Some people think that insurance companies are pretty cheap and don’t pay what they deserve on claims. In our experience, that’s extremely uncommon. Most insurance companies make every effort to protect their clients and take care of their needs. The only time we see the carriers try to get involved and cut costs is when an unscrupulous contractor comes along and tries to take advantage of a situation.
We’ve been called several times to quote after another company has given an inflated estimate. We’ve seen estimates of $1,700 for a $700 project and $24,000 for a project we did for $11,500 and in some cases we’ve seen massive amounts of demolition performed for no reason. These types of things drive up the costs of everyone’s premiums and slow projects down because they require extra oversight on the part of the carrier to make sure things are being done properly.
Another thing we’ve heard about is when a contractor inflates an estimate so the policyholder doesn’t have to pay their deductible. That’s insurance fraud. Many times the homeowner doesn’t even know but there are huge consequences to that practice. again that’s where the carriers have to take extra time to investigate claims and that costs quite a bit for everyone.
On occasion, we do see instances where the adjusters miss items in a quote. It’s usually fairly small; something like resetting a towel bar or missing a piece of trim. Sometimes they miss a whole room. In those cases, we communicate with the adjuster and put together a supplement so those items can be covered appropriately and we don’t have delays during the repair portion of the project.
If you want your claim handled with integrity from start to finish and a professional restoration contractor who will ensure legitimate items aren’t missed, give us a call from the moment you see water flowing where it shouldn’t be or the smoke billowing out the windows. STOP Restoration is a full service restoration construction company. We can help with just about anything that can go wrong in your home or business and are available any time – (336) 203-0739.
Written by: Ben McDonald, Triad STOP Restoration – Winston-Salem, NC
