# Restoration and insurance glossary 19 terms from water, fire, mold, biohazard and insurance, defined in plain language, with what each one actually means for the scope of work and for your > Source: https://servpronorhfremont.com/glossary/ > Last reviewed: 2026-08-22 --- - Home - Glossary # Glossary This applies across all four perils: water, fire and smoke, mold, and biohazard. This vocabulary decides what a loss costs. The water category determines what gets removed, the smoke residue type determines how it is cleaned, and the mold sublimit determines how much your policy pays. Here are the terms, defined plainly. The distinction matters because it changes what the work actually is, and therefore what it costs. - Actual cash value — Replacement cost less depreciation — what the item was worth in its used condition at the time of the loss. - Additional living expense — Coverage that pays the increase in your living costs while your home is uninhabitable after a covered loss. - Assignment of benefits — A document that transfers your rights under the insurance claim to a contractor, who can then bill and negotiate with your insurer directly. - Bloodborne pathogens — Infectious microorganisms in human blood and other potentially infectious material . Occupational exposure is governed by a federal OSHA standard. - Category 1 water — Water originating from a sanitary source that does not pose substantial risk from dermal, ingestion or inhalation exposure. - Category 2 water — Water carrying significant contamination with the potential to cause discomfort or sickness. - Category 3 water — Grossly contaminated water that can contain pathogenic, toxigenic or other harmful agents. - Flood — In insurance, rising external water. Excluded from standard homeowners policies and covered separately through NFIP or private flood insurance. - Hygrometer — An instrument that measures relative humidity, used with a moisture meter to prove a structure is actually drying. - Mitigation — The emergency phase that stops the loss getting worse — extraction, drying, removal of unsalvageable material. Not the same as repair, and often paid separately. - Mold — Fungal growth that develops on damp materials indoors. - Mold sublimit — A separate, much lower cap that applies to mold remediation regardless of the dwelling limit, and is frequently excluded entirely when the mold results from long-term neglect. - Ozone treatment — A professional deodorization process performed only in unoccupied structures. Ozone is a lung irritant and is hazardous in occupied spaces. - Protein residue — A nearly invisible, varnish-like residue from evaporated organic matter, producing severe odor out of proportion to visible damage. - Psychrometry — The measurement of air and moisture that decides whether a drying plan will actually work — temperature, relative humidity and the amount of water the air is already carrying. - Repair and rebuild — The second phase that puts the building back — a separate scope, a separate estimate and often a separate contractor from mitigation. - Replacement cost value — What it costs to replace the item with a new one of like kind and quality, usually paid in two instalments with the depreciation released after the work is done. - Smoke damage — Damage from smoke residue and odor, which can occur with no fire damage at all. - Water damage — Damage caused by water entering a building or escaping from a building system. ## Related questions - The first hour after any loss - Water categories and what must be removed - Smoke residue types - Mold and the drying window - What your policy covers ## Sources Every source cited on this page - T2 ANSI/IICRC S500 — IICRC (accessed 2026-08-22) - T1 A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home — US EPA (accessed 2026-08-22) - T1 About Mold and Health — CDC (accessed 2026-08-22) Written by: PLACEHOLDER — Restoration Reviewer Reviewed by: PLACEHOLDER — Claims Reviewer Safety reviewed by: PLACEHOLDER — Restoration Reviewer Last reviewed: 2026-08-22