without fishing through the semi-darkness below and finding a new bulb. As he stepped off the bottom step onto the floor, an icy cold sensation entrapped his foot sending chills up his spine. Then the other foot landed with a splash and the shock of the cold water grabbing him above the ankles made him shiver. "Courtney," he screamed to his wife, "bring me a flashlight! And hurry."

In the eerie glow of the flashlight, standing safely on the bottom step, Alan and Courtney surveyed the damage to the family room. A large piece of drywall had fallen from the ceiling above the computer desk. Water sprayed from a broken pipe and cascaded down the monitor, printer, and computer into 6 inches of water on the floor. What a mess.

After the water was turn off and drained from the floor, Alan approached the computer. All of his records from his home-based business, decades of family photos, and years of genealogical research were stored in that plastic case. Without that information, continuing his work and family would be a nightmare. He had to know if it still worked.

He turned on the monitor and pushed the button on the computer. Nothing happened. No lights, no sound, . . . no hope.

So, what do you do when your electronics get wet?

First, we must define electronics as any item that has an electrical cord or a battery. The list is daunting, but it includes:

Stereos, cell phones, and sensors;
Tablets, TV's, and toasters;
Coffee makers, clocks, and computers.

First step:  Do not turn it on or plug it in.
Unfortunately, our immediate response is to see if our phone still works. We plug it in or turn it on and thereby cause most of the damage. Older electrical appliances like a toaster, lamp or vacuum can have power applied to them with minimal damage, although they often will not work while wet. But items with circuit boards, which includes any "smart" appliance, most adjustable gadgets and all equipment with a display screen, can be permanently damaged if they are turned on while still wet.

Here is the reason why.

Electricity is used to power electronics. Electricity travels very quickly through conductive materials like copper, aluminum or water. When there is enough water in a device to span one or more wires or conductors carrying power, the electricity jumps between them, causing a short and often burning up a component. In older items that have larger insulated wires, the terminals are far enough apart that they need to be submerged in water to cause a short. Since they have no small transistors, resistors or capacitors to burn out, they often just blow the breaker in the electrical panel of the home.

Circuit boards, on the other hand, are specifically designed to have many conductors in a very small space. They are packed with transistors, resistors and capacitors that control and define the flow of electricity. Chips and processors for computers, phones and watches can have hundreds of feet of uninsulated wire in an area smaller than your fingernail. A single drop of water can span dozens of wires and cause enough electrical shorts to completely destroy the unit.

Second step: Dry it out completely.
Professional electronics recovery laboratories have dedicated drying rooms that heat the temperature up as high as 140 degrees F. Dehumidifiers and exhaust fans pull any moisture from the air creating an environment dryer than the Mojave Desert. Electronic devices are dis-assembled, batteries removed and left in the drying chamber until completely dry, usually as little as 24 - 48 hours. Most computers, laptops, and printers, etc., have small batteries on the mother board in addition to the operating battery and/or power supply. These need to come out too as they can cause corrosion to their contacts through electrolysis.

Sometimes in the case of fires or mud, parts are first washed and rinsed with de-ionized water, then dried thoroughly in the chamber.

Some sources on the internet suggest placing wet electronics in a bowl of uncooked rice. This works because the desiccant properties of dry rice suck the moisture out of the phone. It works better if you remove the cover and battery, then bury all the parts in the rice.

Hair dryers could work if you didn't get the item too hot thereby damaging additional components and you could hold it there for 24-48 hours. Most hair dryers will over-heat and turn off in about 15 minutes, but if they didn't, the rest of us have other things to do today and tomorrow.

I have cell phones, digital thermometers, and watches that I have dried completely at home. Open them up, remove the battery and set them over a heat register in the winter or on a window sill on the south side of your house where the sun shines in most of the day. The display screen on my digital cooking thermometer was half full of water after it fell into the sink, but 24 hours on the window sill, it was dry and worked perfectly.

Third step: Re-assemble and see if it works.
Most of the time, electronic gadgets, dried properly, will work just fine, especially if they were turned off when they became wet. If not, then you will feel justified to pay for a replacement.

