State Farm ins adjusters!!

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John
I'm so sick of dealing with these guys I'm about to just quit doing work for any customer who has them as insurance. I mean it just gets old listening to these guys... Last job they wanted customer to use service master and customer wanted us so....we did the job! Job started off bad with adjuster telling me that the dry down would be complete in 3 days....has no idea materials were drying.... The other guys demand things before they say they will complete payment. Guess what State Farm I not working for you!! Working for the homeowner and I don't have to give you sh&$!!
 

Desk Jockey

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They are difficult to work with but what they are asking is not uncommon from most carriers now days. Try not to get emotional about it and don't burn bridges. You never know when you'll have to deal with them again.
Its the nature of the business, either learn to deal with them or decide if you want in the restortion business.

You are justified being frustrated but its a sign of the times.
 

Jeremy N

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Had one tell me recently that they do not pay for emergency call fees. Lol, okay dokey buddy, no problem...$117 deleted. Please send me the check.

I used to spend a bunch of time trying hard to be the greatest guy so they all loved me. They usually try to ding me anyway, so I charge the absolutely max so the ding doesn't sting so bad.
 
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Can they really deny payment??? And no I don't care about my relationship with State Farm..... I get 90% of my buisness elsewhere not from adjusters
 

Jeremy N

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You sure can fight them if to want to. It is not worth the energy in most cases.

Don't get me wrong I've argued and won many times but sometimes it's best to move right along.
 

Hoody

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They can deny payment if they want, but once you get YOUR CLIENT in the loop, they'll probably lose a long-term customer. I remember a statistic not long ago, but close to 40% of people switch insurance companies after having to put in a claim. The reason: the way their insurance company handled the claim.
 
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I mean they call and say send pics and moisture readings OR we're not paying....but What if I say sorry mr adjuster but I'm working for mrs jones not State Farm..... Sorry mrs jones didn't want to use service master like you suggested!
 

Hoody

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I mean they call and say send pics and moisture readings OR we're not paying....but What if I say sorry mr adjuster but I'm working for mrs jones not State Farm..... Sorry mrs jones didn't want to use service master like you suggested!

I don't think that sending in pictures or moisture readings is a bad thing or out of line. In fact I would make it standard protocol just to have all of that on file in case one day something goes south so your back side is covered. The photos are great for marketing anyways.

I've been involved in situations where we were the last company to touch the property and 6 months after we did the loss they found a significant amount of mold growth. The homeowner's lawyer looked right us licking his chops. Luckily we were able to prove that we indeed did dry the structure completely. It was found that there was a crack in the foundation at fault for the new damage. Even if they had found that crack, there would have been no way to prove in a court a law that we were not at fault. They could have easily said that we did not properly dry the structure and the mold growth start and the new foundation crack made the situation worse.

You have to remember - as much of a PITA it is, if you can make the adjusters job a little easier so they can justify the payment of a claim the their superiors, then you both will win. That doesn't mean to discount. It's their job to try to bring the bill down so you can always expect it. If you have your crap together, there is really no reason why they won't pay your bill. I would regularly put notes into Xactimate quoting standards when we needed the extra equipment, along with any calculations to justify it too.
 
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Desk Jockey

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You don't have to deal with them but they can drag payment out forever. This why they prefer to deal with their vendors because they provide the documentation they want.

Just get in the habit of doing so and your dealings will go smoother. Still a pain but smoother.

The tail cannot wag the dog no matter how much you and I wish it could. Fighting it, no one wins. Not you, not your client, not the insurance company. Its lose, lose for all involved.

Do your client and yourself a favor and conform to the new "norm".
 
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tmdry

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The last Travelers claim we did the adjuster told us that travelers does not pay for Axials LOL -

I've never had that come up in the past, have done numerous of their claims before, but ok no problem, send the check to our address and pay me...they did.
 
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Who says that's okay.... What's these adjusters gonna say when you reply..... "Okay I'll tell mrs jones the customer that your not paying for that and she is responsible "
 

dealtimeman

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This is a all together too familiar feeling that I got over pretty quick a few years into the biz.

