We arrived at the inspection with the estimate already written.
The loss
Fire and smoke damaged a Detroit home. The smoke had moved through the upper floor and into everything stored there, and the ceilings were black well beyond the room the fire started in.
There was no offer yet. We were engaged before the insurance company had inspected the property.
The first pass
- The insurance company inspects first.
- Its estimate becomes the starting point.
- Everything after that is subtraction from their number.
The full claim
- Measured before the inspection.
- An itemised estimate in hand on the day.
- The reconstruction discussed on our figures.
- A final replacement cost of $179,433.
What we did
We measured the property with DocuSketch and wrote a full itemised estimate before the insurance company's inspection took place.
That changes who is answering questions. When the adjuster walks the property, the conversation is about the scope already documented rather than the one about to be written.
The outcome
The claim settled about three months after we were engaged, with no first offer to unwind. The work that usually goes into correcting a number went into building the right one instead.
Identifying details are limited to protect client privacy. Figures are the insurance company's documented position and the final settlement on that claim. Every claim is different, and past results don't predict the outcome of any future claim.
Related
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