I once did a fire where the family had boat-loads of special collectables worth tens of thousands of dollars. With three-quarters of the house completely destroyed, it was impossible to reconstruct even part of the list of damaged items. Then the mother remembered that she had gone through the house with her son's digital camera a week before the fire and photographed all her collections.

We found the camera in the basement bedroom submerged in 6 inches of dirty, sooty water. We took the SD card out, cleaned in off, dried it and recovered all the photos. We could have saved the camera too, but the expense would have been greater than cost of a new camera.

So, to review.

What do you do when your electronics get wet?

First step:  Do not turn it on or plug it in, make sure it is off.
Second step: Open it up, remove any batteries, and dry it out completely.
Third step: Re-assemble the appliance and see if it works. 

How Restoration Companies Document Jobs Without Really Trying

"David, Please look this case over and tell me what you think." The attorney handed me a folder, 1.5 inches thick, filled with Complaints, Disclosures, Responses to Interrogatories, Responses to Responses to Interrogatories, etc. 

I quickly scanned through the pages. It was a simple water loss that had gone south and the owner was suing because they thought the restoration company was responsible for the mold that was now in their house.

I found the estimate from the restoration company. It listed 48 fans days and 8 dehumidifier days. Did that mean there were 2 dehumidifiers for 4 days with 12 fans or since the owners claimed the fans seemed to run forever, was there only 1 dehumidifier for 8 days with 6 fans? Or did they start with 15 fans and remove some as areas dried? 

There was no mention on the cover page of when they were called out, what the source of the water was, or any other information relating to the loss. There were no drying logs or follow-up notes of any moisture testing.

The owner's claimed in the Complaint that they had the home tested for mold and there was a lot of mold, but they couldn't remember the name of the company and there was no mold report. The insurance company, owner, and restoration company all had different dates for the loss, which incidentally occurred over 3 years earlier. 

What a mess. I not sure I could  figure out what really happened, even with a divining rod!

Documentation typically is a nightmare for everyone. There are so many phone calls, abbreviated emails, texts, and face to face conversations and agreements that weeks or months later, the ice cream hits the fan as everyone tries to place blame for the problems. It really isn't that hard to leave a paper trail that will help unwind the tangled webs we do so often weave.

Following is a list of items or practices that Restoration Companies can use to help document jobs more thoroughly. These ideas work as well as you work them.

Contract & Authorization to Work -This is one of the most important documents you can produce. Without a signed contract guaranteeing payment and authorizing you to work on the property, you are left to the good graces of the owner or a judge to receive payment. In order to be valid and enforceable, contracts must contain certain elements.

1. The names of all parties involved.
2. The date the contract was signed by each party.
3. A description of the work to be performed or services to be rendered.
4. The total cost of the work or services to be performed.
5. If the total cost can not be determined upfront, a schedule of hourly rates or unit costs for equipment, personnel and services is a must.
6. The dates by which the work or services are to begin and end.
7. The dates or conditions when payments are due.
8. Means to be employed if conditions are not met, i.e.; work stoppage, interest charges, withholding payment, legal action, etc.

Information sheets - Every company should have an information sheet, along with their owner contract, that is filled out the day of the first contact. This form will be referred to constantly as the job progresses. We always insisted that our techs could not start the job until all the forms were filled out completely. The information sheet should include:

1. Owner or representative's name.
2. Address of the loss.
3. Additional addresses of the owner or representative.
4. Phone Numbers, the home number as well as all cell phones.
5. Insurance carrier or liable party.
6. Technicians, estimators or coordinators working the job with contact numbers.
7. Source or cause of the loss.
8. Other notes, including; items discussed or promised

Work Orders - If there is a written work order form that is given to the techs before they go to the job, several good things happen.

1.  The techs have all the contact information, including the address of the property, phone numbers, time of appointment, etc.
2.  The techs know what work is required, where to do it and what equipment or supplies are needed so they come prepared.
3.  Any additional work that needs to be done can be added to the work order.
4.  The owner can sign the work order upon completion, accepting the work.

