The Network Advantage: Smarter Strategies for Managing Mold Claim Costs

by KELLY LOWTHIAN, SGS Claims Manager

The moving and relocation industry has always operated on narrow margins and tight timelines. Whether addressing a water loss, fire damage, mold exposure, or catastrophic transportation incident, moving companies face a common challenge: protecting the customer while controlling costs and resolving claims efficiently.

Historically, many companies have focused their cost-control efforts on transportation efficiencies, labor management, and claims administration. Yet one of the most overlooked cost-management strategies remains the development of strong vendor relationships before a loss occurs.

That reality has become increasingly important in recent years as the cost of contents remediation continues to rise. While no publicly available dataset currently tracks national average costs for the complete contents-remediation process, including pack-out, cleaning, storage, transportation, and pack-back, multiple independent sources point toward the same conclusion: contents restoration is operating in a significantly more expensive environment today than it was just a few years ago.

For moving companies, that trend has implications extending far beyond remediation invoices. As labor, storage, cleaning services, and claim severity increase, the financial consequences of delays increase as well. More than ever, vendor selection and vendor readiness have become strategic business decisions.

The Rising Cost Environment

One of the challenges facing the restoration industry is the absence of a nationwide benchmark that measures average contents-remediation job costs over time. Organizations such as the IICRC and Restoration Industry Association define the various stages of contents processing and restoration but do not publish a longitudinal national average invoice for contents-remediation projects.

Despite this limitation, strong evidence exists that the cost pressures affecting contents remediation have increased materially since 2021.

Federal wage and price indices show substantial increases in several inputs commonly associated with contents restoration activities between 2021 and 2025:

• Remediation-sector wages increased approximately 17.3 percent.

• Janitorial and cleaning-service pricing increased approximately 16.9 percent.

• Warehousing and storage pricing increased approximately 28.6 percent.

• Commercial cleaning chemical prices increased approximately 41.4 percent.

These numbers establish a clear and defensible conclusion: the economic environment surrounding contents restoration has become materially more expensive. For movers and claims professionals, that reality changes the discussion. The question is no longer simply how much remediation costs. The more important question may be how quickly remediation can begin and how efficiently a claim can move toward resolution.

Why Time Has Become a Cost Driver

When a shipment is affected by mold, water, smoke, or fire damage, the remediation estimate often receives the greatest attention. In practice, however, remediation costs frequently represent only one portion of the total financial exposure.

A typical loss may require:

• Inspection and assessment

• Inventory review

• Salvageability determinations

• Estimate preparation

• Warehousing and storage

• Transportation and handling

• Customer communication

• Remediation and cleaning

• Final delivery coordination

As claim timelines expand, secondary expenses often begin to accumulate. Additional storage charges, warehouse handling fees, transportation costs, labor expenses, repeat inspections, administrative oversight, and customer service efforts can become significant contributors to the overall claim cost.

The indirect costs associated with delay are often far more substantial than they initially appear. This principle is particularly relevant in contents remediation because storage costs continue to grow with time. Public pricing data indicate that warehousing and storage costs increased by nearly 29 percent between 2021 and 2025. As a result, a delay that might have had a limited financial impact five years ago may carry a far greater cost today. In an environment of rising costs, efficiency becomes increasingly valuable.

The Value of Established Vendor Networks

Many restoration firms provide exceptional service and possess significant technical expertise. However, household-goods restoration occupies a specialized niche within the broader restoration industry.

Unlike structural restoration, contents remediation often requires evaluation of hundreds or even thousands of inventoried items. Successful outcomes depend not only on remediation expertise but also on familiarity with furniture construction, textiles, electronics, collectibles, replacement economics, inventory management, and claims documentation.

When movers begin searching for qualified vendors after discovering a loss, valuable time is often consumed identifying resources, verifying credentials, establishing communication expectations, and defining reporting requirements.

The most effective organizations eliminate those delays by building vendor networks before claims occur. By establishing relationships in advance, moving companies can:

• Confirm response capabilities.

• Verify licensing and certifications.

• Establish reporting expectations.

• Review sample documentation.

• Clarify communication procedures.

• Understand estimating methodologies.

When a loss occurs, the administrative groundwork has already been completed, allowing remediation activities to begin more quickly. The benefits extend beyond response times. Strong vendor relationships often result in clearer reporting, fewer revisions, improved communication, and more efficient decision-making throughout the claims process.

A Unique Opportunity for CPPC Members

This changing environment presents a significant opportunity for CPPC professionals.

