The forensic investigation of water damaged building materials during insurance discovery can mischaracterize the extent of reported water damage and assign visual or uncovered damage to the insurance claim which may have been pre-existing or unrelated. Insurers normally retain a forensic expert to determine the origin and cause of a claimed condition(s), determine the extent of associated damage and often ask the expert to estimate the duration of the loss. In this presentation we examine what to look for during an insurance claim investigation, how to assess and characterize water damaged building materials and fungal contamination, and how to present the findings.