Satisfaction Completion Forms -This is a simple form that the owners sign after the final walk-through accepting the work and guaranteeing payment. If you have a pile of completed work orders and a final Satisfaction Completion Form, each signed by the owner, you are well on your way to receiving payment for the work as well as protecting yourself against any disagreements.

The owner should receive a copy of all of these documents for their own file as well.


Call the Office - Most estimators and coordinators are so busy running here and there, answering phone calls, and putting out fires that there doesn't seem to be any time to write down work orders or any other documentation.

We actually wrote software that stored all our projects online. We could access it through our smart phones or computers from anywhere and enter notes directly to the project. These were available for everyone associated with the project to see. (There are other products on the market now that do much of what our software did.) It worked very well, but even then, I found it difficult to enter all the notes needed.

The solution was to "Call Tanya". As I drove to the next job, I would call the office and dictate to Tanya the notes we needed to record. She was always in the office and next to the computer.

The jobs with the least amount of documentation usually end up with the greatest propensity for legal liability. 

Sticky Notes - For a long time I carried a small spiral notebook in my pocket to record thoughts, ideas, assignments, etc. But then I found I would have so many new notes in one day, that the things I was supposed to do were hidden 5-6 pages back in the notebook. I also found that notes for different jobs were only in my notebook, notes for several jobs were all on one page or they were never in the job folder where I needed them months later. Then I discovered sticky notes.

The 2"x2" size became the hard copy of my brain. I would keep several pads in my car, on my desk and in my notebook. One thought or phone number per page. Then they were posted in the location best suited to be completed or saved; the dash of my Jeep, on the wall by my desk or at home by the phone. They all went into the appropriate job folder and months later I still had the phone number, address, or summation of a phone call.

In spite of technology and the Internet offering us text messaging, emails and other forms of communication, I still find sticky notes often the fastest way to initially preserve a thought, which I can then transfer easily to another medium when I have time.

Notes in the Cloud - There are many note-taking apps that are available for all the different I-Phones, Android Phones, Blackberries, I-Pads, tablets, etc. Most of these include the feature of storing the information on the Internet Cloud and then automatically syncing with multiple devices.

Many apps also enable you to verbally dictate notes that are then converted into text on the spot. This allows you to take quick notes on site or in a meeting and then when you return to your computer, you can flesh out the document, save it and then share it through texting, email, fax or other media.

I often take the notes of the meeting on my phone and send them to the other party at the conclusion of the meeting so we both have exactly the same notes and written agreements. They can be organized and printed out later to preserve a hard copy.

Photos and Videos - I used to always carry a camera with me and took boatloads for photos of each job. Now nearly everyone has a phone with good to excellent cameras. Taking photos is no longer hard and often they can be shared, even while you are on the phone, enhancing the communication experience.

It is a skill to learn what to photograph. I used to go back through the shots I had taken and the item I was looking for was always just outside the frame. Lots of practice will teach you what will likely be needed later. The more photos you take, the greater chance you have of documenting what you need.

The best way to photograph is the way movies are filmed. 

     First take a wide shot of each wall,
     Then take closer details of each shelf, 
     Then close-up shots of items of greater value or interest,
     Possibly both front and back.

Videos are also great for documenting larger areas, such as the exterior of a building, large rooms or piles of content. It is important to pan slowly and remain for at least 5 seconds on each area or item or you will become motion sick playing it back or have to continually pause the video.

Whatever method or methods you use to document your files, the better you do it, the less your chances are of ending up in court. Most of these ideas are simple and easy once you decide to develop the habit.  

Remember, the jobs with the least amount of documentation usually end up with the greatest propensity for legal liability.

How Owners Can Document Losses Without Really Trying

The older couple looked more worried now than they did when the tornado ripped the roof off their home. I had just presented them with the invoice for repairing and replacing their roof, it was nearly $12,000.00. I laughed and said, "You only have to pay your $250 deductible, the insurance has already paid the rest."

The husband stammered, "We haven't seen any checks from the insurance company."

"Are you sure? The adjuster told me he sent the checks."