Many CPPC members already possess specialized expertise directly relevant to household-goods restoration. Their understanding of furniture construction, repair methodologies, replacement economics, and claims documentation provides a foundation that aligns naturally with contents-remediation work.

As remediation costs continue to rise, movers increasingly benefit from working with professionals who understand both the restoration process and the operational realities of the transportation industry.

One area of growing interest is specialized training focused on contents evaluation and remediation.

The National Organization of Remediators and Microbial Inspectors (NORMI) offers education and certifications relevant to mold assessment, remediation, sanitization, and contents inspection. Of particular interest to the moving industry is the

NORMI Certified Contents Inspector (NCCI) credential, which focuses specifically on evaluating personal property and household goods affected by contamination events. The NORMI Professional Directory provides a searchable resource for locating certified professionals throughout the United States:

NORMI Professional Directory https://www.normi.org/professionals/

For movers seeking qualified resources, directories such as these can provide a valuable starting point when developing a vendor network before a claim occurs.

Looking Beyond the Lowest Estimate

One of the most common mistakes in remediation claim management is evaluating vendors primarily on price.

While estimate review remains an important part of the process, the lowest remediation estimate does not necessarily result in the lowest overall claim cost. A lower estimate may ultimately be accompanied by slower reporting, delayed inspections, additional revisions, or extended remediation timelines. In contrast, a slightly higher estimate supported by comprehensive documentation and timely communication may significantly reduce storage, handling, and administrative costs. As remediation-related expenses continue to increase across the industry, total claim cost becomes increasingly tied to the duration of the claim rather than the remediation estimate alone.

The better question is often not:

"Which vendor submitted the lowest estimate?"

The more strategic question is:

"Which vendor gives us the best opportunity to resolve the claim efficiently and minimize total cost exposure?"

The Role of Technology

Technology is creating new opportunities for claims professionals as well. Artificial intelligence tools can assist in reviewing reports, organizing documentation, comparing estimate revisions, identifying potential duplicate charges, and generating follow-up questions for vendors.

These tools can improve efficiency and support decision-making, particularly when large inventories and extensive documentation are involved. However, technology remains an aid to professional judgment, not a substitute for it.

Successful claim outcomes continue to depend on qualified inspections, accurate documentation, experienced evaluation, and effective communication among stakeholders. In other words, technology may improve the process, but relationships still drive results.

Building the Network Before the Next Claim

The evidence is clear that contents remediation is operating in a more expensive environment than it was only a few years ago. Rising labor costs, increasing storage expenses, higher cleaning-chemical prices, and increasing claim severity all place greater emphasis on efficient claim resolution.

For moving companies, that reality reinforces a simple but important lesson:

The best time to build a vendor network is before the next claim occurs.

Organizations can strengthen their preparedness by:

• Identifying qualified contents-focused restoration resources.

• Verifying certifications, insurance, and licensing requirements.

• Reviewing sample reports and estimating practices.

• Establishing communication expectations.

• Defining response-time standards.

• Building working relationships before an emergency arises.

The most expensive claims are not always those with the largest remediation invoices. More often, they are the claims that remain unresolved the longest.

In today's cost environment, every day saved can reduce expenses, improve customer satisfaction, and accelerate recovery. That is the true value of a strong vendor network.

References

Insurance Information Institute & Insurance Research Council. Trends in Homeowners Insurance Claims, 2001-2021. https://insurance-research.org/property-insurance/trends-homeowners-insurance-claims-2001-2021

LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Home Claims Insights and Trends Reports, 2024-2026.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Center for Insurance Policy and Research. Homeowners Property Insurance Market Dynamics Report. https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/mcas-homeowners-property-insurance-market-dynamics-report.pdf

National Organization of Remediators and Microbial Inspectors (NORMI). Professional Directory. https://www.normi.org/professionals/

National Organization of Remediators and Microbial Inspectors (NORMI). Certified Contents Inspector (NCCI) Program. https://www.normi.org

Restoration Industry Association (RIA). Cost of Doing Business Benchmarking Initiative. https://www.restorationindustry.org/codb

Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). Contents Processing Technician (CPT) Standard and Training Program. https://iicrc.org/cpt/

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Cost Index and Producer Price Index datasets, 2021-2025. Accessible through Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED). https://fred.stlouisfed.org

Verisk. Property Estimating Solutions and Reconstruction Cost Analysis Reports, 2024-2025. https://www.verisk.com