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Disaster Advice Glossary
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Disaster recovery and restoration can be veiled in mystery to the many who have not undertaken specific training. This glossary explains technical terms to assist both report writing and the understanding of those technical terms so often misunderstood.
Definition
| Adjuster: |
A professional and knowledgable person who has been trained in the art of adjusting of property losses. A property adjuster is not a contractor, nor do they claim to be. Education Note: Adjusters will often retain the expertise of a licensed contractor to assess and estimate a loss and write a scope of work for the emergency and restoration phase in returning a building and its contents back to pre-loss conditions. Even though an adjuster is employed or retained by the insurance company, the adjuster must employ and fairly balance all aspects of property claims adjusting. |
| Adjuster: |
A representative of an insurance company who has specific training and knowledge about claims and who negotiates with the insured in order to claim equitably. Besides the insured (policyholder), the adjuster deals with emergency repairand restoration contractors, and acts as a middle man between all parties and the insurer (insurance company). |
| Adjustment: |
The means necessary to attain settlement or adjustment in claims paid by an insurance company or other party. An adjustment in a claim will require the contractor and/or adjuster to document the loss, type and extent of loss and determine repair or replacement cost value to which the claimant is entitled under the provisions of the policy after all allowances and deductions have been made. |
| Antique: |
An object of sufficient age or style that represents itself as being an antique. Some antiques must be more thab 100 years of to be truly classified as an antique. If they are not, they may be classified as heirloom, vintage or collectable. Adjuster Note: all pieces in or near the damaged area must be itemized as being fragile or antique, and all damage must be noted and documentedas soon as possible. |
| Best Available Control Technology (BACT): |
The best available control technology (BACT) in water damage remediation includes; training, equipment and industry standards, implemented for the purpose of mitigating flood waters in wet buildings. Education Note: If the appropriate remediation and drying equipment are not available or are not capable of functioning properly, based on limitations such as electrical supply, the BACT requires the lowest achievable control rate and method which can manage and mitigate the damage. Often the lowest achievable control rate in water removal and building drying can result in secondary damage and an increase of mold growth in wet building materials. This lowest achievable rate must be carefully monitored, in its success or failure, and the results reported to the building owner and insurance adjuster. |
| Biohazard: |
a) In risk assessment, property loss management and handling, a biohazard can be found in a water damage building. For example, in a building where effluents and bacteria are present because of a sewage backflow or the sewage may have come from an upper floors, as in the case with high-rise buildings. b) A biohazard can be described in insurance terms as mold contamination, where fungi is allowed to grow and the condition eventually effects the health of the occupants. A biohazard associated with the sewage related bacteria, and the fungi from wet building materials, can result in higher occupational exposures to worker's who become involved with the cleanup of biohazardous materials. ? Education Note: Improperly handled, both sewage bacteria and wet building material fungi are known to cause serious debilitating health effects in workers. And if the contamination is improperly handled, most likely the contamination is still present in the building, causing a higher risk of exposure to the occupants, and insured, potentially resulting in a law suit. Adjuster Note: Adjusters are becoming educated to this fact, that contractors are leaving biohazardous substances behind, while insurers are more and more asking contractors for their contractor's license and liability coverage, and certifications, that they have been properly trained in all aspects of their trade, before referring an emergency cleanup contractor, under a preferred vendor program. |
| Business Loss Interuption Insurance: |
A rider or special insurance coverage in an insurance policy, which covers and protects a business during its downtime caused by a disaster or other event, as outlined in the policy. Business interruption coverage provides protection for loss income and extra expenses that may arise due to a covered property loss. For example, if a business is destroyed by fire, business interruption coverage will allow the insured to continue business operations while restoration is in progress. Adjuster Note: The business owner as policy holder is responsible for implementing what ever procedures are deemed necessary to reduce or mitigate the disaster. Quite often, the business owner must hire and retain the services of contractors and disaster recovery services to reduce or stop the continued occurrence. Business loss interruption insurance usually allows for the temporary relocation of part or all of the business, if the business cannot function or operate due to the disaster. See Disaster Management, Disaster Recovery, General Liability Insurance Coverage, Total Loss, Pack-Out |
| CAT (Catastrohe Adjusting Team): |
