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Tech Tools Help Water Claims

The frequency and severity of storms over the last few years have forced Canadian insurance companies to pay a pretty penny on claims. Water damage claims, then, should be priority number one for underwriters, carriers, policyholders and their brokers.

The frequency and severity of storms over the last few years have forced Canadian insurance companies to pay a pretty penny on claims. Water damage claims, then, should be priority number one for underwriters, carriers, policyholders and their brokers.

One solution to the time/cost dilemma associated with water claims is technology.

The latest in technological tools for water damage claims is the Mobile Service Manager (MSM). A proprietary product to Servicemaster Canada, this handheld computer resembles signing devices used by UPS delivery people. Using wireless technology, MSM can read moisture levels on a site and advise adjusters and remediations experts as to what tools need to be used to get the job done fast.

Stephen Roy, president of Service Master Canada and co-founder of the proprietary tool, explains that this new technology is about equipment sizing. Equipment sizing saves time because contractors don’t need to spend much time trying to find out how bad the water damage is or what equipment needs to be used on the job.

“It’s all about faster and better, which in the end translates to cost savings,” Roy said.

Roy says restoration companies have a lot of administrative tasks to attend to that take time away from their restoration duties. With the MSM they can scan barcodes to track information, have claimants sign documents by jotting on a portion of the screen–like the UPS handhelds–and read water extraction levels to ensure a job is done quickly and accurately.

“It’s less labour-intensive,” says Roy and “that value goes back to the customer.”

Bruce Copoc, senior estimator for Master Clean Constructing and Cleaning in Mississauga, Ont., says his contractors also rely on technology to make sure a job is done effectively and efficiently. One tech tool Copoc’s contractors use is the hygrometer. This tool records moisture levels in the air. This reading, when used with a psychrometric chart, gives Copoc’s contractors the most accurate moisture level readings for any given job.

Because industry-grade hygrometers and psychrometric charts have the most sensitive meters on the market, insurance companies can save money during restoration, says Copoc.

Industry-grade hygrometers use an organic material, usually human hair, to read moisture levels. The strand of hair is held by a spring on both sides. The spring is connected to a needle gauge that gives the humidity reading. The hair will expand when moisture levels are higher than 30% to 40%. Once a reading is obtained, the contractors use psychrometric charts to get a detailed reading of these moisture levels. This also provides the contractors details on what dehumidification is needed. According to Copoc, these tools are the latest and fastest way to find and clean up water damage.

However, in order to effectively use these technological tools Copoc needs to ensure that each contractor is properly trained and holds an Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration certificate (IICRC). It’s a small price to pay for a trained professional, says Copoc, particularly when these specially trained contractors can also identify variables that can determine if a building is predisposed to water damage.

Copoc explains that some buildings are more at risk of water damage than others. The main factors that determine this predisposition include: age of the building and construction of the building. “Secondary [factors] would include manufacturer defects in plumbing components or appliances. Third would be human error. The last cause is Mother Nature.”

While brokers are not typically exposed to the science and technology behind claims, it wouldn’t hurt if they developed a more proactive approach to insuring a property, says John Smith, owner and adjuster at S. J. W. Smith and Associates Insurance Adjusters Limited in Bonnyville, Alta.

Fact: According to Contech Group, an insurance consulting company, the cost for emergency services during an average water damage claim is between $4,000 and $5,000 and this only includes draining and drying of a residential property.

“[Brokers] operate under contingencies,” Smith says. “Because of that, they should leave their offices and visit their clients to examine the risk first.”

And this applies for new policies and renewals. Smith suggests that brokers go over a property–either in person, or with the client–to ensure they are not over-covered. This is because Smith believes that 99% of policies are over-covered and are insured “far in excess of the property’s value.” It’s a simple factor that brokers can eliminate–saving the carrier and the client money, says Smith.

Another factor to consider is when the building was built, explains Peter Glinka, national operations specialist for Disaster Kleenup Canada Ltd. According to Glinka, buildings built in winter are just as susceptible as older buildings to water damage because of the way in which the construction site is heated during the build. Most sites use salamander heaters, a propane heating system that uses an open flame heater to dry the concrete during construction. “The problem is they give off a moist heat,” Glinka says. “When you cap the fresh foundation over with dry wood and use a salamander, it creates conditions for mould growth.”

Fact: The hourly rate for a remediation team is approximately between $17 to $20 (CDN) an hour, per person.

As a result, Glinka and his crew at Disaster Kleenup Canada use heaters that radiate a dry heat, rather than a wet heat, when conducting a remediation job. “This system exhausts the moisture and dries out the structure.”

Another effective moisture detection tool is the infrared camera, says Glinka. Infrared is a non-invasive measurement tool that detects temperature differences within the structure. The colour display shows colder temperatures in blue and warmer temperatures in red. Many cameras also provide a digital reading of the actual temperature and offer a reporting feature when linked to a personal computer. Moisture shows as blue due to the lower temperature caused by evaporation of water. This technology saves insurers money by specifically identifying the extent of the water damage, limiting repairs to the affected area. Infrared is also very effective in identifying the source of the damage, which allows the insurer to accurately determine the extent of coverage.

The latest technology, used to dry buildings is heat. As with all technology, the contractor must determine when it is most cost-effective to apply this method of drying. In many cases buildings can be dried in less time than traditional methods with all contents in place, resulting in minimal tear-out and reconstruction. This provides significant reduction in remediation costs to insurers. When used to dry out fire losses, rapid drying reduces the risk of mould and removes smoke odours, which can reduce ALE costs to insurers.

Effective monitoring and measuring of moisture levels within the building structure ensure that service charges are limited to the time needed to dry the building to acceptable levels. Restoration technicians that achieve the knowledge through formal training and certification and gain the experience through on-the-job coaching are able to complete restoration jobs more cost-effectively and provide the insured with the services that they expect–delivering on the promise to restore them to a pre-loss condition.