Frequently Asked Questions
- When should I call SystemCare?
- Who are SystemCare, my Insurance Company, my broker and my adjuster?
- SystemCare is on their way, what happens now?
- What if SystemCare is not a preferred vendor for my Insurer?
- Will my repairs be guaranteed?
- What do I pay for?
- Why does SystemCare collect my deductible?
- When do I pay my deductible?
- What happens to my contents?
- How can I help with packing out my contents?
- Do I have to be here while the work is being done?
- How long will the job take?
- What will I do if I don’t think the work is progressing quickly enough?
- Can I have extra work done?
- What does the phrase “like, kind and quality” have to do with my repair?
- Who do I call if I have concerns about the insurance coverage?
- I have had a flood in my basement, should I clean it up myself?
- I have had a fire in my house, should I clean it up myself?
- I have seen mould in my house, should I clean it up myself?
- My neighbour lost some shingles in a wind storm and had half of his roof repaired, why did I only get some shingles replaced?
- If my claim is denied, can SystemCare still do the work?
When should I call a SystemCare location?
At the first sign of damages caused by wind, water, fire, smoke, mould, or vehicle impact. It is your responsibility to act quickly and take preventative measures to reduce the size of your loss and/or eliminate secondary damages.
Who are SystemCare, my Insurance Company, my insurance Broker and my insurance Adjuster?
SystemCare Cleaning & Restoration locations are independent restoration companies unrelated to your insurance company,insurance adjuster and insurance brokerage. In most cases, we have been referred to you by your insurer/adjuster/broker to perform emergency services and/or repairs on your property because they have reviewed our capabilities, credentials, training certifications and have confirmed that we have the necessary staff, equipment, training and resources to do the job right. We are experts in the fields of emergency mitigation, inspection and restoration.
Your insurance company is the company with which you have a policy. The policy may have been sold by representatives from the company or you may have purchased it through an insurance broker. In exchange for payments from you (called premiums), the insurer agrees to restore your premises upon the occurrence of a specific event.
An insurance broker is an agent who sells insurance policies on behalf of insurance companies in exchange for a commission.
Your insurance adjuster is the person who is assigned your claim. He/she will investigate your claim by interviewing you and inspecting your property damage to determine the extent of your insurance company’s liability. Insurance adjusters may be employees of your insurance company or they may be independent adjusters working with another firm but contracted by your insurance company to investigate your claim.
I’ve called in my claim and the telephone representative has advised that SystemCare is on their way, what happens now?
Here is how the process typically works:
SystemCare arrives to begin emergency mitigation. The Project Manager will assess the loss and discuss the paperwork (Work Authorization) while his/her crew take immediate action to prevent further damage.
Your insurance adjuster arrives (before, during or after the arrival of SystemCare) to assess the damages and discuss your claim, deductible and so on with you.
Your project manager and often your insurance adjuster, will inspect the loss and agree upon the amount of work that will need to be done to bring your property back to its pre-loss condition. This produces what we call the 'scope of work'.
The scope of work is then turned into an estimated cost of the repairs (what we call the estimate) and is sent to your adjuster for review and approval. Sometimes, if the cost of the repairs is close to certain limits, your adjuster may require a competitive estimate.
Once the estimate is approved, you and your SystemCare Project manager will discuss scheduling the repairs. During that time, you may be asked to choose paint colours or flooring or some personal element from the scope of work. It that’s the case, it is up to you to complete your tasks else the rest of the repair schedule will be delayed. While the repairs are commencing, your SystemCare project manager will be updating your insurance adjuster on their progress.
Once the repairs from the scope of work are completed and you are satisfied with them, you will be asked to sign a Work Completion and warranty form. This form provides you a warranty on your repairs. This form will be sent to your insurance company along with our invoice for payment.
At any time during your claim, if there are issues with your coverage or the details of your repair, please talk to your adjuster. If however, there are issues with our service, professionalism or workmanship, please talk to us.
I’ve called in my claim and the telephone representative has advised that SystemCare is NOT a preferred vendor for my insurance company yet I want them to do the work. Is this going to be a problem?
As an insurance customer, you have the right to choose who will do your repairs provided the vendor you choose has the proper qualifications. Most insurers require that Restoration contractors be IICRC/RIA certified; be in good standing with the Worker's Compensation Board, and carry at least 2 million dollars in commercial liability insurance. SystemCare Cleaning & Restoration have all of these qualifications.
If I use SystemCare as my Restoration contractor, will my repairs be guaranteed?
Yes. SystemCare Cleaning & Restoration guarantees all repairs for two years as stated in our Work Completion and Warranty form that you will sign when the job is completed. If you have any issues with those repairs within the two years after that time, please call us.
If my policy covers the cost of the repairs, will I have to pay anything?
Generally, the only payment you have to make (unless otherwise discussed between you and your insurance representative) is the deductible amount outlined in your insurance policy. This payment is collected by us and is then deducted from our invoice to your insurer for the repairs we do.
Why do we pay SystemCare our deductible?
Most insurance companies in Canada have their vendors or in this case, restoration contractors, collect deductibles as partial payment for the services they have rendered.
