Adjusters Are NOT Responsible

Adjusters Are NOT Responsible

Adjusters are not responsible for the final work product.

They never have been.

Here is an excerpt from a recent Clarity.fm call I had with a client.  The adjuster with Mercury insurance underbid his repairs by at least $10,000.  Mercury insurance also made him move back into his home despite having no kitchen, and with all his contents and cabinets filling his living room.

Not cool buddy. Not cool at all.

(Client): Any advice on what to expect on a claim like mine would be much appreciated. Thanks again.

 

Tough to say without pictures. 30-40k maybe

Jul 19 2016 7:45 PM

 

(Client): The adjuster normally bids that low? Cognitive dissonance.

Jul 20 2016 8:22 AM

No adjuster is the history of adjusting has ever been responsible for the work that needs to be actually done.

If they don’t have to build it or warranty it three years from now, what frame of reference do they have to actual costs?

The only folks who can honestly give a cost estimate are those that are actually willing to do the work – all of it – for the price they quote.

The problems arise when you have “program” contractors, who are willing to compromise the quality of their work, and their integrity, by fitting a project into an unrealistically low “adjuster” estimate.

“We’ll do it for that,” actually means, “We’ll cut enough corners on YOUR project in order to make the adjuster look good.”

*Andy McCabe*

(END Clarity.fm conversation)

I’ll take this one step further.

There are adjusters who tell me, “I used to be a contractor, I know what it takes to [insert construction task].”

I’ve got a question for those adjusters: if you were such a good contractor, who was able to match brocade ceilings flawlessly and marry new base to old without visual differences, why aren’t you still doing it?

I’ve got your answer: you SUCKED as a contractor and couldn’t make a living at it.  

That’s it. Simple reality.

If you were good at hanging and refinishing cabinets, you would still be doing it.  If you were able to perform projects profitably and make owners happy with your final product, then you would be making a better living doing THAT than you are right now.

You chose adjusting as your profession because it was a decent paying job with above average benefits.  And when it comes to figuring out depreciation and interpreting policy provisions you ARE the expert.  When it comes to ordering materials, coordinating subcontractors, performing quality control and ultimately putting people’s lives back together after a major loss, you suck.

So stop pretending otherwise.

 

Need Some Advice Quick?

How To Get Xactimate Estimates Written by Claims Delegates

How To Get Xactimate Estimates Written by Claims Delegates

“How does it work?”

I recently received an email from a new client asking how Claims Delegates “worked”.  She asked several really great questions, and I thought I’d answer them for ya’ll.

In reality I’m being lazy, because these are actually very common questions that I receive all the time, so I’m putting them down “on paper” so I can start sharing a link instead of retyping the answers every time.  Is that OK with you?

Here we go:

What is your charge and how do you charge?

EX; by job type, job amount, amount of time it takes to write the estimate?

We charge by the hour. We have a fee range from $110 to $165 an hour for everyone from old, established clients (lower fee) to brand new folks (coaching included in services).

After the minimum service fee ($299), our estimate generation fee will not exceed 2% of the value of the estimate.

We can turn most water mitigation jobs in 24hrs.  Roof Only replacements take 24-48hrs.  Repair estimate return times depend on the complexity/size of the loss.

Is there a fee to register with your company?

There is a minimum service fee of $500 for first time clients.  This is applied as a CREDIT toward our hourly service charges.

Is there a minimum number of claims?

Or can you take claim by claim?

Absolutely not. No minimum order quantity. (There’s no MAXIMUM either… wink, wink)

It is our hope that you will enjoy the experience of someone else cranking out your Xactimate estimates so much, that you'll soon forget that you ever did it yourself.

Are You Ready to Get a REAL Estimate?

Stake Your Claim

Do you submit to the insurance company for me?

XM8 Can DoWe can send emails directly to adjusters if you prefer. 

We also have the ability to send assignments via Xactanalysis  (XactNet address: CLAIMS.PORTLAND.OR).

You can see how this works in this article.

That means that we can write estimates and submit them on your behalf to TPAs like Lionsbridge and Nexxus.

Phone and email conversations with carriers and adjusters will be billed at the negotiated hourly rate.

How is your communication with your clients?

We communicate every step of the way.  Our projects begin with a phone conversation.  It is important to us that we understand your needs and expectations right up front.