"No, we haven't received any checks."

I grabbed my phone and called the adjuster. "Are you sure you sent the checks?"

"Yes," he stated. "They went out over 3 weeks ago. They should have them."

I suggessted to the owners that we look through all the correspondence they had from the insurance. They found opened letters on the counter, some envelopes on the top of the fridge and some other papers on the desk. Half of the envelopes had not been opened. We started with the unopened envelopes. In the second and third ones, we found a check in each. 

I asked why they hadn't opened these checks? The owner said he had stopped reading them because they didn't make any sense and he was tired of being confused. 

While insurance losses can be confusing, Owners have a responsibility to maintain proper records for losses. It not only helps you understand what is going on, but can make a world of difference later if you end up with legal issues. You should ask for copies of all documents you sign from both the insurance company and any contractors. Having in your file what they have in their file, prevents documents from changing.

Keep All Documents in One Place - During an insurance loss, owners are inundated with paperwork. In fact, the adage is really true, "He who has the most paper work usually wins." There will be contracts from everyone, estimates from everyone, satisfactory completion documents, change orders, insurance policies, letters from the adjuster, invoices, etc., and that is if the job goes well.

Create a file, a large envelope or a box that "everything" related to the job goes in. Keep it in the same place. This way the papers will go in and they will still be there when you need them.If there are legal proceedings, the mountain of paperwork will continue to rise. If you don't have a way to organize and retain it all in one place, you will lose critical documents and may lose your case.

I knew one family involved in a lawsuit against a large construction company, who received 20,000 pages of documentation from the opposing attorney. All of it needed to be read to determine if it was accurate.

Prepare for the worst,
Expect the best, and
Take whatever comes.

If you just follow the first phrase and only prepare for the worst, bad things will happen to you all the time. The Law of Attraction is real and we usually receive exactly what we expect.

I had a judge/attorney with a water loss who spent the first 45 minutes I was there telling me about all the lawsuits he had over his home. I innocently asked him, "Should I expect to be sued as well?" He was flustered, but assured me that it wouldn't happen. He was a challenging customer, but since I thoroughly documented everything that happened, we stayed out of Court.


Sticky Notes - For a long time I carried a small spiral notebook in my pocket to record thoughts, ideas, assignments, etc. But then I found I would have so many new notes in one day, that the things I was supposed to do were hidden 5-6 pages back in the notebook. I also found that notes for different jobs were only in my notebook, notes for several jobs were all on one page or they were never in the job folder where I needed them months later. Then I discovered sticky notes.

The 2"x2" size became the hard copy of my brain. I would keep several pads in my car, on my desk and in my notebook. One thought or phone number per page. Then they were posted in the location best suited to be completed or saved; the dash of my Jeep, on the wall by my desk or at home by the phone. They all went into the appropriate job folder and months later I still had the phone number, address, or summation of a phone call.

In spite of technology and the Internet offering us text messaging, emails and other forms of communication, I still find sticky notes often the fastest way to initially preserve a thought, which I can then transfer easily to another medium when I have time.

Notes in the Cloud - There are many note-taking apps that are available for all the different I-Phones, Android Phones, Blackberries, I-Pads, tablets, etc. Most of these include the feature of storing the information on the Internet Cloud and then automatically syncing with multiple devices.

Many apps also enable you to verbally dictate notes that are then converted into text on the spot. This allows you to take quick notes on site or in a meeting and then when you return to your computer, you can flesh out the document, save it and then share it through texting, email, fax or other media.

I often take the notes of the meeting on my phone and send them to the other party at the conclusion so we both have exactly the same notes and written agreements. They can be organized and printed out later to preserve a hard copy.

Photos and Videos - There is no easier way for owners to document their contents, as well as the progress of a job, than with photos. In less than 2 minutes, you can take several pictures of a room and have concrete documentation of your possessions. In less than an hour, you can have a record of everything you own.

Taking photos is no longer hard nor expensive and often they can be shared, even while you are talking on the phone, enhancing the communication experience.

