Cause and Origin
Where the water entered and by what mechanism. A roof penetration, failed supply line, slab leak, window assembly, HVAC condensate failure, or storm intrusion each leave different evidence.
Independent Water Loss Documentation
Water Damage Assessment in Florida
Water damage claims get fought over two things. What caused it, and how far it went.
Those questions have real answers, but they get decided by whoever documents them first. A restoration contractor scoping the job has an incentive to find more. A carrier's engineer reviewing the file has an incentive to find less. Neither is neutral, and the property owner is usually the only party in the room without a technical opinion of their own.
Everest BCG provides independent water damage assessment for residential and commercial properties across Florida. We determine the source, define the extent, classify the loss, and document all of it to a standard that holds up whether it goes to a contractor, an adjuster, or a courtroom.
SourceCause and origin documentation
ExtentMoisture mapping through assemblies
ScopeXactimate support when required
What We Determine
What an Independent Assessment Determines
Every water loss gets reduced to five technical questions. The answers decide coverage, repair scope, cost, and whether the record survives a dispute.
Extent and Boundary
How far moisture migrated and which materials are affected. Water travels through cavities, pressure gradients, and flooring assemblies, so the wet area rarely matches the visible area.
Category and Class
Water is classified by contamination level and how much material is saturated. Category and class drive what has to be removed versus dried in place.
Duration and Timing
Whether the intrusion was recent or ongoing. Moisture readings, material condition, staining, and biological evidence answer that question better than assumptions.
Repair Scope
What has to come out, what can stay, and what the restoration requires, documented and itemized with Xactimate format available when the claim requires it.
Coverage Turns on Timing
Sudden and Accidental Versus Long Term
Most denied water claims come down to this distinction, and most property owners have never heard of it until it costs them.
Standard Florida property policies cover sudden and accidental discharge. A supply line bursts, a water heater fails, a pipe breaks. Those are covered events.
What many policies exclude is constant or repeated seepage over an extended period, commonly defined as fourteen days or more. Also typically excluded are wear and tear, deterioration, corrosion, and settling.
Sudden and Accidental
A supply line bursts, a water heater fails, or a pipe breaks. The assessment documents source, path, extent, category, and scope before conditions change.
Long-Term Seepage
A slow drip under a cabinet that finally announces itself with odor may be denied because of when it started, not because the damage is imaginary.
Wind-Driven Rain Versus Flood
Rain entering through a wind-created opening is generally treated differently than surface water or storm surge. After a hurricane, that line can decide which policy pays, and sometimes whether anyone does.
Moisture readings
Material condition
Corrosion patterns
Biological evidence
1 Year
For new or reopened claim notice
18 Months
For supplemental claim notice
Florida Claim Deadlines
Documentation Cannot Wait
Florida law changed in December 2022, and many owners are still working from the old numbers. Under Florida Statute 627.70132, notice of a new or reopened property insurance claim is barred unless given to the insurer within one year of the date of loss. A supplemental claim is barred after 18 months.
For weather events, the date of loss is the date the hurricane made landfall or the date the event was verified by NOAA, not the date you discovered the damage. This is general information about the statute, not legal advice. Confirm your specific deadlines with your carrier or an attorney.
When to Schedule
Schedule Before the Record Gets Blurry
Water evidence has a short life. The faster the condition is documented, the cleaner the technical record becomes.
Pipe or Appliance Failure
You need the extent documented before demolition or drying changes the evidence.
Storm or Hurricane Intrusion
Water entered the building and the source, path, and policy question need documentation.
Denied or Underpaid Claim
The stated reason involves cause, duration, or repair scope.
Estimate Looks Wrong
A restoration estimate looks inflated, thin, or unsupported and needs an independent read.
Staining, Warping, or Odor
Visible symptoms appeared with no obvious current source.
Property Purchase
You are buying a property with evidence of past water intrusion.
Rental or Commercial Complaint
A tenant or occupant reports water intrusion in an occupied property.
Owner, Contractor, or Carrier Dispute
A dispute has developed and the file needs neutral technical findings.
Post-Repair Drying Verification
Repairs are complete and you want confirmation affected materials actually dried.
What the Assessment Includes
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Field Work Built Around the Questions That Decide the Claim
The assessment is not a walkthrough and a guess. It is a structured review of history, visible evidence, hidden moisture, source, classification, and scope.
History and Document Review
We start with what happened and when, plus existing reports, estimates, photos, or carrier correspondence.
Visual Inspection
We document staining, warping, separation, corrosion, finish failures, prior repairs, and repainted areas.
Moisture Mapping
Pin and pinless meters establish moisture content and define the affected boundary against a dry standard.
Infrared Thermography
Thermal imaging reveals temperature differentials that correspond to hidden moisture and show us where to look.
Cause and Origin Analysis
We trace the intrusion path back to its source and evaluate the failure mechanism.
Category and Class
The loss is classified by contamination level and saturation according to recognized restoration standards.
Scope Documentation
Findings are translated into a defined repair scope, with Xactimate estimating available when required.
