Two Clocks Run on Every Restoration Job. Neither One Is Yours.

Ask a restoration owner how long the carrier has to accept or deny the claim they are currently working on. You usually get a shrug and a number that sounds about right. Ask the same owner the deadline to file a lien on that same job and you get the shrug without the number.

Both deadlines are set by law. Both are enforceable. Neither one is in your job file.

Two clocks, and only one of them protects you

There are two legal clocks running on a typical insurance restoration job, and they come from completely different bodies of law.

The first is the claim clock, set by your state's insurance law and regulations. It tells the carrier how fast it has to move. States handle this differently. Some write a specific number of days into regulation. The NAIC's model Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act, a template state regulators work from, lists as an unfair practice "failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after having completed its investigation related to such claim or claims." Your state's version is the one that counts, and your state insurance department publishes it.

The second is the lien clock, set by property law. It tells you how fast you have to move, and it is strict. Two examples from states where Kiwi works:

• Georgia. O.C.G.A. 44-14-361.1 requires the claim of lien to be filed for record "within 90 days after the completion of the work." No later than two business days after filing, you send a copy to the owner by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. Then you have 365 days from filing to start the lien action.
• Oregon. ORS 87.035 requires the lien to be perfected "not later than 75 days after the person has ceased to provide labor, rent equipment or furnish materials or 75 days after completion of construction, whichever is earlier." ORS 87.039 then gives you 20 days after filing to mail the owner and the mortgagee written notice with a copy of the claim attached. Skip that notice and you lose the costs and attorney fees you could otherwise recover.

Two states, two numbers, two different triggers. Georgia counts from completion of your work. Oregon counts from whichever comes first, your last day on the job or completion of construction. Other states have their own versions, and the details matter.

The asymmetry is the whole point. The claim clock is a duty the carrier owes. The lien clock is a right you lose.

The part nobody tells restoration contractors

Here is the uncomfortable half. The claim clock does not run to you.

Claim handling rules protect the insured, and the NAIC model defines the insured as the party named on the policy with the legal rights to its benefits. That is the homeowner. Not the contractor drying their basement. Absent an assignment of benefits, and whether you can take one varies by state and policy, you are a vendor waiting on a customer who is waiting on a carrier. The rule that sets the pace of your cash is one you have no standing under.

So the protection you actually own is the lien right, and it starts running when your work ends, which is exactly when a job goes quiet in your office.

Four moves

1. Put two dates on the job at intake. The date the claim was reported, and the running last-day-of-work date that sets your lien deadline. Both get an owner.

1. Stop treating the lien as escalation. Filing is a collection control, the same category as an aging report. Most jobs never need one. Preserving the right costs a calendar entry. Missing it costs the balance.

1. Learn your state's notice steps, not just the filing date. Both examples above have a second deadline riding on the first: a copy or notice to the owner within days of filing. Build those into the same calendar entry.

1. Forecast to the legal clock, not the hopeful one. If the carrier's rule allows weeks to an accept-or-deny and your thirteen-week forecast assumes cash in days, the forecast is wrong and payroll is what finds out.

Every state has both clocks. Look yours up once and put them on the job template.

Knowing which deadlines govern your cash, and building them into a forecast instead of a hope, is most of what the CFO seat does in a restoration company. If you want a second set of eyes on how your claim cycle converts to deposits, let's talk.

General education for restoration and reconstruction owners, not legal advice and not a substitute for advice on your specific contracts, policies, and state. Lien and claim deadlines are strict and state specific, and some states require a preliminary notice before work starts or early in the job. Talk to your attorney before you rely on any date in this article.

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