Insurance First 48 Hours After a Property Loss

After a burst pipe, kitchen fire, or ice-dam leak, people freeze — then they start throwing things away. Adjusters need a story the building can prove. This is the first-48-hours sequence we walk with homeowners across Rochester, Greece, Webster, Henrietta, and Irondequoit.

Key Takeaways

• Life safety first. Then stop the source if you can do it dry.
• Photograph everything before demolition or a dumpster.
• Mitigation (dry and stabilize) is not optional if you want the policy to help. You have a duty to prevent further damage.
• Rock Emergency documents category, class, and moisture maps for the carrier while we dry the building.

Hour One: Safety and Stop the Source

1. Get people and pets out of unsafe rooms. Fire: stay out until the fire department releases the house.
2. If you can reach the panel with dry feet, kill power to wet areas. If water is at the panel, do not touch it.
3. Shut the water main on a burst pipe. For sewage, stop using fixtures and keep out of the water.
4. Call 911 if there is still fire, gas, or structural collapse risk.

Document Before You Move Everything

Wide shots of each room, close-ups of the source, serial numbers on ruined appliances, and a short video walking the loss. Do not throw out soaked contents until the adjuster or your restoration company photographs them — unless they are a health hazard (sewage-soaked porous items). Keep a notebook of times: when you noticed it, who you called, when the crew arrived.

Who to Call, in What Order

1. Emergency services if needed.
2. Restoration / mitigation — water, fire, or storm. We target 60 minutes on site from 69 Seneca Ave.
3. Your insurer or agent to open a claim. You do not have to wait for the adjuster to start drying. Policies expect you to mitigate.
4. A plumber, electrician, or roofer for the repair that stops new water — coordinated with drying, not instead of it.

Mitigation vs Restoration

Mitigation is emergency extraction, board-up, pack-out, and drying. Restoration is putting the house back. Mixing them into one vague “just fix it” invoice is how claims stall. We separate the scopes. Cost context: our Rochester water cost guide.

What Not to Do

• Do not run household fans on sewage or gray water.
• Do not sign a blank authorization from a storm chaser at the curb.
• Do not assume mold over 10 square feet can be “wiped” in New York — see Article 32.
• Do not confuse us with Rock Environmental (rockenv.com). We are Rock Emergency Services Inc., (585) 501-3606, rockemergency.com.

FAQ

Can I hire restoration before the adjuster arrives?

Yes for emergency mitigation. You are usually required to prevent further damage. Keep the paperwork.

Will using Rock Emergency raise my rates?

Claims are about the loss, not the vendor logo. Using an IICRC-certified local crew with moisture logs tends to make the file cleaner, not messier.

If the loss is active, call 585-501-3606 now. This checklist can wait until people are safe and water is stopped.