The following is an insurance claim question we answered for a policyholder through the United Policyholders Ask an Expert Forum.

Q. Is it customary for restoration contractors to charge for 3 triple (cleaning, vacuuming, and/or anti-microbial) treatments in their remediation estimates ?

A. Thank you for your question. Not knowing all the facts of the loss and what may have happened during the construction process, it is hard to give you a definite answer. 

As an example, it is possible the areas that were damaged cleaned, vacuumed and anti-microbial applied may have been accidentally contaminated in the construction phase, thus the need for a second application. But it is not customary to do this protocol three times. It may be that the contractor is adding fluff to their estimate in the hopes that it will not be caught thus adding additional profit to the job.  

I would question the contractor and request a specific reason for this additional billing. If this is an insurance loss, try to reach out to the adjuster who handled your claim and get their opinion. The contractor may back down if he thinks he will be black balled by the insurance industry if in fact he is overreaching.

If you have questions regarding any property insurance claim related issues please call 800.321.4488 or contact us to submit a question to one of our public adjuster insurance claim experts.