As I write this post I am looking out the window at large ice dams and 6 foot snow drifts at my home in central Massachusetts. I remember back in 1995-96 when we had similar weather we were shoveling off roofs for three weeks. The damage to roofs, ceilings, walls, siding and floors was immense.

Working as a public adjuster and contractor, I settled insurance claims for homeowners and wrote over 2 million dollars worth of work.

You can also learn how to do this.  The damage now occurring to homes in Massachusetts and New Hampshire is historic. Their will be thousands of claims in the next two months leading to work all year.

Today I am helping contractor coaching clients set up their Construction Insurance Estimating Services. We teach them how to work with the insurance claim process to help their clients get accurate and fair settlements.  

Homeowners are at a disadvantage and need help with ice dam and storm damage claims

In 1996 I learned that homeowners are at a severe disadvantage when they receive an estimate offer from an insurance adjuster. Most of the claims I settled that year were first assessed by insurance adjusters at 50% of what I eventually convinced them to pay. It was astonishing to see insurance company adjusters leave out covered scope of work and use low ball numbers when figuring the claim amount. Homeowners who settled early before they met me, soon discovered that the amount offered by the insurance adjuster would not cover hiring a professional contractor. If anything, the homeowner would have to leave out scope of work if they wanted a pro or they would have to take their chances with lower priced contractors.

To settle insurance claims effectively you need to know the rules the insurance companies play by and what they are required to pay for to make the homeowner (insured) whole. The insurance companies use complicated estimating software and confusing terms trying to get away with underpaying the claim. I recommend that clients never trust the first offer from the insurance adjuster. In fact, after handling hundreds of claims you can never trust the first offer until it is vetted by a professional contractor.

Help you homeowner clients by estimating the claim

If you have customers who have damage they will need your help in the claim process. Let your customers know they do not have to take the first offer and they should hold off until you can assess the damage on their behalf and compare to the insurance estimates. Yes this means get the insurance scope of work and estimate first before doing one for free. Also let your client know they do not have to go with the insurance adjusters hired gun referred contractor.   

The next step is to ask the homeowner if they want your help in putting together a detailed line item estimate based on ALL the damage and triggered code upgrades. The insurance company will require a detailed estimate that breaks out the labor, material, overhead and profit. You will need a construction Insurance Estimate agreement for this and you will charge them an hourly fee for developing the accurate scope of work and pricing. You will need to assess any code upgrade work as well. In most cases the insurance adjuster will fail to mention that code upgrade work is covered under most policies.

Then as part of your service you will meet with the insurance adjuster and attempt to find common ground and settle the scope of work and then subsequent pricing.

When you and the adjuster disagree on scope of work and pricing, you defend your professional estimate. Most of the time when they are proved wrong by a professional they increase the scope of work and subsequent pricing.

You homeowner client will be better served if they have you on their side defending them against the tactics of insurance adjusters. 

If you need help on how to do this please contact me and we can discuss setting up a Construction Insurance Estimating Service for you so you can help your clients receive accurate and fair pricing to restore their home to the pre-loss condition.