Water & Fire Restoration Virtual Assistants
A dedicated restoration virtual assistant answers loss calls, coordinates with adjusters, organizes job documentation, and chases insurance receivables, so your crews can focus on mitigation. From $12/hr.
Book a Free 15-Min Task AuditSee PricingWhat Is a Restoration Virtual Assistant?
A restoration virtual assistant is a remote, trained office assistant for water, fire, and mold restoration companies who answers first-notice-of-loss calls, schedules crews, coordinates with insurance adjusters and third-party administrators, organizes photos and moisture logs, prepares job files for estimating, and follows up on insurance receivables. Go Hire Virtual restoration VAs start at $12/hr.
- Cost$12–$14/hr, no recruiting fees
- Top tasksLoss intake, Adjuster & TPA communication, Job documentation
- Time to startAbout 1 week after a free task audit
- SavingsAbout $13,000/yr vs. an in-house receptionist's wages*
Where Water and Fire Restoration Companies Lose Revenue and How a VA Fixes It
In restoration, the work is only as profitable as the paperwork behind it. These four leaks cost the most.
Loss calls answered too slowly
Homeowners with water damage keep calling until someone answers.
Your VA answers, gathers loss details, and dispatches.
Incomplete job files
Missing photos and moisture logs invite reductions from carriers.
Your VA checks every file for completeness.
Adjuster requests falling behind
Unanswered adjuster requests stall approvals.
Your VA tracks and responds to each request.
Aging insurance receivables
Claims sit unpaid for months without follow-up.
Your VA works the AR list every week.
What a Restoration Virtual Assistant Does
Your VA works as your remote office manager, dispatcher, and customer service rep, inside your tools and on your schedule.
Loss intake
Answer calls, gather cause of loss, carrier, and policy details, and dispatch crews.
Adjuster & TPA communication
Send updates, documents, and photos to adjusters and third-party administrators.
Job documentation
Organize photos, moisture readings, drying logs, and signed work authorizations.
Estimate support
Prepare job files and scope notes so your estimator can build estimates faster.
Scheduling & crew coordination
Schedule monitoring visits, equipment pickups, and rebuild trades.
Program work compliance
Track insurance program requirements and upload documentation on deadline.
AR & collections
Follow up on outstanding insurance payments and homeowner deductibles.
Customer communication
Keep homeowners informed during mitigation and rebuild.
Referral partner outreach
Stay in touch with plumbers, agents, and property managers who send you work.
A Day With Your Restoration Virtual Assistant
Here's what a typical weekday looks like when a trained VA runs the front office for water and fire restoration companies.
- Logs two overnight water losses and confirms crew dispatch.
- Uploads moisture logs and photos for yesterday's jobs.
- Sends an adjuster the signed work authorization they requested.
- Schedules equipment pickup and the drywall sub for a rebuild.
- Follows up on six insurance receivables over 45 days.
- Calls a referring plumber to thank them for a new job.
Software Your Restoration Virtual Assistant Works In
VAs log in to the systems you already use, so nothing changes for your techs or your customers. Tell us your stack in the task audit and we'll factor it into your match.
Restoration Virtual Assistant vs. In-House Hire vs. Answering Service
An answering service takes messages. An in-house hire is expensive and slow to replace. A dedicated VA does the whole front-office job for less.
| Go Hire Virtual VA | In-house office hire | Answering service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $12–$14/hr, no payroll taxes or benefits | $18.27/hr median wage* plus taxes, benefits & PTO | Per-minute or per-call fees |
| Books jobs in your software | Yes, in Xactimate and similar tools | Yes | Usually takes a message |
| Follows up on estimates | Yes, on a set cadence | When there's time | No |
| Invoicing & collections | Yes | Yes | No |
| Review requests & reactivation | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| Knows your trade & customers | Dedicated VA matched to restoration | Yes, after training | Shared operators |
| Time to hire | About 1 week | Weeks to months | Days |
| Commitment | No long-term contract | Employment, onboarding & turnover | Plans vary |
*Median hourly wage for receptionists, May 2025, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Answering service and in-house details reflect typical arrangements; individual providers vary.
Restoration Virtual Assistant Cost
Simple hourly pricing, published up front. No recruiting fees, no benefits, no equipment, and no long-term contracts.
General VA
- Answering loss calls and dispatching crews
- Scheduling, monitoring visits, and homeowner updates
- Job file organization and photo uploads
Professional VA
- Adjuster, TPA, and program compliance
- Insurance AR, deductibles, and bookkeeping
- Estimate support and referral partner marketing
Estimate your savings
Compare a General VA at $12/hr with the wages alone of an in-house receptionist at the BLS median of $18.27/hr.
