1. Not Doing Your Job.

For most claims, the process should go smoothly for adjusters. They go to the loss site, scope the loss, write the estimate, write the report, and close the claim.

When restoration companies are involved, with drying for example, the adjustment process will be delayed to allow for the drying. The adjuster will likely make a second trip to the loss site to determine the full extent of the damage.

So, if the adjuster goes back to the property and detects that the drying has not been completed, the adjuster will be upset. Now due to a mistake on by restoration company, the loss may grow in complexity because of mold or other factors.

The homeowner will likely be upset as well. Homeowners are not familiar with the adjustment process and may become hostile. The adjuster relies on you to help her make the process go smoothly.

When you are a a job, don’t over do your rip-out. But more importantly, don’t do too little. If you do too much, you will likely get paid since you are the professional and you can operate under the assumption of preventing further damage. But if you do not do enough, you can be the reason for many problems down the road that you do not want to liable for.

2. Writing Estimates Outside of Xactimate

Just don’t do this. You are annoying the adjuster, but most importantly, you are likely leaving a tremendous amount of money on the table. If you are not writing Xactimate estimates, please contact us via the form to the right, so we can help you.

Adjusters want to make apples-to-apples comparisons with their estimates. It is just not possible with non-Xactimate estimates. It takes the adjuster more time, and wastes more time on your part, since invariably your estimate will be subject to a higher level of scrutiny than a Xactimate estimate, and the adjuster will require certain changes.

3. Ripping Out Without Supporting Documentation

A contractor told us a story about once he had a loss with a pipe leak that decimated an entire basement.

When the adjuster arrived at the location, the multi-room basement had been demolished, including all the wall and ceiling drywall, the bathroom, the insulation, light fixtures, etc.

The contractor and public adjuster claimed the cause of this damage was a pipe leak in the wall.

Fine.

But, where’s the documentation?

Neither the contractor, nor the public adjuster bothered to take more than a few blurry photographs on their flip-phone that were — no kidding — about 2” x 2” wide that showed absolutely nothing.

Guess what happened? The contractor submitted an estimate for over $35,000 for the mitigation and rebuild.

What did he get?

A few air movers, a dehumidifier, 2’ drywall around the perimeter, insulation, baseboards, paint, and a re-grout of the tile floor.

Or about $8,000.

Who knows what the damage truly was? All the carrier could do was pay for a basic tear out and rebuild.

Nothing more.

But one lesson is clear: it is your responsibility to document damages to ensure that YOU get paid.

If you don’t, you could get burned just like the company above.

FYI: If you are using a flip phone to document damages, please see our previous article: 5 Ways to Take Better Pictures to Document Damages.