The order
Four numbers, and the order matters more than the speed.
One call stops the water, one call starts the drying, one call opens the claim, and one is a duty if you rent. They are not interchangeable, and doing them in the wrong order is where days get lost.
- 00Plumber, if something is still leakingA restoration crew does not fix pipes. If the water is stopped at the valve, this one can wait until morning.
- 01Restoration, to start dryingThe 24 to 48 hour window runs from when material got wet, not from when the claim is approved.
- 02Insurer, the same dayPolicies ask for prompt notice. Opening a claim does not commit you to making one; it records the date.
- 03Landlord or agent, in writing, if you rentThe timestamp is the part that protects you later. A phone call leaves no record.
Goes to an independent contractor. Nothing is booked until you say so. Calls may be recorded.
Why drying starts before the adjuster decides
Standard policies place a duty on the policyholder to prevent further damage while a claim is open. After a water escape that duty is met by drying, which is why crews start before anyone has approved anything and why emergency mitigation is invoiced separately from repair.
An insurer who later argues that damage grew because nothing was done is relying on that same clause. Waiting is the expensive option, not the cautious one.
Two trades, and people call only one
The plumber restores the water supply. The restoration crew dries the building. They are different firms with different equipment, and standard wording pays for the second while usually excluding the failed part the first replaced.
The common and costly mistake is calling the plumber, seeing a tidy room, and stopping there. Six weeks later there is a smell in the hallway and a stain that was not there before.
What not to sign in the first hour
Authorising emergency extraction is one thing. A full restoration and rebuild contract is another, and it does not have to be signed in the same hour. Federal rules give a three-day cancellation right on contracts signed at your home, and a waiver of it has to be written out by you, in your own handwriting.
A crew that will not start drying without that waiver is telling you what it is for.
Your order, by situation
The four calls sit in a different order depending on who you are.
- 01You own and live herePlumber if it is still running, then restoration, then insurer the same day.
Ask them: is your invoice for mitigation separate from any repair work? - 02You own and let it outRestoration and insurer are yours. Get the tenant account of the timeline in writing while it is accurate.
- 03You rentLandlord first and in writing, then your own insurer for your belongings. The building calls are not yours to make.
- 04The water came from another unitYour own insurer first. Recovery between insurers is their business and not a reason to delay drying.
Goes to an independent contractor. Nothing is booked until you say so. Calls may be recorded.
Where these figures come from
Published by someone other than us. Each link goes to their own words rather than to our summary of them.