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Insurance billing · Xactimate · ALE coverage
Your adjuster wants the same scope we already write.
Most homeowners think the hard part of a water, fire, or sewage claim is the cleanup. The hard part is actually the paperwork. We write the scope, send it to your carrier, and bill them direct so you only pay your deductible.
Carriers
We bill these nine directly
If your carrier isn't on this list, call us anyway. We work with most of the rest too.
The process
What we handle and what you handle
The work splits roughly 90/10. The 10% on your side takes maybe twenty minutes total.
Open the claim
Call your carrier's claim line, get a claim number, and tell them Disaster Response by Ryan is on site. That's it. The number on the back of your insurance card.
Document the loss
Photos, moisture readings, affected square footage, contents inventory. Everything an adjuster needs to approve scope without a second visit.
Write the Xactimate scope
Xactimate is the estimating software every major adjuster uses. Scopes written in Xactimate get reviewed in days, not weeks. Hand-written scopes get sent back.
Sign the work authorization
A one-page form that tells your carrier we're authorized to bill them directly. After this you don't touch the paperwork again.
Talk to the adjuster
Scope changes, supplements, photos for additional damage found during demo. We handle the back-and-forth so the timeline stays on track.
Pay your deductible
That's the only check you write. The carrier pays the rest of the scope direct to us.
Loss of Use coverage
If your home isn't safe to sleep in tonight
Most homeowners policies cover a hotel
It's called Additional Living Expenses or Loss of Use, and it sits in your policy alongside dwelling and contents coverage. After a sewage backup, fire, or flood that makes the home unlivable, the carrier reimburses your hotel, meals, and pet boarding for the duration of the displacement.
Most homeowners don't know this until a contractor tells them. We tell you on the first phone call, activate the coverage with your adjuster, and book a hotel that direct-bills the carrier. You don't put a card down.
- We call the adjuster with you and trigger ALE on the claim.
- We book a hotel that direct-bills the carrier so you pay nothing up front.
- We extend the stay as the restoration timeline requires.
If you're reading this during a loss
The first 30 minutes
- Stop the source if it's safe. Main water shutoff for a pipe. 911 for fire or smoke. Don't enter a flooded basement if there are submerged outlets.
- Call us at (616) 822-1978. Most calls reach a tech inside 60 minutes. We'll talk you through what's safe to touch before we arrive.
- Take phone photos of everything. Wide shots of each affected room, then close-ups of damaged contents. Date-stamped automatically by your camera. We document professionally on arrival, but your phone shots prove the timeline.
- Don't throw anything away yet. Damaged contents may be claimable. We help you sort what stays and what goes after the adjuster sees it.
- Don't call the carrier first. Call us first if you can. We'll help you frame the claim correctly the first time, which avoids the most common reason scopes get sent back.
Filing a claim right now?
Call us before the adjuster. We'll handle the scope from there.