Ceiling Cave In

At Levco working with insurance companies has become a regular thing. Usually, things go well, but occasionally they go very sideways. We have used our vast experiences to share what we have learned. Here is how we handle insurance claims related to a Flood or Fire.

In most cases, the insurance company wants to work with everyone and get your home back together quickly. If they omitted something in their bid that is discovered after the fact, it is normally not a problem.

Owner Decided to Switch to Tile

The number one issue Levco has had is related to owners having unrealistic expectations of their insurance carrier. Owners believe the insurance agency is going to remodel more than was effected by the disaster! This is a constant battle.

• The idea is not to profit from a disaster. If you had hardwood before for instance, and want tile now,  you must sign a remodeling contract with a bid for the additional work. We do credit the difference, but has led to huge misunderstandings.

The second most frequent problem is that home owners have no idea what is excluded. They walk around as if no matter what happens that “You’re in good hands” or “You have an umbrella over you.” That is clearly not the case.

Thirdly, you will always need to pay your deductible out of pocket. The contractor won’t ” work it into the bid”.

Finally, you do not need to get 3 bids. If you select Levco, we will rebuild for the amount the insurance company allows.

Issues we have had include, but are not limited to.

1. Occasionally adjusters disallow repainting an entire room. They will only do a ceiling or one wall of a room.
2. Mitigation contractors (the disaster service of choice) butchering up the place, way more than is necessary.
3. The mitigation contractors pushing to be the company that rebuilds the home. You are not obligated. You may use your choice.
4. You may do your own work, however you are reimbursed at a substantially lower rate.

Flood

Frozen Split Pipe

Water problems. You are only covered by that which is caused by a domestic source. That means that you have to have something malfunction first, like a burst washing machine hose, or a toilet malfunction. If shingles blow off then you have a leak, OK, but not a worn out roof.

Exclusions include:

1. The malfunction that caused the flood. (You always need to pay for that)
2. External sources are not covered. (Unless you have federal flood insurance).
3. Having a rider that allows for code upgrades. Without it, things like hardwired smoke detector and upgrades to your electrical system, that are required will come from your pocket.
4. If the city system backs up into your home’s basement toilet, you need to get the city’s insurance carrier to take care of the bills. (This is not as easy as you might think)
5. If you are a renter, you are out of luck if you don’t have renter’s insurance. If your stuff is ruined in a fire, tough luck.
6. Although there is an exclusion for doing LSPW (lead safe work practices) in an emergency (during tear out and drying), a contractor must do LSWP in pre 1978 homes during the rebuild phase.

Fire

Garage Fire

Fire and Smoke. In one case, a neighbor had a fire in a rundown home and the insurance company replaced all sorts of things.  In Boise, like most metropolitan areas, a total loss is rare, so do not expect your burnt home to get replaced.

Issues we have had include but are not limited to.

1. Mitigation contractors (the disaster service of choice) go crazy cleaning everything you own and in one case, running up a $12,000 dry cleaning bill.
2. Delaying the cleanup to hold the home owner hostage until they get the rebuild contract too.
3. When rebuilding, we are held to new codes. Frequently there are huge headaches with getting structures rebuilt in the same place or with like materials.
4. Detached structures are rarely covered for enough to replace them. Your contents are normally not the problem.
5. If you are a renter, you are out of luck if you don’t have renter’s insurance. If your stuff is ruined in a fire, tough luck.
6. Although there is an exclusion for doing LSPW (lead safe work practices) in an emergency (during tear out and drying), a contractor must do LSWP in pre 1978 homes during the rebuild phase

Mold:

Unheated Garage with ADU Above

Just a note, after speaking with my agent Brian Frechette of Farmers insurance in Boise. Mold has been excluded as a covered item for the past 10 years but there is some softening occurring. If there is mold as a result of a recent flood then the additional cost associated with removing it is possible that you are covered. The circumstances must be as a result of an acute loss. Again you need to check with your agent for specifics.

Levco has your back. We take care of  the rebuilding that comes after a disaster. We do it well, and we do it quickly. We understand the intricacies and we have the relationships with the adjusters in the area.

Insurance companies Levco has worked with so far:

Liberty Mutual Insurance

Farmers Insurance

Farm Bureau Insurance

Auto Owners Insurance

Formost Insurance

Oregon Mutual Insurance

Safeco Insurance

God forbid, if some disaster befalls your home, insist that Levco is your insurance related rebuilding contractor of choice.

Disclaimer: Some of these images came from the WEB. If they are yours, and you object to them being used, please claim them and I will gladly remove them at once.

Earth day

OK, say you live in a home built prior to 1978, and you are interested in remodeling. The first thing you must understand is that “the home is completely painted with lead based paint” according the the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) unless tested and proven otherwise. This was done on Earth Day 4,22,2010 . The RRP rule is a federal law that required contractors to Lead Safe Work Practices (LSWP) when Renovating, Repairing or painting pre-1978 homes throughout the country. The rationale for that date is because Lead Based Paint was outlawed ( reduced to a very small amount allowable) for residential applications on 12/31/1977. The EPA has been slow to educate and inform the public but all indications are that fines for non compliance will propel the rule into the public eye in the coming months.

Lead Safe Certified Firm

Idaho resides in EPA Region 10 administered out of Seattle Washington, Many states have taken the responsibility of enforcing the RRP rule as it is called but Idaho remains a federally run program.

Lead Safe Contractor is one that has taken the 8 hour classroom combination didactic and hands on education and has demonstrated comprehension of the dangers involved with lead based paint and the how to work with it safely. The contractor also has the ability to document the proper processes and preform lead safe work practices. They have paid an additional $300 fee and are registered with the EPA. This is the insignia used to identify RRP certified contractors and Lead Safe Firms.