The term given by the Property Claim Services section of the American Insurance Association, to property loss adjusters who adjust and settle catastrophes. CAT adjusters are called when losses from a single event or catastrophe totals more than 5 million dollars. |
| Cause and Origin: |
The exact location and mechanism by which a fire or water damage originated. Legal and Liability Note: The remediation contractor 'must teach' every emergency response technicians to look, think and don't touch or remove, or further damage water or fire damaged areas related to cause and origin, without being instructed to do so and signed-off by a responsible party. The issue of removing or further damaging cause and origin without proper documentation can result in direct liability to the contractor or a company representative. (Smith v. Supreme Court - reference punitive damage of wilfully throwing evidence away and failure to act with reasonable care, meaning, you cannot damage or throw evidence away; and Howe v. Matag destruction of evidence 'spoilage' or the 'spoilation of evidence'). All responsible parties, (claimant and defendant adjusters, manufacturers, forensic experts, to attorneys), must be allowed to investigate damaged property and determine the cause and origin. Before attempting some types of emergency clean-up, the contractor must have paper work signed-off, saying they are being allowed to remove all damaged areas including cause and origin. Other wise, the contractor must limit their damage assessment and emergency clean-up to the best and most appropriate damage control methods. In fire damage, no contractor is to remove cause and origin without all parties, including fire investigators agreeing that they have fully investigated the claim and they have removed or documented cause and origin to their satisfaction. |
| Centre for Advanced Restorative Drying: |
A teaching and certification school that teaches adjusters and contractors real-time drying, restorative methods and drying research, in a working classroom and wet building environment. Contact Dri-Eaz at 800/932-3030 or www.dri-eaz.com |
| Commercial Size Dehumidifiers: |
Adjuster/Contractor Restorative Drying Note: Commercial size dehumidifiers are equipment capable of removing from 15 to 100 gallons of humidified moisture in air per day. See Desiccant Drying, Psychometrics, Refrigerant Drying, Restorative Drying |
| Company Adjuster: |
An adjuster who is in the direct employment of an insurance company. See Independent Adjuster |
| Dehumidifier: |
a) An air cooler or washer used for lowering the moisture content of the air passing through it: b) An absorption or adsorption machine designed specifically for removing unwanted moisture from air. Adjuster/Contractor Restorative Drying Note: Dehumidifiers may be similar in function and design, but they are not alike when it comes to restorative drying of wet buildings. Specially designed dehumidifiers are often required to dry wet buildings properly. Commercial size dehumidifiers are equipment capable of removing from 15 to 100 gallons of humidified moisture in air per day. Although a dehumidifier may function properly in a wet room, the dehumidifier may not effect the dehumidification process of a wet wall, ceiling or subfloor. The dehumidification of wet walls for example, requires special techniques and equipment to dry the wall cavity properly, and the equipment must do so within a reasonable time before mold growth occurs. See Desiccant Drying, Psychometrics, Refrigerant Drying, Restorative Drying |
| EH & S (Environmental Health and Safety): |
A person or department who administers the environmental health and safety policy of the agency, municipality, city or business. Education Note: EH&S managers are environmental health and safety persons who have college and/or certification training in environmental and industrial health and safety. Don't confuse risk management with EH&S. The EH&S person has been given the specific role to increase the awareness of day-to-day business operations, and effect the bottom line in controlling costs related to health and safety issues. EH&S came out of the total quality management (TQM) and ISO standards, to which many U.S. and worldwide companies subscribe to today. In the very near future, it will not be unusual for insurance adjusters and emergency contractors to start interfacing with EH&S managers when a disaster claim affects a business having EH&S departments. |
| Emergency Response Call: |
The first initial contact by a customer, insurance company, adjuster or insured, fire department or police, that request an emergency response call. The emergency response call is placed into a log book containing all the pertinent information about the emergency. Only after all of the information about the emergency is collected, then described to the emergency response technicians, should the technicians respond to the emergency. |
| General Liability Insurance: |
