Using a Decision Matrix to Decide Whether to Replace or Rebuild After Disaster

November 30, 2022
Home / / Using a Decision Matrix to Decide Whether to Replace or Rebuild After Disaster

Facing the devastation of your home following a natural disaster often ignites strong emotions and crucial decision-making. After you’ve gone through the initial trauma and the financial repercussions that follow, you’ll need to decide on your next steps. 

Should you repair and rebuild your home or replace it entirely? You’re not alone in this decision as many large areas are impacted each year by natural disasters involving wildfires, flooding, extreme wind damage, and more. 

Weighing the costs and benefits for whichever route is something that has sparked the use of a decision matrix to assist in taking progressive action forward. 

Breaking Analysis Paralysis in Rebuilding after Property Damage

Extreme stress tends to paralyze you when combined with the deadline for a big decision. The term ‘analysis paralysis’ was coined to encapsulate the commonly shared experience of undergoing such mental distress when analyzing your options prior to making a commitment. 

Having too many choices increases your levels of stress and overthinking. Whereas having fewer options tends to bring more clarity and promote quicker decisiveness.

Creating a Decision Matrix May Help

Many devastated homeowners rely on creating a decision matrix to clarify their options and help them sort through the pros and cons without as much emotional interference. 

Here are a few tips on how to create your own decision matrix:

1. Write down everything you want as a result of your decision and what you want in the home you take residence in again. For example, you want to save money and have the same square footage as before. Whatever the case may be, make a list of everything you can think of that would fall under your “want” category. 

2. Separate your list into your non-negotiable wants and the wants that carry more flexibility. You could rank your list or just highlight the ones that are of utmost importance to you. 

3. Next, list what you value most in life and how your decisions will match up with your values. What we value in life often changes as we go through different life stages. For example, perhaps when you bought your home, you wanted to keep up with appearances, whereas now you value less money spent on your home and more quality time vacationing with loved ones. As your values change, your financial investments will too, and how you decide to start over with the home repair or replacement process will be impacted. 

It is important to take time to quiet your mind, narrow down what matters most to you and your family, and allow your values and wants to guide you forward. 

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Policyholders have been benefiting from our knowledge and advocacy for decades. We have handled, managed, and successfully navigated claims ranging from homeowner losses; corporate losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars; disaster losses involving government entities and entire municipalities; agricultural and recall losses, and virtually any type of disaster claim that could be imagined. Our team of Public Adjusters, building cost consultants, inventory specialists, forensic accountants, and equipment consultants is unmatched in our industry. It is easy to be big. But it takes dedication every day to be the best – we have that dedication. Our goal is aligned with yours. To obtain a free insurance settlement assessment of your specific circumstances and recovery please contact us and strategize your optimal means of recovery.