As you are most likely aware, the National Weather Service is anticipating that the El Nino Conditions will bring heavy rains to Southern California this winter. Nobody truly knows what is going to happen but we want you to know that we are preparing for the worst so we can best help you and your insureds when they need it the most. We pride ourselves on having one of the largest and most responsive and experienced fleets in the industry. However, expectations need to be adjusted in the event that we get several large storms and demand for our services are high.

I can tell you based on previous El Nino years that no single restoration company will be able to handle the demand if we get the type of rain storms that are being predicted. Our standard one hour response time will have to be extended and prioritized based on severity. This is a similar approach that most insurance claims departments take in these conditions. Unfortunately, we also won’t be able to offer free estimates during this period. We regret this but we but we are still able to give free advice and help your policyholders anyway we can regardless of whether the damage is a covered loss or not.

In addition, the anticipated storms may create other difficult situations that we would like you to be aware of. Aside from the potential for delayed response times, your policyholders may encounter coverage issues due to flooding. It is also important to remember that we often can’t start the dry out process until the rain stops. This is especially true if the water is coming through an exterior wall from the ground or through a leaking roof. Also, please keep in mind that roofers will be equally busy during this period.

We are recommending to all agents to do their best to provide their policyholders with tips ahead of time and to have them clean out gutters, repair roofs, check drains, and get sand bags before they absolutely need them. This may help minimize the number and severity of claims due to the El Nino conditions. We would like to thank you so much for your confidence and continued business through the years. At ServiceMaster by Rapid Response, we believe that this El Nino season may be another challenge that we can help your policyholders manage.

Sabrina at Servicemaster by Rapid Response
sabrinazimmerman@smrapid.com