Renovate Right booklet

To avoid the stigma of lead based paint all together,owners are choosing non certified contractors to do the work. Unfortunately the contractor bares all the risk and if caught will be essentially put out of business once fined.

There are two schools of thought out there for contractors.

TO TEST or NOT TO TEST

If you do test, you will know exactly what is, and isn’t leaded, thus giving knowledge to the owner in the form of a report. The down side is that the report must stay with the home.

If you don’t test,You won’t attach the stigma of knowing that which components are leaded, thus rendering the home in a “everything is leaded” state just like millions of other homes in the country.

Dust wipe sampling

This may seem like a simple decision but it is not. Testing is how Levco operates. Knowledge is power. Only providing the super duper dust protection when it is needed is 99.9% less expensive and it addresses the intent of the rule.

OSHA also has a series of lead requirements for  companies to be aware of the potential lead hazards to the employees. You really don’t know till you’ve tested. This means air monitoring and medical monitoring is always necessary if you don’t test and perhaps if you test but there again, If you test and find none you save lots of time and money.

Once the job is completed, verification of lead safe is done with a series of dust samples and soil sampling if appropriate. Do yourself, your family and your contractor a big favor and get a lead test in your pre-78 home before you ask them to remodel or paint.

OSHA

Oh boy is there ever a problem between the three of the federal agencies that regulate how lead is handled in the residential remodeling world. The EPA’s RRP rule came out last April and Levco has been all over it with training and lead safe work practices. I knew that OSHA was in existence, In fact we’ve visited and I have heard speakers from the organization on many safety issues related to workers falling or being crushed or killed. We even implemented a safety talk and keep first aid kits on the job. HUD and their rules are well established too and are similar to RRP but there are glaring inconsistencies both within them, and between them.

It wasn’t until I was attending my third RRP training and dealing with the national NARI work group helping to create a NARI position statement that the light went on. I was looking at a Linkedin conversation where an Oregon painting firm was being required to do air monitoring by OSHA among other things, and my thought was that they were being unfairly persecuted. They were following RRP and doing everything properly, why beat them up with additional requirements. Don’t theses agencies talk to one another?

HUD

DING. I called local OSHA and low and behold Jacob Ewer told me that there is a very specific procedure for Lead in Construction that has been on the books for years. The trouble is that no one in the residential remodeling world knows about it, or is following that rule. What is my excuse? I thought the OSHA lead rule was for industrial exposures and commercial work. I suppose it is best suited for that application, but it is clearly intended to protect all employees and we all need to be aware the rules. We simply have no choice but to follow.

Turns out that The big 3 government agencies are divided up into OSHA being responsible for workers safety, EPA is responsible for public health and environmental safety, and HUD is all about safe housing.

EPA

My goal is to reach out to OSHA and get their assistance with becoming compliant then educate my fellow contractors in the ways of OSHA. All the while working behind the scenes to eliminate confusing rules, and overlapping regulations that make my job more difficult than I believe it needs to be.

Fortunately, in communicating with the local OSHA group we are a federally regulated unlike our surrounding states. That being said we still require training on hazardous things like being up on a ladder and dealing with fall protection, the difference is we can teach each other. Lead rules are going to take some time to grasp a better understanding of our responsibilities. When it comes to mask fitting, dealing with air pumps and monitoring,  and all of the regulations that come with the Lead In Construction rule. If while monitoring air we reach the AL (Action Level) and or PEL (Permissible Exposure Limit) we must do medical monitoring including blood lead level. Those of you that thought the RRP rule was a hoot will love the fact that regardless of the amount of lead in a room, OSHA rules apply. My dream is that the big three can come together and devise one rule that makes sense and covers all issues related to property.

Cutting stucco

Lead paint was located by pre testing and during the demolition phase much of the stucco that had lead paint on it required removal. This was our first experience with stucco removal in a lead safe way.To accomplish this task we initially trained our new employees about LSWP and provided all the necessary protective clothing and safety equipment.

Work site protection

As per the RRP rule, we cordoned off the work area too. We discovered that there is no body of knowledge out there yet on best practices on how to do this efficiently yet. We tried our best as you can see to protect the ground and recoup the water.We worked in two man teams and sprayed water to keep the dust down. Cutting stucco with a diamond blade and peeling it down worked the best for us. Keep in mind that this was done during freezing conditions and you can begin to appreciate the complexity of the project. We also used LSWP when removing tile in the bathroom. and several of the leaded windows. Tile although fairly encapsulated can cause lead dust when the tiles are pulverized and we did not want to take any chances. Doing dust free demolition is not and easy task but is paramount to the safety of the employees the owners and the environment

Saw cut

I am working behind the scenes now with NARI and the EPA on a national and local level to share the knowledge professional remodelers are learning about best management practices on how to accomplish LSWP in efficiently and practically. Lets face, contractors are all in this boat together and pioneering techniques to accomplish the same goal.

Lead paint on window frame

As many of you are aware, The EPA made April 22nd, 2011 (Earth Day) the start of the RRP rule a program that mandates that all homes built prior to 1978 shall be considered leaded until tested otherwise. This in turn inspired Levco Builders to invest in additional training of employees and the purchase of two Innov-x XRF analyzers. Lead Locators was born. Lead Locators was contacted by the Owner to test the project in anticipation of remodeling the home. The test found a heavily leaded home primarily on the exterior which was not uncommon. Lead based paint was often used as an exterior coating because of its ease of application, colorfast properties and longevity.

Lead paint

The RRP rule mandates that properly trained individuals conduct disturbing of lead based paint with the overall coal of dust free demolition and involves extensive steps to protect owners occupants the environment and employees. The report essentially saved money in the long run because much of the home was not leaded therefore traditional demolition techniques were able to be employed on much of the renovation.