The insurance required by all states when registering their contractors. While working at a customer's premises, a general liability policy will help protect contractors in the event that they become legally responsible for bodily injury or damage to the property of others. General liability insurance coverage is a protection against damages brought against a contractor from their customer or a third party. It protects against damage while the contractor is performing a specific job or task, and in some instances, after the job or task has been completed. General liability insurance is required by most property adjusters when the contractor applies for preferred vendor status. General liability insurance protects the project and provides for other forms of insurance protection. There are three primary aspects of general liability coverage which may be part of your policy or needs to be added as a rider to the policy. 1) Premises/Operations Coverage, which provides insurance protection while performing a job or task, whether the contractor is at the shop or at the customers location. An example would be someone tripping over your tools and being injured. 2) Completed Operations Coverage, which provides insurance protection after the contractor has completed a job. An example would be after cleaning or restoring a building and paint discoloration occurred after it dried, because of hidden damage. 3) Care, Custody or Control Coverage, which provides insurance protection for restoration, repair and replacement of property due to faulty workmanship. This includes the property of others while actually being serviced. (Under the standard general liability insurance policy, damage to the personal property of others in your care, custody or control, is excluded). This means that if property is damaged while being serviced, there is no protection or insurance coverage under a standard policy. Care, custody or control insurance coverage may be offered only through a special endorsement to the standard policy. |
| Hanta Virus: |
A virus that is associated with urine, feces and saliva settled in dust from wild mice, more particularly the deer mouse. Adjusters and contractors who must access and inspect damage under or in old dusty/dirty buildings, should do so by wearing proper respiratory protection. For more information contact EME for a free Hanta Virus Fact Sheet or contact the Center of Disease Control and Prevention through www.cdc.gov - or - www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/virlfvr/virlfvr.htm |
| Heightened Awareness: |
A sense or tendency of a person after a flood or fire, to perceive that the interior environment or contents are somehow different than what they were prior to the exposure. Education Note: a) The heightened awareness by a claimant is an impression or perception about their environment after the fact, whether real or perceived, to them the smells to the indoor environment and/or contents, are a concern. Often, other persons such as contractors and adjusters, cannot smell, sense or experience the same heightened awareness as the claimant. Mostly, this is due to the fact, they have no prior memory which may help them recognize or trigger what the environment use to smelled-like. b) Some persons are sensitized, and even de-sensitized, to certain smells and odors. Each persons sensory receptors are different, and what may be an acceptable smell or odor to you, may not be acceptable for another person. c) Some contractors get themselves into trouble, because they never asked the claimant at the time of loss, if they, any of their family or employees have asthma or allergies, or are chemically sensitive. If the answer to any of your questions is yes, you may need to modify your mitigation strategy. d) Adding fragrances and masking agents to the interior environment after a flood, sewage or a fire, may trigger some persons heightened awareness sensations, which may cause the contractor to completely clean and restore the interior of a home. The court action costs the contractor's insurance company over $500-K. See Limonene, Sensory Perception |
| Independent Adjuster: |
A trained individual in insurance loss appraisal who is often licensed by the state they work in. Independent adjusters, unlike company staff adjusters must often carry errors and omissions insurance. Independent adjusters are either self-employed or they work for an independent adjusting company, who are retained by one or more insurance companies on a contract or loss-by-loss basis. See Company Adjuster |
| Introduction Letter: |
The introduction letter is an opening statement by the emergency contractor, mitigation contractor, investigator or adjuster, that gives the history, potential cause and result of a claim, as the facts are known, based on current information, at the time the introduction letter was written. Contractor Administrative Note: The introduction letter is an opening statement about the claim and your participation with the claim, that is attached to the beginning of your estimate or billing. |
| Licensed Public Adjusters: |
Licensed public adjusters are licensed and registered in the state(s) they work in. Licensed public adjusters do not work for the insurer, licensed public adjusters work directly for the insured on a contract basis. |
| MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard): |
A pre-cast or molded finishing material made of composite fiberboard, glues and adhesives. Adjuster Note: Most MDF are painted cove and cornice materials. MDF materials take the place of more expensive solid wood coving and cornices. If the base and cornice materials are to be painted, MDF may be a substitute for solid wood. Restorative Drying Note: In water damage restoration, once MDF materials become saturated, they tend to swell anddelaminate easy, and in general, when MDF has had continuous contact with water, where water or moisture remains behind the MDF, the MDF backside readily supports mould growth. |
| Overhead and Profit (O&P): |