How to Hire a Restoration Virtual Assistant
Three steps, about one week, from first call to your VA answering the phones.
Book a free task audit
In 15 minutes, we map where calls, jobs, and payments are slipping through the cracks in your restoration business.
Get matched
We match you with a trained, pre-vetted VA who fits your trade, software, and hours, usually in about one week.
Start delegating
Your VA gets to work in your tools, with our client success team supporting you along the way.
What Home Service Owners Say About Go Hire Virtual
“Handles customer inquiries, schedules service appointments, and follows through with all tasks asked of her.”Christina P., family-owned business for 75+ years
“Handling rescue calls from customers with professionalism and urgency… assistance is dispatched quickly and efficiently.”Merinda Pickett, Google review
“I have a bilingual Spanish / English VA who has been handling most of my cleaning company's operations.”J Brady, Google review
Restoration Loss-Season Playbook: What Your VA Handles Month by Month
Water, fire and storm losses do not follow a schedule, but they do follow patterns. Here is how a restoration virtual assistant keeps intake, documentation and collections moving all year.
- Frozen pipe water losses. Your VA captures the loss source, affected rooms and policy details on the first call, dispatches your crew, and starts the job file before the techs arrive.
- Flooding and sewage backups. Your VA schedules drying checks, keeps moisture log uploads on track, and updates homeowners and adjusters so nobody has to chase your project managers for status.
- Storm and smoke season. When storms or wildfire smoke drive a spike in calls, your VA triages by severity, books inspections, and coordinates subcontractors for board-up, contents and reconstruction.
- Insurance AR. Your VA tracks every open invoice, answers carrier and TPA questions, resubmits missing documents, and follows up until each claim is paid.
If your company also handles rebuilds, see what a construction virtual assistant covers. Restoration companies that need roofing help after storms can also review our roofing virtual assistant page, and the full list of trades lives on our home services hub.
Restoration Virtual Assistant FAQs
How much does a Restoration virtual assistant cost?
Go Hire Virtual Restoration VAs cost $12/hr for a General VA (loss intake, scheduling, and documentation) and $14/hr for a Professional VA (bookkeeping, office management, and marketing). A full-time General VA costs about $24,960 a year, compared with about $38,000 in wages alone for an in-house receptionist at the BLS May 2025 median of $18.27/hr, before payroll taxes and benefits.
What does a restoration virtual assistant do?
A restoration VA answers loss calls, dispatches crews, coordinates with adjusters and TPAs, organizes photos and moisture logs, prepares job files for estimating, keeps homeowners updated, and follows up on insurance receivables.
Can a VA write Xactimate estimates?
Your VA can prepare job files, organize photos and moisture logs, and enter scope notes to support your estimator. Xactimate experience varies by VA, so mention it in your task audit if it's a requirement.
Can my VA communicate with insurance adjusters?
Yes. VAs send documents, photos, and status updates to adjusters and TPAs and track every open request until it's resolved.
Can a VA help collect insurance receivables?
Yes. VAs work your AR report weekly, follow up with carriers on outstanding payments, and remind homeowners about deductibles.
How fast can I hire a Restoration virtual assistant?
Most water and fire restoration companies are matched with a trained, pre-vetted VA in about one week, starting with a free 15-minute task audit.
Do I have to sign a long-term contract?
No. There are no long-term contracts or recruiting fees, so you can add VA hours during your busy season and scale back when it slows down.
Do you have bilingual Restoration virtual assistants?
Yes. Bilingual English/Spanish VAs are available to serve Spanish-speaking customers and communicate with Spanish-speaking crews.
Can a restoration VA organize job documentation for insurance?
Yes. Your VA keeps each job file complete with photos, moisture readings, signed work authorizations, certificates of completion and estimates, and makes sure everything is uploaded to the carrier or TPA portal so claims are not held up by missing paperwork.
Can a restoration virtual assistant work with TPA and program jobs?
Yes. Your VA can accept and log program assignments, meet the contact and update deadlines each program requires, and upload notes and documents to platforms your carriers use, so your scorecards stay strong.
Can a restoration VA schedule mold remediation and reconstruction?
Yes. Once mitigation is done, your VA books mold testing and remediation, coordinates reconstruction trades, and keeps the homeowner informed on each step, so the job moves from drying to rebuild without gaps.
Virtual Assistants for Other Home Service Trades
Running more than one service line? Your VA can support all of them.
Spend Less Time on Paperwork and More on Jobs
Book a free 15-minute task audit and see exactly what a Restoration virtual assistant can take off your plate.
Book Your Free Task AuditCall (801) 649-4899