Mitigation Companies vs. Restoration Companies What’s the Difference?

1/10/2019 (Permalink)

Board up commercial building in St. Charles, IL

Mitigation or restoration - these are common terms to come across when handling fire damage cleanup, and for the novice, it may not seem like there’s much of a difference. But the fact is, there are significant differences which can have major financial impacts: Some insurance plans cover mitigation services after a disaster and others only cover restoration services. Not knowing the difference can cost you big. Learn more about the difference between these two services and how they can help your St. Charles,IL, business in the wake of fire damage.

What’s Mitigation?

Many companies advertise themselves as fire mitigation specialists. Mitigation generally refers to reducing the severity of something, in this case, the impact of fire damage. Mitigation companies try to limit ongoing damage and stave off continued losses using tools and methods like:

• boarding up windows
  
• Adding roof tarps
  
• Removing water from firefighting efforts
  
• Securing the structure against collapse
  

It’s important to understand that they do not repair or replace, but rather, ensure the disaster doesn’t continue to have consequences.

What’s Fire Restoration?

After mitigation, it’s time for restoration. Restoration experts aim to rebuild and repair your property. They may replace walls damaged by fire or floors and carpets damaged by standing water. They can combat mold, odors and infestations, while making your property livable again. The key difference between restoration and mitigation is how it enables you to move forward. Mitigation sets the stage for fire cleanup. Restoration allows your business to get back to normal.

Fire restoration efforts pair naturally with mitigation and it’s not a question of one being better than the other, rather, which one you need at the time. The fact is, you’ll probably need both, but you may need to figure out which one insurance covers and which one you’ll need to finance. Talk to your insurance adjuster to learn about your options.