It is a skill to learn what to photograph. I used to go back through the shots I had taken and the item I was looking for was always just outside the frame. Lots of practice will teach you what will likely be needed later. The more photos you take, the greater chance you have of documenting what you need.

The best way to photograph is the way movies are filmed. 

     First take a wide shot of each wall,
     Then take closer details of each shelf, 
     Then close-up shots of items of greater value or interest,
     Possibly both front and back.

Videos are also great for documenting larger areas, such as the exterior of a building, large rooms or piles of content. It is important to pan slowly and remain for at least 5 seconds on each area or item or you will become motion sick playing it back or have to continually pause the video.

It is important to store an additional copy of your documentation at another location or on the Cloud. I had one client with several collections of rare and expensive items. Fortunately she saw a show on TV encouraging everyone to photograph their items. She grabbed her son's digital camera, went around the house and took about 600 pictures. Two weeks later, they had a fire that destroyed 90% of their home and all of her collections. We found the camera on the floor in her son's bedroom submerged in 6 inches of water. The SD card was undamaged and she was able to be compensated for all her years of hard work.

Whatever method or methods you use to document your loss, the better you do it, the less your chances are of ending up in court. Most of these ideas are simple and easy once you decide to develop the habit.  

Remember, he who has the most paper work usually wins.

It is Everyone's Job - It is important for each of us to take responsibility for our own documentation. The extra time spent properly documenting always saves you time and lots of money. Documenting responsibly and regularly is one of the paths to happiness and peace of mind.

Getting Paid in a Timely Manner

Matt slammed the phone down on the receiver, but not before he roared, "How do you expect me to run my business when you won't pay me for what I've done?" 

It had been 2 weeks since he had been able to talk with the adjuster, 3 months since the final invoices were submitted and 8 months since the flood. The adjuster would not talk with him, the owner was avoiding him and no one seemed to care that they owed him $24,000. 

His secretary poked her head in the door and apologized, "Charles is on line 2 wondering when you're going to pay him for the Martin job and Marla is on line 4 asking if we were going to make payroll this week?"

Getting paid in a timely manner from an adjuster is determined by a multitude of factors, but the greatest single action you can take is to create a positive relationship with every adjuster. I know we can't be BBF (best friends forever) with every adjuster, but there are a few simple steps we can take as estimators/contractors to create a positive professional relationship.
 
Write you estimates using simple, concise and consistent language. Start from the ceiling and work down or from the floor and work up; always keeping a chronological narrative to paint a picture for the adjuster of what happened. The best way to hide unearned line items is to mix-up the order of your presentation. Adjusters know this and are critical of any estimate that doesn't have a natural pattern.

Add an opening statement detailing the date of the loss, who called you out, when you arrived, etc. As I review claims that end up in court, most never have enough detail to tell me what happened. Add additional details with notes. Rather than just listing 15 fan days, expand a note to say, 5 fans x 3 days each. The more detail you give, the easier it is for the adjuster to understand what you are asking for.

Red dots show the height the water wicked up the drywall.

Willingly supply photos, drying logs, and documentation, etc. The adjuster was not there to see the drywall hanging from the ceiling or slosh through 6 inches of water. I always moisture check the room and mark the water levels with red dots, (yellow dots for paneling and darker painted walls), then I take my photos. This way the adjuster has a vivid image in their mind of what really happened. 

It also helps with audits from their supervisors, who may review the claim months after the loss is cleaned up, repaired and paid.

Keep your line items in the smallest units possible. Listing 7 fans each, placed in 10 different rooms, for 4 days each, seems much more reasonable than 280 fan days in your opening line item. Many busy adjusters scan the line item costs on the right side of the page and only read the descriptions of the ones that are unusually large. 

Keeping the line items small doesn't hide costs, because the detailed information is still available, but several smaller items makes your estimate look more defendable than a few very large items. It also gives the adjuster the information they need to justify the money they send you.

Break down the estimate into auditable unit costs. Adjusters love per/sf, per/sy and per/fixture because they can always go back and count the fixtures or re-measure the space. 

Avoid minimum charges, lump sum pricing and labor hours. This includes sub-contractor estimates. 

