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Subject: Ghost town
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Mike KunzeUser is Offline

Nebr
Member
Posts:385


05/01/2008 9:25 PM  

Tom pretty much said it all.  Looks like a book report outline designed by a business consultant who has never worked a claim in the field. 

Couple things really stick out like the gutters, etc., listed per elevation wall yet the estimate is supposed to be easily understood/readable by the insured/contractor.  Can you say "let's jump from one page to another on this estimate?" and see if everything adds up?

The other thing is requiring use of ITEL for any minimum 100 sq ft of carpeting & uploading your estimate the same day as the inspection.  Unless you know how to click your heels together just right, I always found that the carpet sample needs to be mailed to ITEL and then a few days later you get that valuation back.  In about 75% of the cases, I found the ITEL valuation higher than the actual local pricing or Xact pricing.  Can anyone say that on a consistent basis they found ITEL resulted in any savings?  You have the cost of mailing the package, the time lag to get the results, the fees for the ITEL service, and then potentially what I generally found to be about a $0.40 per sq ft higher valuation.  

I've seen similar requirements from a couple carriers in the past, but not quite like this.  Last time I did work a Met Life property loss was about 3 years ago, and none of these requirements existed.    

Les LammersUser is Offline

Ft. Myers FL
Member
Posts:55


05/06/2008 10:14 AM  

Can anyone say that on a consistent basis they found ITEL resulted in any savings?  You have the cost of mailing the package, the time lag to get the results, the fees for the ITEL service, and then potentially what I generally found to be about a $0.40 per sq ft higher valuation.  

I have not found ITEL to produce any 'savings' on a consistent basis. Yes, usually they are a little higher than the prices in estimating programs. I have no problem using them when the insured is claiming very high value carpet and cannot produce a receipt or other documentation.

 

Steve EbnerUser is Offline
Moderator
Lake Ariel, PA
Member
Posts:320


05/06/2008 11:10 AM  

A much cheaper option:  The burn test.  I know it has fallen out of favor in recent years.  I may even sound like one of those old time Texas adjusters like Ray Hall for even bringing it up.  But.....

There was that assignment in Detroit back in 1999 where every contractor was claiming every home had wool carpet at $45.00 and up per SY.  I would take a sample of the carpet being replaced, take the insured and the contractor out to the driveway, explain to them that wool smelled like burning hair and most non wool carpet smelled like burning plastic.  Then I would pull out the BIC lighter and apply it to a very small sample of the carpet.  When the smell of burning plastic rose up, I would explain that I could send it off to Itel to determine if there was any wool material mixed in with the acrylic, or we could settle this today for a reasonable price on synthetic carpet.  Saved me a lot of fooling around, and provided the insured with a little entertainment value and a lesson in science for their premium dollar.   If the smell of burning wool rose up (happened twice in the course of the entire 10 week assignment), I allowed for wool carpet.


Steve Ebner

"With great power comes great responsibility." (Stanley Lieber, Amazing Fantasy # 15 August 1962)
Tim JohnsonUser is Offline

Hot Springs, Arkansas
Member
Posts:83


05/06/2008 7:39 PM  
Itel is a joke, but for the carriers that demand it, it takes all the guess work out of it. I had a claim where the insured had the house re-carpeted within a month prior to the loss, showed me the receipt, got the Itel report back and the insured got his deductible covered plus a grand in his pocket. He called and I told him to take his wife to the Alabama coast for a few days.

Tim Johnson
Larry HardinUser is Offline
Adjuster
Oklahoma City, OK
Member
Posts:328


05/07/2008 7:54 PM  
ITEL makes the claims easy to close and the companies like it.

Sounds like a "Win--Win" deal to me

Larry D Hardin
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