So, who is the real client – the homeowner or business that had the loss, or the insurance company? I think we will ALL need to be planning on how our services can be afforded by the end-user because one day there will be premiums but there will be few payments just like in the medical world.
The insurance company has the upper hand and will continue to depress prices to restoration companies, and restoration companies are swallowing the bait. They are not stupid, and they have lots and lots of POWER by spreading lots of money into the coffers of politicians.
The best thing for all of us in the restoration field to do is to observe and recognize what insurance did to the medical field. Layer upon layer of paperwork, (think, Xactimate, PAs, consultants, etc.) lower and lower prices back to the people who ACTUALLY DO THE WORK and spend the money on equipment and training. And then we’re all supposed to be happy because the profits get shared by the insurance
company’s “stockholders” in their retirement investment funds.
Physicians several years ago were well-paid professionals that were paid by their clients. Medical insurance changed that and made the insurance company the check writer and the doctors had to team up and get in line to withstand the relentless pressure for lower prices while still delivering quality care. As you all know medical care has as many clerks and recordkeepers as practitioners. Soon, if the insurance firms get their way, you will have more recordkeepers on the payroll than WRT”s
I don’t pretend to have an answer, but just how often has ANY insurance adjuster actually asked you anything about your technical ability? Questioned on thermal imaging, the standard for drying? I would guess 99% of the contact you have with any adjuster is only about how quickly I can close this file and how much will it cost.
All the bottom-feeding insurance bootlickers that are finding new ways to get a piece of our profits will only grow and succeed if we let them. These companies are wooing the insurance companies and telling you that you can’t survive without THEM. Actually, they cannot
survive without the US. The insurance firms are not paying for XYZ’s services out of their profits they are paying for XYZ’s to increase THEIR (the insurance company) profits by cutting YOURS (you, your wife and children, your kid’s college, your fishing vacation trip)
So, when I hear people say, “It’s business” and realize at the same time that “business” impacts my loved ones; No friend, it’s personal! And if XYZ is successful it will spawn some new alien creature to fleece YOUR company. The company is part of your and your family’s future.
By the way, I don’t have problems with adjusters, I have only been questioned twice in ten years on any invoices, have no beef with adjusters that will communicate with me. Adjusters are actually going to be on the chopping block too if the insurance firms can figure out a way to eliminate them.
Guest Author: Mike Conroy, CIEC – Master Restorer
Owner Expert Dry 850-777-6655
