Xactimate

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Would you like to have a little more control over
the process?
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What do you do again?
Its the inevitable question that Ive had asked
many times over the years.  And its
understandable.  I work in a small niche
(210billion) of the construction world called
Restoration.  That means I help people who have
suffered water and fire damage to their homes and
businesses.
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Theres people who specialize in that?
Yes, there are contractors who do nothing but
restoration work.  These contractors are actually
my clients.  I help them handle the insurance
claim processing and writing damage estimates in
Xactimate.
Exact what?
Xactimate.  Its the estimating program used by
90 of the insurance repair industry to quantify
property damage and claim settlements.  Its also
where I see peoples eyes start to roll back in
their heads.  So let me try to simplify the
concept. Insurance claims and the property damage
industry is largely controlled by, you guessed
it, insurance companies.
We call them carriers to be more precise, but
you probably dont care about that.
 What is important to note is that the carriers
have put into place myriad layers of control
systems for the sole purpose of wait for it
saving money. One of these controls is the
standardized, and tacitly mandatory, use of
the Xactimate estimating platform.  While
contractors are not required to use the program,
those that want to get paid DO. One great analogy
is the health care industry.  
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If there was ever an industry dominated by
insurance companies, its health care. In order
to get paid by your HMO, PPO or whatever, your
doctor has to first put everything he does for
you into a matrix of codes.  Theres an entire
field of study calledMedical Coding, and entire
industries specialized in delivering coding
services. Every pill and procedure your doctor
prescribes has a corresponding CODE in the
insurance company database, and a corresponding
price.  Without coders, or software that codes,
doctors would not get paid by insurance
companies.  The same is true of restoration
contractors. If there was ever an industry
dominated by insurance companies, its health
care. In order to get paid by your HMO, PPO or
whatever, your doctor has to first put everything
he does for you into a matrix of codes.
 Theres an entire field of study calledMedical
Coding, and entire industries specialized in
delivering coding services. Every pill and
procedure your doctor prescribes has a
corresponding CODE in the insurance company
database, and a corresponding price.  Without
coders, or software that codes, doctors would not
get paid by insurance companies.  The same is
true of restoration contractors. 
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Xactimate is essentially a  construction coding
 piece of software.  It gives carriers and their
adjusters the ability to quickly create damage
estimates which are uniform in pricing and format
across the nation.  Half-inch drywall (DRY1/2)
and two coats of paint (PNTP2) is the same in New
York as it is in L.A..  The pricing database
contains thousands of items from paving stones to
grain silos. (yes, really) Contractors who are
on the various preferred vendor programs are
required to use Xactimate to generate their
estimates.  And since most adjusters wont deal
with an estimate written in another format, even
non-program contractors use it as well.  Show me
a doctor who doesnt use a coding billing
program.
For restoration contractors, its more important
to know how to write a detailed (complete)
Xactimate estimate than it is to know how to
build a house. I know, someone out there is
yelling at their computer screen right now, but
thats just the way I see it.  Its easy to
contract out construction.  Its harder to get
paid enough, or on time.
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Why should I care?
Most likely you shouldnt care.  Only 10 of
homeowners will experience a disaster of some
kind every year.  But if youre one of those who
do, it is important to understand the basic
building blocks of insurance claims. If youve
had a pipe break, or decided that deep frying a
frozen turkey in the kitchen was a good idea, you
need to know that the amount of your claim
settlement will be determined by an Xactimate
estimate. Ill pause here a moment to let you
imagine what happens when twenty pounds of frozen
bird gets dropped into five gallons of boiling
oil.  Yes, that happens. Every year Who writes
the estimate and for whom they write it is very
important.  Is the adjuster writing it?  Is the
contractor writing it?  Do you have a comfort
level with either, trusting that they
have your best interests first?  Would you like
to have a little more control over the process? I
thought so. Thats why were here.
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Andrew McCabe Xactimate and Insurance Claim
Expert Visit us www.claimsdelegates.com