If you are in roofing or insurance restoration, having a high-level understanding of the claim process is more important than ever.
Most roofers equate supplementing as the best practices to get insurance companies to pay for more items on claims. While that is part of it, it’s really more complex than that. In reality, to be good at supplementing, what you really need to grasp, is a high-level understanding of the insurance process.
The insurance industry is going through some massive changes. Outside of laws and regulations changing how claims can be processed, the entire insurance business model is shifting to maximize efficiencies – and they are using technology and data to get there.
That’s why supplementing is more about understanding how to prove facts, collect data, and help carriers justify paying a valid claim. When you realize that data is what drives insurance carriers’ decisions, that’s when the big picture starts to unfold.
Being in the insurance restoration industry doesn’t mean you have to fight with carriers on every single claim to get paid what is needed to do the work – it means you need to level up and beat them at their own game. Here’s how:
1. Use A Photo Checklist
Documentation is EVERYTHING when it comes to working an insurance restoration claim – and the old saying is true: a picture is worth 1,000 words. A picture can also be worth $1,000+ in added supplements when it shows actual damage to support the claim.
But what if you have 1,000 images for a claim that are duplicates, blurry, not close, miss damage… In that case, the lack of an image can actually hurt your business.
Even with a tool like CompanyCam that can organize photos for you, your team has to know what exactly to take pictures of.
2. Train for A Proper Damage Assessment with Every Claim
It’s hard to fix a bicycle while you’re riding it. Training your sales team during the busy storm season can feel the same way. Instead, use any downtime during the winter to get ahead with training, especially when it comes to completing a damage assessment for an insurance claim.
3. Develop an In-House Supplement Team
In our experience working with thousands of contractors across the U.S., we have found that one of the biggest predictors of long-term success is having an in-house claim supplement team. Learn why here.
4. Find an Outsourced Partner
Balance Claims exists to help roofing and restoration contractors write accurate Xactimate estimates and also save time and prevent costly errors when dealing with insurance claims. Contractors that work with us can expect fast, compliant, and accurate Xactimate estimates and supplement services, but more than that we provide a level of service you can count on – which many of our competitors can’t.
Interested in bringing Balance to your business? Contact us today to learn more or join the conversation on Facebook or LinkedIn.
