How To Run Out Of Policy Funds

1. Know What Your Policy Covers — Right Now

Your insurance policy is a contract that clearly states what your insurer will—and won’t—pay for. If you don’t take time to learn how it works, you could be blindsided by costly surprises later. Don’t wait for bad news. Read your policy now. This is your responsibility—and your best defense.

2. You Decide, Not Your Insurance Adjuster

By law, your insurance company cannot “steer” you to their preferred vendors. They can ask if you’d like help or if they can send someone—but you are not required to say yes.

At Coast Construction, we encourage our customers to stay in control and make their own hiring decisions. Letting the insurer dictate who to hire—and then getting upset when things go sideways—is not a strategy. Take charge early.

3. Services NOT Provided by Coast Construction

• Contents inventory, cleaning, storage, or handling
• Mitigation services
• Abatement services

Why does this matter?

Some adjusters push their preferred vendors on you by acting like you must use them. You don’t. And if you’re not careful, these vendors may charge excessive fees, burning through your policy funds and leaving you short when it matters most.

Example: We’ve seen vendors charge for work that wasn’t necessary—or that we could have done for far less. In some cases, this has caused customers to hit their policy limits and pay out-of-pocket for parts of the rebuild. Do you want your insurer to pay $20,000 on unnecessary demo work?  We’d like a say in what gets done and when.

4. Contents Inventory — Be Cautious

One of the most dangerous traps we’ve seen: An adjuster brought in a contents inventory company before the homeowner understood what was happening. That vendor priced luxury items at Wal-Mart-level values when the customer was in a wealthy neighborhood and had luxury-grade items.  The customer spent a year fighting for fair compensation, getting both less than the items’ true value and less than policy limits allowed.

Tips:

• Be present and involved in inventorying every item.
• Don’t throw anything away without documenting it.
• If you’d like vendor suggestions, Coast can refer companies that other clients have been happy with (and we do not accept kickbacks for doing so).

5. Mitigation Work — Ask the Right Questions

• Some mitigation companies charge to “restore” or “clean” areas that will be torn out anyway.
• -Why pay for someone to dry and clean a wall that should be demolished?
• You need to ask: “What exactly are you doing, and why does it need to be done now?”

6. Abatement — Watch for Scope Creep

We’ve seen abatement vendors get approval to “remove lead/asbestos” and then quietly get full interior demolition approved—often without clearly explaining it to the customer.

At Coast, we love demolition work—and we’re often better and more cost-effective at it. If you want us to do the demo, please tell other vendors and your adjuster up front. Demolition is a high-value part of the job, and it helps balance out thinner margins elsewhere in the project.

7. Alternate Living Expenses (ALE) / Loss of Use (LoU)

Your policy may cover rent and expenses while your home is being repaired—but usually with limits on total dollars and time (often 12 months). Delays from your insurer can erode this benefit.

Here’s what happens:

• We push for fast answers.
• Adjusters may take a week to do what we do in a day, and this can indicate that we’ve asked the right questions about missing components that they aren’t enthusiastic about paying and need time to consider.
• This can eat through your ALE/LoU timeline and budget.
• If your adjuster delays decisions and we’re pushed past your 12-month housing allowance, you’re the one who pays the difference.

Bottom Line: Don’t tolerate adjusters who are slow to respond or hard to reach. Coast’s contract is clear—our production time starts after permit approval, not your date of loss.

Final Thoughts

Insurance claims can turn into a maze. Coast Construction is on your side, but we can’t control your insurer or their vendors. What we can do is help you stay alert, make smart decisions, and avoid common traps.

Your insurer doesn’t have to make it easy—and some customers don’t make it easy for themselves. 

Be one of the smart ones. Stay in control. Ask questions. And when in doubt, ask Coast. We’re here to help.    

Welcome aboard.   We are pleased to be your contractor!

-The Coast Construction Team