I am done........

helping people get roof replacements only to have them go with another company! From now on I am going to start trying to have them sign some sort of commitment. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how I can do this? I don't want to scare a customer away by presenting a contingency contract before helping them....but maybe this is my only option.

My problem seems to be some insurance companies are asking for estimates before the adjuster comes out.....then if I price a little high and insurance comes in lower....rather than customer calling to let me know what the insurance paid, they just get other estimates and show them contractors what the insurance paid, they do it for that and I lose out without a chance.

Anyone have an agreement you present to your customers before working their claim? DO you mind sharing it with me at SSRB87@Yahoo.com.

I just drove by a job I had been working on getting for 3 weeks and a competitors sign is in the yard. The customer called for gutter repair and ended up needing roof, siding, gutters.......I bid it, got her the claim paid....and didnt even get called and told to fk off. Thanks for letting me vent.

Mike i was paying a public adjuster as an employee to deal with the insurance companys,ie public adjuster! And they got the same bullchit from them,we submitted photos of everything and our itemized exactimate estimates.This was not our first rodeo and i tell you it was nothing but bullshit!

I haven't read this thread except for the last page, and in CIAK's defense, from what I have gathered from Darryl and others, Exactimate, in the hands of a good estimator, will get you a premium price for your roof job. The problem is that most adjusters either don't know what they are doing, or they are willing to let contractors hang themselves.

If you ITEMIZE every single item that exactimate allows you too, you will end up with a very good price for your services, and as long as an adjuster can see the justification of the price on an exactimate quote, he/she is good with it.

PS: I don't do shingles, and I do very little insurance work, so you can give comments as much attention as a silent fart, and I completely understand.

I know this you know this,but when your on this end of it most adjusters act like it is the set price,i know how to line item a claim.Xacateware is more and more becoming a manipulated tool of the insurance industry and loosing any creditbilty with contractors, with unrealistic low prices.We will agree to disagree as you believe Allstate is reputable company,and i not so much.After hurricane lilli in 2002 i realized i didnt want to deal with customers who had allstate.Thier adjusters wether contractors or company robots were usually already very agitated and unpleasant to deal with.More then likely because they beating thier insureds down and they were fighting back.

Some issues I believe are not understood. I don't have the answer but would love to here an explanation.As we all know most of the major roofing Manufactures supply only 98.4sq ft. material per square.This means for every 20.8 squares a minimum of 1 bundle has to be purchased. Do you include this in your estimates to H/O's? Xactimate does not include any cost or assumptions for hip/ridge, drip edge, valley or other roof flashing, pipe jacks, roofing vents, steep/high charges, sales taxes, etc. As Frank mentioned, these items should be added or accounted for separately in your estimate. Xactimate is not Gospel and is constantly being revised. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

I misunderstood you then. Sorry. You are doing it correctly, and I now understand the frustration better.

Now Tinner i didnt do the work for those prices,my point is why do i have to fight to get paid for vents and drip edge, we were repairing all all damages,reoofs,siding,gutters,windows,doors,screens,combing ac units,facia if it was damaged we replaced it.We pursued o&p on every claim to maxumize the loss.It really burnt me out on that storm,it was riduculous what we had to go thru and were not the cheapest!I prefer not to do insurance work because of this crap, but live in an area that has frequent storm damage.So not to do it would mean i could get on welfare,as far as the policy is the contract thats how i would expect an adjuster to end the discussion.I know that,but it does not mean the insurance company is going to abide by it unless forced by the insured or an attorney

"Refusing to pay to replace drip edge and vents unless they had dents from hail hits on them, so for a 30 year roof you making $240.00 a square off exactaware pricing and material was running $130,00 a sq." Just put your prices i, not theirs and raise it to $350. or whatever and as long as you and ht eHO have the contract signed, that's what the Ins. pays. Maybe you and the other 2 contractors willing to really drop your prices to see who could go the lowest.

Xactimate lets you put your costs in the lines where the Ins. Co. decided to put what they 'want' to pay, instead of what it costs.

Robert, I had no intention of insult. A description of the claims process "every circus has a ringmaster" is conspiratorial. I know the adjusters are sometimes learning and sometimes miss things. Nobody is perfect not even the contractors. The H/O's have a contract (policy). They control the process in accordance to there policy ie the contract. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

As a matter of fact State Farm contacted me 2 years ago to become a prefered contractor for them due to the fact from past experience working claims they told me we were a reputable firm and thier field adjusters recommended us.I declined thier offer as it is very one sided and i had no interest in thier program.But if i filled out the app and sent it in,i would be accepted.And how many roofing contractors are solicited by State Farm to become preffered contractors?In our area it was two us and Ace Roofing out of Lafayette and i did ask why they invited us in and was surprised there was only two contractors present.

Ive been working Southern Louisiana for 20 years and am very versed in insurance work,my home is 30 minutes from morgan city and ive worked a bunch of hail and hurricane claims.We do not go half cocked we approach each claim as were supposed to were not trying to get paid for marginal damages on hail and i know what wind damage is.I realized many years ago if the damage is not there your wasting your time,what i see is a pattern to deny,delay and stop the claims process.With this hail storm in gretna it was evident, keep the contractors on the phones with inside adjusters that way thier not out signing more jobs.Pay so little it discourages legitimate contractors from pursuing claims i could go on all day. Please dont insult me and tell me im wrong about this,ive experienced it to often after Gustav every allstate claim i worked the squares were way off.We had adjusters paying homeowners for 25 year roofs and they were 35 year atlas,he didnt have a clue or it was intentional.But when you witnessed it claim after claim, you have to come to the conclusion theres a pattern.Ive been in the roofing industry 30 years and 20 as owner i roof all over Southern Louisiana.

Robert, I work with a company that represents Allstate during Catastrophes. I have many conversations with staff adjusters and independents working claims. Being a roofing contractor of 30+yrs I know both sides of this issue. With the few horror stories, there are many many more stories of satisfaction with the claims process. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

But this paticular storm State Farm was the winner for bad faith! Refusing to pay to replace drip edge and vents unless they had dents from hail hits on them, so for a 30 year roof you making $240.00 a square off exactaware pricing and material was running $130,00 a sq.We roofed and then supplemented for vent and drip edge and i also reported them to the state insurance commisioners office on a couple claims.State Farm Adjusters were telling homeowners our contracts were not valid because there was no pricing on them, just for insurance proceeds.I was employing a PA by the hour to fight these claims as an employee and the inside adujsters refused the supplementals, fighting with adjusters for 8 hrs on a claim to get a claim settled on hail claims is bullshit!

The adjuster eagleviewed the house and eagle view showed the house next door,an easy one story walk on.So she knew it was the wrong house she instructed us to roof and supplement for all the extras, like patio covers,gutters etc.Well we did everything on our end,and then were ignored by her for weeks!No return calls,leave voicemails no responce.She was in Alabama and this claim was a bother.Ciak you often defend Allstate, but here my experience with them and i have lots of experience with them is terrible.

Robert are you saying after the job was finished? The insurance company was holding money to negotiate the price down. After signing a legal contract with the H/O? I don't understand that point.

B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

And I have come to the conclusion that the supply houses have no respect for us either.

Ain't insurance work great? Talk about rope -the -dope.

Ins. Cos. base their pricing on tequila. Supply houses think (know) we are all ignorant fools. Shingle Mfer's. get their defective product bought.

Anymore the Homeowners walk into the supply house, pay the bill and Chuck in a truck gives them the KASH discount.

What goes around, comes around. I hope.