As the floodwaters recede across the Gulf Coast followingHurricane Harvey, the arduous process of claimsinvestigation begins to unfold. CAT adjusters from across thecountry are travelling to the impacted areas to assess propertylosses and assist insurance carriers in reaching accurate settlements.

For many adjusters, one of the most difficult propertycomponents to assess is the HVAC system. HVAC equipment is simplytoo expensive to indiscriminately write replacement estimates, andaccurate pricing and availability is also difficult for adjustersto access. Moreover, determining if the equipment is damaged isitself a difficult task – it's not always a matter of just turningon the system to determine whether or not it works. Many of theproperties are still without power, and once restored, diagnosismay prove difficult without first determining the full extent ofpotential damages.

The first step in this evaluation process is to perform a visualinspection to determine how high the water rose and what componentsmay be affected.