The reasonable overhead and profit required on each contracted job. There are different interpretations about overhead and profit across the United States and Canada. Contractor Note: In state construction codes for state licensed contractors, overhead and profit is the legal add-on of the estimated percent of overhead and costs, including labor burden, added on to the estimated costs, then a percent of profit is added on top of all costs of the job. General contractors will add a 10-20% to the job cost estimate as part of the overhead costs, and then, 10-20% on top of all combined costs. Adjuster Note: Some insurance company adjusters will accept or deny O&H costs. The reasons appear to vary with each claim, adjuster, adjusting claims office and region. Some insurance adjuster state ...that you have to have three subtrades on a job before they will allow O&H to the general contractor, while other insurance company adjusters have their own reasons, why they accept or deny O&H from a general. Some state contractor licensing boards have suggested guidelines on overhead and profit. See Administrative Costs, Overhead |
| Scope of Work: |
a) For a repair contractor or subcontractor, a scope of work is a written list of items on a tick sheet that must be completed. b) For an adjuster or building owner, a scope of work is detailed listing of the services that will be provided, which are necessary to remove or repair a building or property damage. |
| Surface Screening for Coliform Bacteria: |
Screening for coliform bacteria on surfaces first requires an investigation of the problem based on information supplied to our industrial hygienist or microbiologist by the customer, adjuster or contractor, then, a visual assessment and survey of the problem area(s) is completed. Only after the visual investigation, should bacteria screening be conducted. Swab sampling in this instance is a screening devise only. To be cost effective, sampling strategy is very limited in the number of swab samples collected. Representations as to what type of bacteria and activity are or are not present on a given surface, is through laboratory microscopic analysis. Since we cannot see bacteria with our eyes, the industrial hygienist or microbiologist must use their best judgement, knowledge and training, in considering their sampling strategy. See Qualitative Surface Screening |
| Tear Gas Exposures: |
Toxic gas exposures from police and riot-type tear gas. Health and Safety Note: Seldom will emergency response water damage technicians come in contact with tear gas. But in several instances, technicians have been asked to cleanup tear gas exposures with their cleanup equipment. No technician or adjuster should enter a tear-gas contaminated building without proper respiratory and skin protection. Health Note: 1) Tear gas can effect technicians and adjusters from ingestion, inhalation in nasal passages, and absorption on skin. 2) Seldom is tear gas considered a medical emergency or a medical concern. 3) Yet, depending on the type, concentration and severity of exposure, the health of the technician or adjuster, the health concerns may result in a immediate medical emergency. 4) Skin and respiratory reaction to airborne tear gas is almost immediate. 5) CN/CS/CR/OC tear gases residue and powders are white in color. 6) CN/CS/CR tear gas are not-stable when heated. 7) Tear gas is generally dispersed as powder-like aerosols having a chemical dispersion reactivity to an environment from their explosion. 8) Once the agents have been dispersed into a building, the agents react violently in the presence of humidity, higher temperatures, some oxidizers and a combination of factors. 9) All of the tear gas agents have low solubility in water but they can be dissolved in several organic solvents. Hydrolysis of CN tear gas for example, is very low reacting in water solution, even when alkali is added. On skin, it is best to flush continuously with cold water. CS tear gas on the other hand, is rapidly hydrolyzed in water solution , having a half-life at pH 7 is about 15 min. at room temperature (65 to 70 ?F, and 30 to 45% Rh), and react extremely rapid when alkali is added (half-life at pH 9 is about 1 min.). 10) As remediation technicians, you must be extremely careful in adding alkali substances to skin, since they can add to dermal discomfort and skin damage. Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) is best used as an adsorptive and cleaning agent on skin. |
| Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Site: |
An area where an accumulation of hazardous waste creates a threat to the health and safety of individuals or the environment or both. Mitigation Note: Some uncontrolled hazardous waste sites are found on public lands, such as those created by former municipal, county, or state landfills where illegal or poorly managed waste disposal has taken place. Other uncontrolled hazardous waste sites are found on private property, often belonging to generators or former generators of hazardous waste. Examples of such sites include, but are not limited to, surface impoundments, crop and animal farms, landfills, dumps, and tank or drum farms. Special care must be taken in identifying uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. During community-wide flooding, where an uncontrolled hazardous waste site has been identified, for example, a garage where pesticide drums are stored and are in danger of becoming part of a flood, the contractor or adjuster must not proceed with containment unless reasonable means of correction can be implemented without exposure to employees and the public. Outside state officials or authorized contractors must be notified and allowed to contain the hazardous material as a waste. See Uncontrolled Release |
| Water Loss Institute: |
A professional organization inside ASCR, which through seminars, educates contractors and adjusters in state-of-the-art methods of wet building mitigation and restorative drying. See ASCR |
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