Most adjusters will happily pay the per/unit costs derived in a respectable estimating program rather than trusting the lump sum invoice of a sub-contractor, even if the total costs are more. The reason, they can defend them better in an audit.

Answer questions before they occur.  If there is a chance someone will ask a question, give them the answer right up front. Every question knocks your credibility down a notch. Keep your integrity intact by being upfront and honest. 

Willingly accept your mistakes and eagerly work for a solution, ESPECIALLY if it costs you money. Fixing mistakes quickly and quietly as soon as you discover them are a mark of a professional. Don't try to hide a blunder or blame someone else once it has become public knowledge. 

We are the estimator or the contractor. We are ultimately responsible for everything that everyone does on every job we have. Step up to the plate and be just as willing to accept the responsibility for a mistake as the credit for a win.

Finally, recognize that adjusters are people just trying their best, to do their job, support their family and in some cases, not get fired. 

• Help make their life easier by writing good estimates.
• Be considerate of their time and ask, "Is this a good time to talk?" 
• Take an interest in their interests and family as appropriate.  

They may have a family member fighting demons in their personal life or life threatening illnesses devouring a loved one. We seldom know. We must give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they are doing the best they can. Help them shine for their boss. 

We like those who make us feel good about ourselves.

Adjusters do too.

Mold Coverage and Insurance Policies

"Not covered, what do you mean?" Sarah whispered to her self, but wanted to scream.  Instead, she just stared at the adjuster like a deer in the headlights.  "I'm sorry," the adjuster murmured, "but your policy doesn't cover mold remediation."

Returning from three weeks of unimaginable fun in the Bahamas, Sarah and her husband Jack discovered that the washing machine water line had broken, spraying water all over the laundry room.  

There was mold growing on the laundry room walls as well as on the ceiling and walls in the bathroom below.  There must be thousands of dollars of work to be done and if isn't covered by their insurance, she had no idea how they would pay for it now.  

What is insurance for, if not for this?  Why isn't this covered?  

She felt cheated, . . . abandoned, . . . violated.

Mold coverage in insurance policies varies greatly from company to company and you must check with your insurance company to see what coverage you have purchased. 

What follows is a general synopsis of how I have seen different insurance companies in the United States deal with mold coverage.  As coverages change from policy to policy as well as from year to year, I will not identify specific companies and their policies, just general guidelines.  You must check your own policy to determine the coverages you actually have.

Example: Homeowner, Rental and Commercial policies, even issued by the same company, usually have differing coverages for damages, repairs and remediation.

General Mold Exclusion  
Every insurance policy has a General Mold Exclusion.  Wording for this exclusion usually follows this vein:

"Fungi", Wet or Dry Rot Or Bacteria meaning the presence, growth, proliferation, spread of any activity or "fungi", wet or dry rot, or bacteria is not covered under this policy.

There is a reason for this exclusion and its wording.  Insurance policies are designed to cover the costs of repairs to your property in the event of a sudden, unforeseen or accidental event.  Damage caused intentionally, by neglect, or abuse, is not covered under most insurance policies.  Insurance covers accidents, not maintenance.

To make this distinction, policies do not pay for any repairs, unless it is a direct result of a sudden or single, event or occurrence, which causes loss or damage.

Therefore, damage that results from failure to properly maintain your home or long term damage that could or should have been fixed, such as a slow leak, but wasn't, are not covered. This would also include fungal, mold or bacterial growth that was a result of the environment; especially in very warm, moist, humid climates, where mold and bacteria proliferate without a water leak occurring.

Example: Mold grows along the baseboards behind the bed or dresser, or in the corners of the room at the ceiling because of condensation resulting from high humidity levels, caused either by the climate or a bathroom shower. Neither clean-up nor repairs would be covered.

While this is a general policy, there may be situations where mold remediation might be covered.

Complete Exclusion
A few companies have a complete exclusion on any mold remediation, regardless of the source.  There are no instances where they will cover any mold remediation. Many policies with exclusions, will cover the costs of the covered repairs, such as drywall, paint and carpet; but they will not pay for any labor or equipment needed to clean or remediation the mold.