It is important to not take this stuff personally, and just because I typed it this sentence easily, it is not an easy thing to accomplish of not taking these "attacks" ( I use the word "attacks" because that is what they felt like to me in the moment, they can feel different to you, but I took them as personal attacks)

It is important to take a step back and give a good attempt into understanding the whole process and appreciating who and why, everyone that is involved and why they are involved.

You and the homeowner are involved because they needed your services and you rendered said services in full and all the correct way.

If you completed your job correctly and to the certification standards of your industry, then you took pictures and took readings daily-adjusting equipment/adding or removing certain pieces as areas dried.

We document all of these moisture readings not because they are fun to take and write down, we do these as this is what the standard asks of us and is what we will stand on if this job ever is questioned for liability purposes in a court or to justify any charges and why, what was done, when it was done.

All a part of dotting your I's and crossing your T's. Having all of your ducks in a row and what not. I could keep going but will refrain.
 

dealtimeman

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Then we have the insurance company and their people contributions to the job. First we will surely have a desk adjuster over all of the job. We will have a field adjuster that will come out to said job( for us almost always after the job is complete and about 50 percent of the time it is an independent adjuster)

And lastly but certainly the specialized water mitigation adjuster, who provides the most entertainment / anxiety and frustration depending how it is viewed and taken, who has taken a few water mitigation and asd classes is certified by the crcii and knows how to dry a building or structure better than you do. He is here after the job is complete, to put in question all that you did or did not do. Along with why you are charging for the various line items on your bill.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THIS GUY IS A PROFFESSIONAL AND HAS PASSED THE INCREDIBLY DEIFFICULT CRCII COURSES AND PROBABKY HAD AT LEAST ONE HANDS ON ASD TRAINING SO HE MUST KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING.

If you dotted your i's and crossed your t's, he just wants to see it on paper. He wants to see progression throughout your job ensureing equipment ratios and being upheld while psychometric reading are being taken and evaluated on a daily basis and adjusted for. He or she will check cubic area to see if you had the right amount of equipment according to the standard and so on.

From there you must step back understanding or trying to understand and appreciate everyone involved.
 
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dealtimeman

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From there you must step back understanding or trying to understand and appreciate everyone involved and their part in the process.

Through experiences- both good and bad, we have honed our process and adjusted ( and will keep adjusting as we see need to do so) our process of how we sell, perform and complete all mitigation jobs.

We begin immediately with assurances to the customer that we will be taking full care of their property and we will support them throughout the whole process. Once trust is obtained and the customer is in calm clear state( sometimes doesn't happen on the first day) we begin to educate the customer on the process and how everything is going to go. We explain as well as give them a form explaining that they are first and foremost responsible for ALL MONIES FOR SERICES RENDERED, regardless if the insurance wants to pay or not. LCS is working for them and not the insurance company.

We explain and tell them that the insurance company will probably ask them to use their preferred vendor and share with them all the wonderful facts about that process.

What is great about taking the time to do what is outlined above, is the satisfaction of seeing or hearing the customer when they tell us that the insurance company did exactly what we had said they would try to do, and that gives them all the more assurance and begins to form trust/confidence that will be needed more so on the difficult jobs but good for all jobs regardless.
 
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dealtimeman

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parties involved

1. The property owner otherwise known as the customer.

2. You, the WDR contractor, the renderer of services.

3. Desk adjuster, collects more information and continues to build the file.

4. Field adjuster, shows up either after the job is complete or while job is in progress. Takes pictures gather more info walks job so on and so forth continues to build and add to file for claim.

5. SPECIAL MITIGATION ADJUSTER, as mentioned above this is the one that usually causes the most anxiety/ feels like the one who is attacking your work and your procedures. Please keep in mind this adjuster has had one or two trainings and currently holds crcii certifications for water damage and asd. Truth be told the mitigation adjuster might actually have some hands on experience like working for a WDR company or like.
 

dealtimeman

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If it was just parties 1 and 2 the process would be easy and relatively unchecked as to why and what was done, but again easy.


With some insurance companies, parties 1,2, and 3 can get everything done to get paid and everything done without too much hassle unless there are some charges that are in question.

Then we have Allstate, farmers, State Farm and others that want to do some sort of process to try to ensure they are not paying monies for services that were not inline with the standard.

So then we have all parties involved all checking to see if everything is done to the standard or as close as possible. It is designed( from what I have seen) to apply as many speed bumps to mainly our billing as possible. These adjusters ar not bad poeple, they are just doing their jobs and therefore going thru the process of their jobs in order to close the claim.

