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
(Client):
The adjuster normally bids that low? Cognitive dissonance.
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?
Also published on Medium.