Some policies will also not cover the water loss itself, if mold has grown as a result.  Their reasoning - If your home had been properly maintained, the leak would have been discovered and corrected before mold had time to grow.

Example:  You take your family on vacation for 2 weeks.  A water line breaks as you drive down the street, flooding your home the entire time you are gone.  There is significant mold growth in the wet areas of the building.  With this type of coverage, neither the mold, nor the water loss damages would be covered.  You would have to pay for all of the repairs yourself.


Mold Riders
Many insurance companies, after announcing an exclusion on fungal, mold or bacterial remediation, will add back to the policy, a rider covering remediation and clean-up under limited conditions.  These conditions can include:

1. Mold growth that occurs as a result of a covered loss.
2. Existing mold growth that has to be removed/cleaned before damage from a covered loss can occur.

Example: With this policy, if you went on the same trip, as in the previous example, all the repairs, including the mold remediation, would be covered.

If your policy has the rider covering remediation from a covered loss, it still will not cover mold growth resulting from an uncovered loss, such as ground water or culinary water that enters through the foundation from the outside.

Limits of Coverage
Providing you have coverage for mold remediation resulting from a covered loss, the limits of this coverage vary greatly.  Your company could pay any one of the following:

1. From $1000 up to $100,000 toward the remediation of the mold only.  The repairs to the structure would be covered by the water loss portion of the policy up to the value of the policy.   The average cost allowance for the mold remediation by insurance companies is between $5,000 - $10,000 per occurrence.
2. From $1,000 up to $10,000 for the total cost of repairs.  This would include the cost of the mold remediation as well as all of the drywall, paint, carpeting, etc. 

Statistically the national average for the cost of a typical mold remediation, as well as my personal experience, is about $2,000 - $3,000 for the remediation and about the same or less for the repairs. Some jobs are more, some are less, but most people will never encounter a remediation situation of $50,000 - $100,000 where their entire home needs to be demolished. Most often, there is mold growing along the baseboard in a bedroom, or growing behind a kitchen cabinet or bathroom vanity.

It should be evident, that coverage for mold, fungal or bacterial remediation varies drastically from company to company.  It is imperative for home owners to carefully research what their policies cover and what risks they may still be exposed to.  Paying $5 less per month for a policy that does not have mold coverage is no bargain if you later have to pay $1500 to $5,000 for repairs that resulted in mold growth.  But then, maybe you always win at blackjack, too.

It is also important for agents to carefully read and discuss with company adjusters, what the policies they sell actually offer their customers.  There are few things worse that overselling your product to a customer and then watching the resulting anguish and heartache as they try to deal with the situation; while your credibility erodes and your client defects.

Mold coverage in insurance policies varies greatly from company to company and you must check with your insurance company to see what coverage you have purchased.

 

Mold - What is it and How Does It Affect Us?

Anna screamed and dropped the box of canned goods.  The basement bedroom they were using as storage always smelled a little musty, but the bottom of the box and the carpet underneath it, were covered in black mold and the room now reeked, making it hard for her to breath.  

How could this happen?  What did it mean?  Would they all get sick?  Would they have to move to protect her family?

Anna's head was spinning as terrible words boiled up from her subconscious.  She slammed the door and rushed up the stairs to call her husband.

"Black Mold,"
                                            "Toxic Mold,"
                                                                          "Killer Mold"

Mold is actually one of the basic components of our ecosystem.  Its purpose is to eat and digest the organic waste in our world, primarily cellulose, break it down into basic components, so this material can be re-cycled by nature, as humus in the soil.  If we did not have mold, we would find ourselves hopelessly overcome with grasses, dead leaves, branches and trees that would never decompose or go away.

There are over 100,000 different species of mold in the world.  Hundreds of them have the capacity to grow in our homes when conditions are right.  Stachybotrys is the common "black mold" that received unusually harsh treatment in the media.  Because its waste is a toxin, like several other molds, it was labeled "toxic mold".  In an effort to demonize it in law suits, attorneys began to refer to Stachy as "killer mold".  But, mold doesn't kill people and it does not have the same toxicity or danger as chemical weapons.