When do I pay the deductible?
Some restoration contractors collect the deductible amount prior to any re-construction work. At SystemCare, it is our policy for you to pay your deductible when you receive our invoice for it.
You have had contents affected by your loss. What happens to these?
If you have had your belongings removed from your home; they are brought to a SystemCare location for processing. This involves determining which items we can restore and clean and which ones we cannot. Those we can restore will be cleaned, repacked and stored. Those we cannot restore will be listed in a detailed report for you and your insurance adjuster. When all of the contents are processed, we will arrange a time for you and your adjuster to visit our location and view the contents. At that time, if you have any issues with our evaluation of your contents please discuss them with your insurance adjuster.
Is there anything I can do to help if my contents need to be packed out and removed?
Yes. Most of us are guilty of holding onto items that we no longer use or are in states of disrepair. The processing of these will use up your valuable content limit. If you are able to discard items that you had planned to dispose of anyway, then use this opportunity to rid yourself of them. Items that we will not pack out are the following:
Out of date Consumer catalogues and product brochures
Old paint, gasoline, kerosene, propane, and other flammable items
Firearms
Do I have to be here while the work is being done?
SystemCare staff is bonded so there is no need to worry about your home while they work in it. It is your choice to stay while the work is being done, however, it isn’t necessary. In some cases, depending on the job type, you may be required to leave the premises if your health and/or safety are in jeopardy.
How long will the job take?
That depends on the approval of our estimate, the extent of the damages, the current weather (for outside work), the availability of materials and how quickly you are able to choose your paint/flooring or other items needed for the scope of work.
Once your estimate is approved, your project manager will give you a schedule of how long your job will take when he/she reviews the scope of work with you.What will I do if I don’t think the work is progressing quickly enough?
Restoration work can be a timely process pending the extent of damages to your property. It can also be hindered by other factors:
Weather. For example, in winter, it is more difficult to replace a roof.
The number of losses in an area. During a Catastrophe, for example, we will handle the emergency claims first. These are claims that we determine will put a homeowner’s health and safety in jeopardy and/or lead to more extensive and expensive secondary damages if not handled immediately. A roof leak, for example will be deemed more detrimental to a homeowner than a damaged fence. This doesn’t mean we don’t think your fence is important, it simply means that during this time of unusual operations, we believe your fence can wait a few hours or days)
The availability of materials. Specialized lumber and materials that need to be ordered in will affect the timelines of a restoration project.
Generally, your project manager will advise you if there are going to be delays in the schedule.
Can I have extra work done?
The best time to consider renovating is while there is already work being done on your home. If you request extra work to be done, outside of your insurance policy repairs, discuss this with your project manager and you will receive a quote. Another contract will be written for this portion of the work and a down payment will be required.
As a courtesy to your insurer, we will advise your adjuster that we have entered another contract with you for other work so that there is no confusion.
What does the phrase “like, kind and quality” have to do with my repair?
“Like, kind and quality” is related to the pre-loss condition of your home. Your property insurance is designed to protect what you currently have in your home and ensure that your home is returned to its pre-loss condition. In order to determine the value of what you have we will produce an accurate and detailed scope of work and then an estimate of the cost of the repairs. Most items’ values are easily identifiable with the exception of flooring. In order to determine its value, we are required to take a sample and have a third party company assess its worth. This helps us develop the flooring budget and ensures you that your floors are covered with materials that are of the same “like, kind and quality” as before your loss.
Who do I call if I have concerns about the insurance coverage?
This is between you and your broker and/or your adjuster.
I have had a flood in my basement, should I clean it up myself?
Cleaning a flooded basement requires more than just removing water with a shop vacuum. In order to prevent the growth of mould, water damage remediation includes water extraction, plus dehumidification, and moisture readings to ensure that everything is dry (even the areas invisible to the naked eye). It is in the best interest of you, your family and your home to call in a professional trained IICRC/RIA company when faced with this kind of disaster.
I have had a fire in my house, should I clean it up myself?
Cleaning up after a fire requires specialized equipment, training and products in order to completely eliminate the soot, smoke and odours. It is in the best interest of you, your family and your home to call in a professionally trained IICRC/RIA company faced with this kind of disaster.
I have seen mould in my house, should I clean it up myself?
If you discover mould in your home, it is in the best interest of you, your family and your home to call one of our SystemCare Environmental companies and have an IICRC qualified Environmental Technician assess the damages.
My neighbour lost some shingles in a wind storm and had half of his roof repaired, why did I only get some shingles replaced?
It is likely that your neighbour was insured with a different company than you and was therefore entitled to half a roof instead of a few shingles. Please talk to your insurance agent/ broker about the policies that are available on the market to ensure you understand your policy.
If my claim is denied, can SystemCare still do the work?
Yes. Sometimes your policy may not cover your damages. This could be for a number of reasons. If your policy does not cover your damages and you require our services, ask your Project Manager to provide you with an estimate of the cost of your repairs. Should you opt to have us do the work, a contract will be signed and the repairs will commence.