After property damage, booking cleaning through your insurance claim can feel like another problem on top of the original disaster. Here’s how to navigate the process efficiently.
Assessing the Damage and Determining the Scope of Cleaning Needed
Before booking anything, understand what you’re dealing with:
- Type of damage: Fire, water, storm, or vandalism each require different cleaning approaches and equipment
- Extent: Is it one room or the whole property? Surface-level or structural? This determines whether you need a general cleaner or a specialist restoration company
- Urgency: Water damage and smoke damage worsen by the hour. Mould starts within 24-48 hours of water exposure; soot corrodes and stains if left
- Specialist needs: Biohazard, asbestos, or hazardous materials require certified specialists — not a standard cleaning company
Walk through the property carefully (if safe to do so) and note everything. This initial assessment shapes the cleaning scope and helps you communicate accurately with both your insurer and the cleaning company.
Navigating the Insurance Claim Process for Cleaning Services
- Lodge the claim first: Call your insurer before booking cleaning. Get a claim number and confirm that cleaning is covered under your policy
- Ask about preferred providers: Many insurers have panel contractors. You’re usually not obligated to use them, but it can simplify the process
- Confirm pre-approval requirements: Some policies require quotes to be approved before work starts. Others allow emergency make-safe work immediately. Clarify this upfront to avoid paying out of pocket
- Understand your excess: The excess applies to the overall claim, not separately to cleaning. Factor it into your expectations
- Keep everything in writing: Email confirmations, written quotes, and formal approvals. Verbal agreements are hard to enforce later
Choosing the Right Cleaning Company for Your Insurance Claim
Not all cleaning companies handle insurance work well. Look for:
- Insurance claim experience: They should know how to document damage, provide itemised quotes in the format insurers expect, and liaise with assessors
- Relevant certifications: IICRC certification for water, fire, or mould restoration indicates proper training
- Availability: Damage worsens with delay. A company that can respond within hours is better than one that’s available next week
- Documentation quality: Ask to see a sample report. Professional before/after photos, itemised work logs, and damage assessments are what your insurer needs
- Insurance: The cleaning company should carry public liability and professional indemnity cover
Get 2-3 quotes if time allows. If the damage is urgent, prioritise speed — one good restoration company that can start today is worth more than three quotes arriving next week.
Communicating with the Cleaning Company and Insurance Provider
You’re the link between two parties who need to work together:
- Share the claim number with the cleaning company so they can reference it in their documentation
- Ask the cleaning company to communicate directly with your insurer’s assessor where possible — this reduces miscommunication
- Get the scope of work in writing from the cleaner and share it with your insurer before work begins
- Flag any additional damage the cleaning company discovers during work — this may need to be added to the claim
- Keep a log of all calls, emails, and decisions. If there’s a dispute later, your records matter
Preparing Your Home for the Cleaning Process
Before the cleaning team arrives:
- Secure valuables: Move jewellery, documents, and small valuables to a safe location. Restoration teams are screened, but minimising risk is sensible
- Clear access: Make sure the team can get to all affected areas. Move vehicles from the driveway if they need to bring in large equipment
- Arrange alternative accommodation: For major cleaning (fire or flood restoration), you may need to be out of the home for days. Check if your policy covers temporary accommodation
- Pets and children: Keep them away from the work area. Cleaning chemicals and equipment create hazards
- Turn off HVAC: For smoke or mould damage, running heating or cooling can spread contaminants through the ductwork
Post-Cleaning Inspection and Follow-Up with the Insurance Provider
- Inspect the work: Walk through every area with the cleaning company. Check against the agreed scope of work and flag anything incomplete
- Get the completion report: This should include before/after photos, work performed, products used, and any remaining issues. Submit it to your insurer
- Report unsalvageable items: If the cleaning revealed items that can’t be restored, document them and add them to your claim
- Request a moisture or air quality test: For water or mould damage, verification testing confirms the job is complete. This protects you against problems resurfacing
- Follow up on the claim: Submit all invoices and reports promptly. Chase your insurer if you don’t hear back within their stated timeframe
A well-documented, professionally handled cleanup gives your insurer fewer reasons to dispute costs and gets your claim settled faster.
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