Choosing a company

In most transactions you can judge the work. Here you cannot — you will not be present, you would not know what correct looks like, and by the time anything is visibly wrong the evidence has been disposed of. This section substitutes deliberate questions for the checks you would normally rely on.

Start here

• How to check a company before you hire — the four things to verify, what a fair quote contains, and ten red flags. Printable.
• What certifications mean — which are voluntary industry credentials, which are government requirements, and why “OSHA certified” is not a credential.
• Which states require registration — and why in California it decides whether your claim is reimbursable.

The three things worth knowing before any call

Nobody can require you to use a particular company. Not your insurer, not the police, not a company already at the property. Why that is true.

You are allowed to take an hour. A company that says the decision cannot wait is describing something real about deterioration and also using the oldest pressure tactic in this industry. Both can be true at once.

Check who pays before you check who to hire. If insurance or your state compensation program is covering this, your priorities in choosing a company change — documentation and claim experience start to matter as much as price. The three routes.