So you’re handling your own insurance claim?

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So youre handling your own insurance claim?
Really?
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These last couple weeks, Ive noticed a subtle
theme in some of the people Im speaking with. 
It has been bothering me enough, and putting
these people in bad enough positions, that Ive
decided to write about it in the hopes that
others will learn a better way. What I noticed
is that some potential clients have decided that
they know best, and that they are smarter than
everyone else who have experienced an insurance
loss.  This very same theme is why Home Depot is
a multi-billion dollar company and TurboTax is a
household name there are a lot of things that
you can truly do yourself and potentially save
money.  But there is a difference between using
a CPA vs taxes-in-a-box. This phenomenon is not
new.  There have always been those who look for a
cheaper way to do things, or shortcuts to their
goals.  My dad would complain all the time about
people who would call his shop for advice. 
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Dad ran an electrical shop for twenty years. 
There wouldnt be a week that would go by without
someone calling to pick his brain.  There is some
of this that is expected.  In order to know
whether your services are needed, you have to ask
questions and educate your potential client on
the process of what it is that you do.  If
someone describes their problem, and you have a
solution, then a deal can be struck they can hire
you to help solve their problem. The problem
that my dad complained about, and the trend Ive
seen lately, are those people who would call him
in the hopes that he could help them solve their
problem without actually hiring him.  I overheard
several of these conversations over the years,
and they generally went something like this
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Hi there, Im SoAndSo. Im running some wire to
my new stove. (Red Flag 1 Non-electrician
running wiring)Hi Mr. SoAndSo, my dad would
say, What can I do for you? Well Ive got a
GE DoubleDecker WhopperDo and Im trying to
decide whether to use a twenty amp or a
thirty-amp breaker. (Red Flag 2 asking for
electrical advice. 3 any decently mechanical
person knows the correct answer.)(Just so you
know, the correct answer is NEITHER. You should
use two thirties with a two-pole setup) At this
point, my dad would have a choice offer to send
an electrician to fix their issue, or spend the
next thirty minutes playing Electrical
Helpdesk.  And he usually did the latter.  It
was so hard for him NOT to answer the question,
What would you do?  And he is just the worlds
most helpful person, so he couldnt help it. 
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Mr. SoAndSo would hang up the phone to go wire
his house himself, and dad would hang up the
phone and give his patented grumble-sigh-aaaarrrg
ghhhh (usually reserved for when I forgot to
take out the trash).  My dad knew that hed just
spent a half-hour helping someone NOT hire him.
He also had visions of some poor soul lying
unconscious on his kitchen floor as his house
burns down around him.  Electricity doesnt
mess around, and does not suffer fools gladly.
This free estimate culture pervades our
society.  Ask any sole proprietor in any service
business and Im sure theyll have stories of a
serial non-customer who calls for free
consultation on a regular basis.  The number of
reasons this is a bad idea for all involved is
too great to address in one sitting, so Ill
focus on the would-be client/pseudo-expert.  Ill
even number them for simplicity.
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1)      If it were easy (and safe) enough for
laymen to do, there wouldnt be specialty
trades.  We have electricians, plumbers, CPAs and
doctors because their trades are sufficiently
complicated to be regulated and licensed by
cities, states and the Fed.  Yes, there are
simple things that we can all do for ourselves. 
Beyond the simple things, we are all better off
leaving it to the real professionals.
2)      Advice given freely doesnt equal a
specifically tailored solution. When someone asks
me a general question about insurance claims
or Xactimate estimates, I give an equally general
answer.  My advice does not speak to the persons
individual situation, policy language or claim
circumstances. And, as Ive learned from my dads
experience, if someone does ask me to speak about
their specific circumstance, I (usually) ask them
to sign a service contract. Which leads to
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3)      Action taken on free advice, which ends
poorly, provides the recipient with ZERO recourse
on the one who gave the advice. Liability
policies, Errors Ommissions policies,
malpractice and contractor bonds are all things
that exist to protect clients from mistakes that
people make.  That is why some trades like
lawyers have strict policies against providing
ANY consultation or specific advice without
compensation or retainer. 4)      The world is
full of smarter, more experienced people This
brings me to the heart of the matter.  If you
believe that you are smarter than me, why are you
asking me for advice and information?  If you
believe that you can do my job better than me, if
only you can get a couple pointers, then why
are you doing something else for a living? What
really gets me is those people who think they can
outsmart industries and companies that have been
around for HUNDREDS of years.  
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Do you really think that the IRS hasnt already
figured out the trick youre about to try? 
What makes you think that your insurance company
doesnt know that people are constantly looking
for a way to take advantage of their property
claim? 
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The reality is that most trades have more
potential pitfalls than jackpots.  Professionals
make their livings by knowing the rules and
playing by them day after day.  Getting rich
quick just doesnt happen (very often).   For
every story about finding the tax loophole or
insurance claim trick that landed someone
thousands of dollars, there are hundreds of
people that found out the hard way that messing
around with trillion-dollar industries is a bad
idea. I make my living the hard way going to
work every day and fighting for my clients.  The
fact that there are so few companies like mine
out there is a testament to how difficult my
industry is.  Truth is, the insurance claims
industry is downright hostile to new players with
new ideas about how things can be done. 
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I continue to do my work because I believe that
I DO have a better way, and I want to change my
industry.  Yet my approach is measured, in a
better mousetrap kind of way, NOT in a card up
my sleeve way. So, to all of you out there who
fight the good fight every day in their chosen
profession, who put the best of themselves into
everything they do because its the right thing
to do, I say, Carry on men (and women)!  We
are the light (or something like that). For those
of you with a problem that needs solving, find a
quality professional to help you out.  Ask people
you trust for referrals, and take the advice of
friends. And to everyone looking for a shortcut
via free advice, be warned.  You WILL get what
you pay for.   
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When its time to talk to your insurer, talk to a
Claim Delegate first.
Andrew McCabe Xactimate and
Insurance Claim Expert
www.claimsdelegates.com