When your home is damaged, you’re suddenly making a contractor decision under the worst possible conditions: fast, stressed, and with an insurance claim riding on the outcome. The contractor you choose doesn’t just determine the quality of the repair — it determines how smoothly the claim goes, because carriers approve claims based on the documentation the contractor produces.
Here’s what to actually check, whether you call us or anyone else in the Vancouver–Portland market.
Know this first: the choice is yours
Your insurance company may suggest a “preferred vendor.” That can be a fine option — but it’s a suggestion, not a requirement. You have the right to choose your own restoration contractor. The carrier’s preferred list is built around the carrier’s relationships; your decision should be built around who’ll do the best work on your house and document it properly.
Check licensing in the right state — or both
This matters more here than in most markets, because so many of us live and work across the river. Washington contractors register with the state Department of Labor & Industries; Oregon contractors are licensed through the Construction Contractors Board (CCB). Both states have public lookup tools where you can verify a license in about a minute — and see bond and insurance status while you’re there.
If your home is in Vancouver and the contractor is only licensed in Oregon (or vice versa), that’s a problem before the first wall opens up. TIK Construction is licensed in both states — WA #TIKCOCI815RW and OR CCB #229356 — and we’d encourage you to look those up rather than take our word for it.
Ask how they document
This is the single best predictor of how your claim will go. Adjusters don’t approve scopes on vibes; they approve them on evidence. A contractor who’s good at insurance work should be able to tell you, specifically, what they capture: photos of all damage before work begins, moisture readings, equipment logs during drying, and a written scope that meets carrier requirements — submitted promptly, not at the end of the job.
Ask directly: “What do you send my carrier, and when?” A vague answer now predicts a disputed claim later.
Ask who does the rebuild
Most restoration companies handle mitigation — extraction, drying, demolition — and then stop. The rebuild gets handed to a separate general contractor, which means you’re now coordinating two companies, two schedules, and two billing relationships with your carrier, usually with a gap of weeks in between.
Ask the question before work starts: “Do you do the reconstruction, or do you hand it off?” A company that handles reconstruction under the same roof gives you one timeline, one point of contact, and one accountable party from the emergency call to the final walkthrough.
Ask about standards, not adjectives
Anyone can say “quality work.” The restoration industry has actual standards — published by the IICRC, the certifying body for the field — and a serious contractor works to them and can name them: S500 for water damage drying, S520 for mold remediation, S540 for biohazard and sewage work.
The practical difference shows up in how decisions get made. A contractor working to standards dries your structure until moisture readings hit published targets; a contractor working to a schedule pulls equipment when the calendar says so. One of those produces mold six months later.
Read reviews for the middle of the job
Star ratings tell you less than the text does. Look for reviews that describe the middle of a project — communication during drying, how surprises were handled, whether the insurance process was managed or dumped on the homeowner. Restoration jobs run for weeks; how a company behaves in week three matters more than how fast they answered the first call. You can read what customers say about our jobs on our reviews page.
Understand how billing works before you sign
On a covered claim, a restoration contractor experienced with insurance work bills the carrier directly — you pay your deductible, and the contractor and adjuster sort out the scope between them. That’s how we run it at TIK, and it’s about 85 percent of our work.
Be careful with any contractor who wants large sums up front on an insurance job, and read anything you’re asked to sign at the door. An assignment or work authorization is normal; pressure to sign before you’ve asked these questions is not.
A quick checklist
- Licensed in the state where your home sits (verify with WA L&I or Oregon CCB)
- Can explain exactly what documentation your carrier gets, and when
- Handles the job start to finish, including reconstruction
- Works to IICRC standards and can name them
- Reviews describe good communication mid-project
- Bills the carrier directly; deductible-only out-of-pocket on covered claims
- Answers the phone when things go wrong — damage doesn’t keep business hours
That last one is easy to test: call at an odd hour and see what happens. When you call TIK Construction at (360) 938-4601, a real person answers 24/7 — day or night — and we’re glad to answer every question on this list before you commit to anything.