2024 Mitchell Estimating Service Recap
A look back on the year to identify trends in the industry and potential opportunities for us and our clients.
Trend #1 - Insurance companies continue to increasingly rely on less experienced personnel to process insurance claims. I’m sure there are many factors that explain this trend – likely cost savings and meeting claim volume demand are two big reasons. Knowing when and how to push back against a bad comparative estimate or a decision made by the insurance company is vitally important.
Related tips:
We tend to do most of our communication with adjusters on the phone and while traveling or in between our actual work throughout the day. When decisions are made by insurance staff or TPAs (third party administrators), request that they email their decision or requested changes in writing to you and the homeowner. Crazy things get said by adjusters and TPAs over the phone that might not make it into writing.
Know the difference between coverage denial and denying a particular scope of work. Adjusters tend to say something isn’t “covered,” for any scope of work they aren’t paying for, but it is important to distinguish between scope of work that isn’t covered by the insurance policy and scope of work they just don’t think is necessary or reasonable. ***For any scope of work not covered by the policy most states require a written explanation or denial letter be sent to the policy holder with policy language to support the denial.*** Knowing why something is not being included in an estimate helps guide how our objection should be escalated.
If something the insurance company decides doesn’t seem fair or reasonable, it might not be. Don’t be afraid to communicate this with the homeowner and consider filing a consumer complaint through your state’s department of insurance portal. Contractors themselves cannot typically file the complaint on behalf of the homeowner — check your local requirements.
Trend #2 - Capturing a detailed sketch of the loss and detailed photos is challenging for many of our clients. This trend makes perfect sense. We are experts at running our business and doing the work, but drawing a sketch and photography aren’t priorities. Consider upgrading your documentation game. As related to Trend #1, lack of experience in adjusting talent gives you the opportunity to be the authority. A detailed accurate sketch and great photos signal this to anyone looking at the file and your customers.
Related tips:
Use a laser tape (like this Bosch) to take your measurements.
Always hold your phone in landscape (sideways) using wide the .5x wide angle setting for room overview, at least two overviews per room, and normal 1x setting for closer photos of the damage.
Invest in tech like an insta360 type camera and/or upgrade your phone/tablet to an Apple PRO version which includes LiDAR. MagicPlan is an impressive app that when paired with the Apple PRO LiDAR functionality will diagram a room by letting your wave your phone/tablet around like a magic wand. I scanned my entire home in 10 minutes and had a very professional floor plan.
Trend #3 - Out of all insurance company written estimates we reviewed this year, the total that didn’t miss any items or require any update was……ZERO. All the estimates we looked at had at least one item missing. Many had much, much, more missing. Chalk this trend up to human nature. Adjusters are people too and they are under a lot of pressure to bang estimates out quickly and not overpay. The result: they are going to miss items.
Related tips:
Review the insurance estimate room by room and line by line. Compare their scope or work to your scope of work. Also, make sure you know what the Xactimate line items they used include. Some line items specifically exclude related work. Example: the Tile Shower - 61-100SF line item doesn’t include the shower pan or mortar bed, nor does it include cement backer so those items should be added as separate line items.
Trend #4 - Homeowners reached out to us directly to engage our service. They needed us to help the contractor they chose to do the repairs better interface with their insurance company. Most of our clients are restoration companies and service providers looking for an estimator to handle their insurance estimating or “billing.” It was interesting to see an increase in homeowners directly requesting we work with their contractor to deliver the insurance company an Xactimate estimate.
Related tips:
If your contractor doesn’t know what Xactimate estimating platform is or why the insurance company is requesting an itemization, give us a call. We might be able to help! Reach out now!