Their job is to question why it took you 5 days to dry out a job, that on paper looks like it should of taken 3 days max. If you did your job according to your training and certification you will have documentation to back up why you did what you did and the scenario that warranted those actions.

If you dotted your i's and crossed your t's this should be a matter of compiling your report of mc readings and psycrometric readings and playing the job out in the report.

THE WDR ADJUSTER CAN NOT ARGUE YOUR PROCESS HE OR SHE WAS NOT THERE AND DIDNT SEE FIRST HAND THE DIFFICULTIES OR DIFFERENT ISSUES THE JOB HAD.

BUT YOU BETTER OF DOCUMENTED THEM WELL!!!

And this is where most companies fail, in their documentation.
 
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dealtimeman

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Do you get mad when a police officer gives you a citation and you were actually speeding?

If yes then I can't help you, as you don't understand that he was just doing his job, and you were speeding.

Does it bother you that you got a ticket, yes but please understand that is part of what he gets paid to do.

Same with the adjusters, it is just there job. For goodness sake, we call them ADJUSTERS!

What could their jobs possible entail? Oh yeah it is to adjust or justify the claim and document the claim as such.

To make it easy we will usually give them at least one line item to remove from the invoice in a show of good faith and understanding in the process and affirming their position as the adjuster. THIS MAKES EVERYTHING SO MUCH EASIER TRY IT ONE TIME TO SEE THE MAGIC.

JUST BECAREFUL as once you give the one line item it is in both their nature and their job description to ask for more, so stick to your guns and allow just one item unless you actually made a mistake and more line items need to be removed or totals corrected.
 

dealtimeman

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I typed all of this for reference for future searches and hopefully to let others know that they are not being targeted specifically, and that this is normal in our industry.

Try hard and don't take it personal as it is not worth it. As you will be paid for all services in time that are correctly due to you as long as you did everything correctly.

Hope this helps some.
 

Greg Cole

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The last Travelers claim we did the adjuster told us that travelers does not pay for Axials LOL -

I've never had that come up in the past, have done numerous of their claims before, but ok no problem, send the check to our address and pay me...they did.
LOL! I had an adjuster tell me the same thing.. He is also the same guy that 2 weeks later tried to tell is to put 6 fans in a crawlspace and not to put a dehumidifier down ( dirt floor) prior to pur replacing the vapor barrier. We just laughed and sent him a copy of the standards....
 

Greg Cole

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Do you get mad when a police officer gives you a citation and you were actually speeding?

If yes then I can't help you, as you don't understand that he was just doing his job, and you were speeding.

Does it bother you that you got a ticket, yes but please understand that is part of what he gets paid to do.

Same with the adjusters, it is just there job. For goodness sake, we call them ADJUSTERS!

What could their jobs possible entail? Oh yeah it is to adjust or justify the claim and document the claim as such.

To make it easy we will usually give them at least one line item to remove from the invoice in a show of good faith and understanding in the process and affirming their position as the adjuster. THIS MAKES EVERYTHING SO MUCH EASIER TRY IT ONE TIME TO SEE THE MAGIC.

JUST BECAREFUL as once you give the one line item it is in both their nature and their job description to ask for more, so stick to your guns and allow just one item unless you actually made a mistake and more line items need to be removed or totals corrected.
It's also important if you are going to remove a line item to first hear them completely out before you start negotiating. Keep an email paperlog of what you agree to.
check the per sf pricing also. We had a state farm adjuster send us a version 7 pricelist for august 2014 and ours was version 8. He couldn't explain ( NOR xactimate) why his prices were 2-3 cents cheaper on most demo items
 
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BLewis

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Thanks Michael for the lesson. I have copied and pasted it all for my WDR file. I have had limited experience dealing with insurance companies so that will be great info for the future!
 

Dan

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Awesome job Michael. You shared a ton of knowledge. I agree its worth printing just to keep in check.
 

Big Jim

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Michael could not have any better at outlining what every water damage restorer really needs to understand and apply if they wish to succeed in this arena. For anyone having challenges with insurance interactions; do yourself (and the industry) a favor by understanding and applying everything so well expressed in this post.
 

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