After you submit a Project Intake form, you will begin to receive automated emails from the Claims Delegates XM8 System.  You will receive email updates at every stage of the process, from “Intake” to “Delivery & Upload” of your estimate.

Once an estimate is delivered, a secondary meeting can be set up in order to work through any needed revisions.  Often an email response with changes is sufficient.

We will follow up every week or so after that, to check on the status of any needed Supplements.

Need Some Advice Quick?

Do you do construction estimates as well?

ScopingXM8Absolutely we do construction estimates in Xactimate. 

Our largest estimate to date is a $3.5million apartment building that suffered major water damage.  The project required the use of as-built architectural plans as the basis for our Xactimate sketch.

Of course, most projects fall into the more manageable $15,000 to $35,000 range.  Through the use of Scope Notes sheets and sharing of pictures via Google Drive, we put together a complete Xactimate estimate according to your needs and specifications.

And it all comes with your letterhead and estimator’s name attached.  In the end, the files are all yours (including any ESX files generated).

Do YOU have a question? Hit us up on your favorite Social Media channel!

What is Depreciation and Why Should I Care?

What is Depreciation and Why Should I Care?

I thought I’d record a short video to share my take on depreciation.

I had several hours of driving to do and decided to at least get some thoughts out there.

Depreciation, in short, is the difference between ACV and RCV of your property – whether that be your house, car or furniture.

RCV is the Replacement Cost Value of something.  Phrased differently, RCV is what it would cost to replace an item today.

ACV is the Actual Cash Value, or sometimes referred to as Fair Market Value.  It’s a more subjective valuation of what an item is worth on the open market today.

Why should you care?  Because when it comes to paying out your property claim, your insurance adjuster will use the ACV value as the basis for their initial (and sometimes only) settlement offer.  I see potential errors and problems every day when it comes to property claims and depreciation.  I’ll list a couple here.

Flat Rate Depreciation

This is the most common error I see, and also the most dishonest in my opinion.  Taking a flat 25% or 35% depreciation on a claim is just lazy adjusting and is completely inaccurate.

The adjuster who uses this technique is essentially saying that everything in the estimate has decreased in value at the same rate over the same amount of time.  In the case of property claims, it’s like saying your carpets and countertops have the exact same “useful life”, have experienced the exact same wear and tear, and were installed at the exact same time.  It’s just not an accurate portrayal of reality.

The biggest issue I have with Flat Rate depreciation is the fact that it also reduces the labor costs at the same rate.  How does labor depreciate in value?  It doesn’t.  Depreciating labor then becomes another tool for insurance carriers to reduce the “severity” of claims when dealing with uninformed claimants and contractors.

50% or more Depreciation

I shake my head every time I see an adjuster take 50% or more value from an item.  And I’ve been there when homeowners get fairly upset and insulted by it.  Taking that much depreciation is just hurtful and unfair.

The problem is in the rebuild.  When that homeowner goes to hire a contractor to perform repairs, what is the first thing that contractor will need: a deposit.  A claim that has been depreciated at this level puts the homeowner in a position of having to come out of pocket to start repairs, even if the claim is fully covered.

What Can We Do?

The first thing you can do is understand your policy and the part that depreciation plays.  Most homeowner’s and auto policies have depreciation written in.  It is possible to buy an insurance policy that is “RCV”, you’ve just got to know what to ask for.

The second thing is to understand that depreciation is subjective and completely negotiable.  If you feel that depreciation has been taken unfairly or incorrectly calculated, push back.  Don’t settle for a “that’s just the way it is” answer from your adjuster.  Ask them how they calculated depreciation, and come to the table with your own valuations.

The third thing to do is to learn how to RECOVER the depreciated amount taken.  This is the area that most carriers hope you just forget about.  If you never ask for your depreciation, guess who gets to keep it.  It’s not like the insurance company is going to call you up in a couple months and say, “hey, remember that recoverable depreciation?  Are you gonna want that back?”

Recover Your Depreciation

The most common way to recover depreciation is you spend the money.  For contents, that means going out and replacing that TV or coffee table and providing a receipt for replacement cost.  This is not a straightforward or simple process, and your carrier with drag it’s feet the entire way.

For property damage repair, you can usually get an RCV check written if you show that you’ve contracted for AT LEAST the full amount of the settlement.  This means you’ve negotiated a repair contract with a contractor and their bid meets or exceeds the full claim settlement amount.