How the Process Works
Fast Enough for the Claim. Detailed Enough for the Dispute.
We keep the sequence direct because timing affects safety, scope, and the quality of the evidence.
Intake
A coordinator documents the loss history, date, what has already happened, and where things stand with any claim. If demolition is scheduled, say so.
Site Assessment
An investigator maps the property, documents conditions, collects readings, and photographs everything relevant. Sampling is added when biological growth is suspected.
Report
You receive a written assessment covering cause, extent, classification, and recommended scope, supported by moisture data and photo documentation.
What You Receive
A Report Written to Be Used
If the report does not tell a contractor what to do or give an adjuster something to evaluate, it has not earned its fee.
01Written assessment documenting cause, extent, and classification
02Moisture maps and readings establishing the affected boundary
03Thermal imaging documentation where used
04Photographic record of observed conditions
05Defined repair scope your contractor can build from
06Xactimate estimates when line-item pricing is required
07Supporting documentation structured for claim submission or dispute
Why Independence Changes the Outcome
The Findings Follow the Readings
We do not perform restoration, remediation, or repairs. There is no version of this where a larger scope makes us more money.
That matters in two directions. When a contractor's estimate is inflated, we say so. When a carrier's position understates the damage, we document why.
Repair-Side Assessment
- Scope can be challenged because the repair contract is attached.
- Hidden moisture may be overstated or understated depending on incentives.
- Estimate decisions can blur with sales decisions.
- Carrier, contractor, and owner may all distrust the same document.
Independent Technical Record
- No remediation or repair work performed by Everest.
- Cause, extent, category, class, timing, and scope documented from evidence.
- Report structured for contractor use, adjuster review, or dispute support.
- Findings do not change based on who benefits from the answer.
Who We Work With
One Record for Every Party at the Table
Owners, contractors, adjusters, and counsel all need the same thing: a technical record that separates what is assumed from what is documented.
Need damage documented before demolition or face a denial that does not match what they are seeing.
Everest gives cause, origin, extent, and scope in a format the claim can use.Need water events handled across occupied buildings, rental units, or commercial spaces.
Everest gives documentation that supports repair sequencing and tenant obligations.Want a defined scope before committing to demolition, drying, reconstruction, or supplements.
Everest gives a technical basis that reduces guesswork and rework.Need independent findings on cause, duration, and extent.
Everest gives neutral documentation that supports claim review or dispute strategy.Need a neutral evaluation on a contested file.
Everest gives a record tied to field evidence rather than repair incentives.Deal with intrusion affecting multiple units and shared components.
Everest gives coordinated findings for unit, envelope, and common-area questions.
Credentials
A Coordinated Team for Water Damage Questions
More than a century of combined experience evaluating building damage sits behind the work. Water follows the same paths over and over, and recognizing them is most of the job.
IICRC WRT Certified
Water damage professionals trained in recognized restoration standards and moisture documentation.
Licensed Mold Assessors
Florida Licensed Mold Assessors can evaluate microbial risk during the same engagement when conditions warrant.
Structural Engineers
Florida Licensed Professional Engineers support structural questions where water affects framing, connections, or load paths.
Xactimate Estimators
Certified Xactimate estimators translate documented damage into line-item pricing when required.
Forensic Damage Experience
Experience across wind, flood, plumbing, and fire losses helps connect source patterns to building behavior.
Expert Testimony
Documentation is prepared with claim review, challenged opinions, and courtroom scrutiny in mind.
Water Damage Assessment Across Florida
Search Your Florida Service Area
Our office is in Altamonte Springs, and we assess properties statewide, including Central Florida, the Orlando metro, both coasts, and South Florida.
Regional differences shape what we find. Coastal properties deal with wind-driven rain, storm surge, and salt-accelerated corrosion. Inland buildings see different intrusion patterns and different construction stock. Knowing the local building practices shortens the search for the source.
Enter a Florida city to reveal matching water damage assessment pages.
No matching Florida service area found. Call (844) 322-2946 and we will point you to the right office.
Often, yes, depending on the stated reason. If the denial turns on cause, duration, or extent, those are technical questions with documentable answers.
A restoration contractor scopes the work they intend to perform. We document the condition independently, with no interest in the repair contract.
Quickly. Florida limits new claim notice to one year from the date of loss and supplemental claims to 18 months, and physical evidence degrades well before that.
No. We assess and document only.
Frequently, yes. Material condition, staining characteristics, corrosion, and biological evidence all carry timing information, though certainty varies with the situation.
Yes. Water losses and microbial growth travel together, and our licensed mold assessors can sample during the same visit when conditions warrant.
No. Once materials are removed, the evidence goes with them. Document first.
It depends on property size, the extent of the affected area, and what documentation you need. Describe the situation and we will quote it.
Document It Before It Disappears
Water damage evidence has a short life. Materials get removed, readings normalize, and the record of what happened goes into a dumpster. Everest BCG provides independent water damage assessment for residential and commercial properties throughout Florida, with documented findings your contractor can build from and your claim can stand on.
Independent assessment
Moisture mapping
Claim-ready report