Water damage restoration

[John Parker]

Woke up yesterday to find our water heater leaking from the T&P valve — turns out it’s completely shot and getting replaced today. showed water damage on the drywall and baseboards using a thermal camera.
They want to go through homeowners insurance but won’t give a cash quote. Has anyone dealt with this before? Am I better off getting another opinion before moving forward?

[JimmyMechanic]

Worth getting a second opinion, and here's why: restoration companies that specifically avoid giving a cash quote and only want to bill insurance directly often price differently (usually higher) when insurance is paying versus when a homeowner is paying out of pocket — the line-item software they use for insurance claims tends to run at a different rate than a straight cash job. That's not automatically a scam, but it's a reason to get a comparison.

A few practical points:

• You're not obligated to use the restoration company your insurer or the plumber recommends. You can get your own independent quote from another licensed restoration contractor and compare scope and price.
• Ask for a detailed written scope (what's being torn out, dried, replaced) rather than a lump sum — that lets you sanity-check whether the damage matches what they're proposing to do. Some restoration outfits over-scope (opening more drywall than the actual wet area) because a bigger job bills bigger.
• You can also request that your insurance adjuster inspect the damage independently rather than relying solely on the restoration company's assessment, since the adjuster works for your policy, not for the contractor.
• Get the second opinion before signing anything — once work starts, comparing quotes becomes a lot less useful.

This isn't legal or insurance advice — just the general pattern worth knowing before you commit. A second quote costs you nothing but a phone call.