Does Homeowners' Insurance Cover Biohazard Cleanup?

Most homeowners' insurance policies cover the cleaning and decontamination of biohazard contaminants and damage resulting from a suicide, unattended death, crime, accident, medical emergency, and infectious disease.  In addition, the policy likely covers any repairs or replacement of structural elements (flooring, carpet and pad, baseboards, drywall) that must be removed as part of the remediation process. When a claim is first opened, the situation and details must be explained in a manner that helps to ensure coverage.   How the situation is explained to the claims representative can impact whether or not you are covered and how much is covered and mitigates delay in cleaning your home or property.

Bio-One Marion County has filed many claims on behalf of its clients. It can help you file a claim with your insurance company, guide you through the process and be your advocate to ensure that your insurance company provides all that you are entitled to based on your policy.

What if You Haven't Found the Homeowner's Insurance Policy?

Bio-One Marion County understands that the policy information is often not readily available or needs to be found inside the home after the cleanup is completed. If a loved one has passed in their home, we can help you find and recover the policy information as part of our cleanup efforts.

It is important not to delay the biohazard remediation and to avoid further damage to your property and emotional well-being. Bio-One Marion County is here to help, and we want you to be physically and emotionally safe; thus, the biohazard cleanup should be done without delay.

The Claim Process

1. Bio-One Marion County will schedule with you a time and day to inspect and remediate the scene where the death or accident occurred.
2. Bio-One Marion County will take the necessary photos and measurements to document the scene before, during, and after the biohazard remediation process. 
3. Bio-One Marion County will collect the homeowner's insurance policy information necessary to file a claim on your behalf.  We will need the insurance company's name, the insured's name, and the policy number.
4. Bio-One Marion County will call the insurance company's national claim line and provide detailed information to the claim handler so you don't have to. The claim handler will open a claim and, in most cases, provide us with a claim number and the assigned adjuster's name and contact information.  To protect our client's emotional well-being by not having to relive the details of the situation, we ask the adjuster to contact us directly so we can explain the situation in detail and the work that was done and discuss the next steps for any work that still needs to be done to remediate odor, cross contamination or repairs.
5. Once the adjuster and Bio-One have spoken, the adjuster will contact you to verify the claim, get additional information, if necessary, and then discuss coverage with you.
6. Once the job is complete, Bio-One will submit the documentation, a properly formatted invoice, a report, and photographs to the adjuster.  We inform the adjuster what repairs, if any, must be made to the structure. 
7. The adjuster may call you to schedule an appointment so a field adjuster can visit the property to inspect and take measurements for funding the repair and replacement of covered items and structures.
8. The insurance company will mail you a check for less than the deductible or send Bio-One Marion County a check directly for our portion of the claim, and we will invoice you for the deductible.

Bio-One Marion County has your best interest in mind when filing a claim and dealing with the assigned adjuster. How the case is presented, and the documents submitted are essential to helping to ensure that the only out-of-pocket expense is deductible.

Please note that most biohazard claims are covered; however, all policies are different, and coverage varies based on the type of policy and named peril exclusions. Deductibles typically vary between $250-$2,500 but could be higher depending on the policy. Not all insurance companies will permit third parties to file a claim on behalf of the insured. In those few cases, we will file the claim alongside you, guide the process for you, and do our best to shield you from reliving the details.

Bio-One of Marion County is a locally owned and operated biohazard and hoarding cleaning company serving Indianapolis and surrounding areas. We specialize in blood, bodily fluid, and feces removal, rodent droppings cleaning, sewage cleanup, hoarding and pet hoarding cleaning, gross filth cleanup, and odor removal services. Helping people who are faced with difficult situations to get their surroundings and lives back in order is our #1 priority. 

Bio-One is here to help you 24/7, 365 days a year!  Call (317) 499-0614, and you'll speak directly to one of us when you call; there is never an answering service.  We'll treat you like a person with the compassion and respect that you deserve.