Molds are living organisms which require 3 basic components to grow.

     1.  Available mold spores
     2.  Water
     3.  And a food source

Food sources for mold are virtually any organic substance, although the varieties that grow indoors on buildings, tend to prefer cellulose products; such as wood, paper, cardboard, etc. If you take any one of these 3 components away, mold can not grow.

Mold also prefers warmer temperatures with little or no light or air movement. Although it can grow in virtually any temperature, even in the Antarctic; we generally find it most abundant in temperatures from 60 to 100 degrees F.  It often grows un-noticed in a home because it tends to be found behind beds, dressers, under boxes on the floor, inside walls, inside cabinets, etc.

Different areas of the country have a greater or lesser propensity for mold growth.  The east coast and deep south that normally have high humidity levels, can have prolific mold growth.  Ample moisture in the air easily condenses on building surfaces providing the needed source of water.  These areas also have more rampant growth in the wild that can easily be transferred into the buildings on air currents, increasing the availability of spores to germinate.  Mold grows exponentially, so the more spores you start with, the faster it multiplies.

Even the dry deserts and high mountain valleys of the western US, have everything needed for mold growth, except an abundance of water.  But if there is a small water leak in a building, mold will readily begin to grow.

There is a common misconception that if you kill the mold, it will no longer be a problem, as with bacteria.  This is not a reality.  Bacteria and viruses have soft cell walls that break apart and decompose very rapidly after they die.

Mold, on the other hand, has a hard cell wall, much like a nut, that does not break down nor decompose without water.  Also, when mold dies, it sporulates, that is, it spews out hundreds of thousand of spores (eggs) that await the opportunity to hatch and grow.  Introducing water will decompose the mold carcasses, but will also germinate the waiting spores, (eggs) and the mold colony will continue to grow and thrive.  Since dead mold provides the same level of irritation that live mold does, it must be removed from the environment to have the remediation successful.

We are all exposed to mold on a regular basis.  It could be an apple or an orange that has been in the fridge for 3 months.  You smell it in flower beds and compost piles.  Maybe there is a small amount of mold growing on your window sills or under the bathroom vanity.  Generally, exposure to mold, has little or no affect on healthy people.  It is only when it becomes concentrated in an enclosed space, as in a bathroom or bedroom, and levels are elevated, that it becomes a concern.

Exposure to mold is usually through inhalation.  When we breathe in the spores,  they irritate linings of our nose, throat and sinuses.  We experience much the same reaction as people with hay fever.  In an effort to extract the spores, our bodies produce symptoms such as; watering eyes, stuffy sinuses, runny noses, sore throats, dry hacking coughs or a general, all over feeling, that we might be getting sick.  The good news is; once we are removed from the source of irritation, the symptoms disappear within a few hours, or at most, a day or two.

Exposure to mold is determined by both quantity and duration.  A person who is exposed to a small amount regularly over a long period of time, may have more detrimental affects than someone exposed to a large amount for a short period.  The irritation that is inflicted on our bodies, generally results in fatigue and/or exhaustion of our immune systems; allowing us to become susceptible to other viruses and bacteria in our environment.

There are 4 groups of people that tend to have greater sensitivity to mold exposure.

1. Those who have upper-respiratory conditions, such as; asthma, hay-fever, chronic pneumonia or bronchitis.  This is because their respiratory system is already weakened from their conditions.
2. Those who have compromised immune systems, such as; chronic fatigue, fibro-myalgia, lupus, Epstein bar, etc.  The irritation from the mold continues to weaken their immune system along with their resistance to disease and illness.
3. The very young, as under age 3-4.  These children have less body mass and they breath air close to the floor where mold spores tend to congregate, giving them higher doses of exposure.
4. The elderly already have tired immune systems because of their age.

Discussions of the effect of mold on people have to take into account so many factors, that a simple blanket statement of how much exposure is safe is impossible.  This article sheds some light on what variables need to be considered in determining the negative effects of mold exposure.