Drying vs. Build Back

tres davis

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What is the average ratio for the drying portion vs the build back? I know there are lots of variables just curious what everyone's ballpark figure is.
This one was a water heater leak ceiling down across 4 rooms and a bathroom. Floor was concrete so did not have to do much on that end.
 

Desk Jockey

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We only do the mitigation no build back. Of the jobs we process 3/4 of them need little to no reconstruction.

However that last 1/4 can be some serious work for a contractor.
 

tres davis

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The reason I'm asking is because we are on day 60 waiting for an insurance check. Literaly zero correspondence from the adjuster. Main office says it's under audit because the bill for drying was almost the same as for the build back. They said it's highly unusual. There was a lot going on in this house (I had a previous post about it, moisture barrier on frame) and it took 2 days longer than "normal". I could easily explain it but they don't even bother returning a call or calling to ask a question.
 

Desk Jockey

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The reason I'm asking is because we are on day 60 waiting for an insurance check. Literaly zero correspondence from the adjuster. Main office says it's under audit because the bill for drying was almost the same as for the build back. They said it's highly unusual. There was a lot going on in this house (I had a previous post about it, moisture barrier on frame) and it took 2 days longer than "normal". I could easily explain it but they don't even bother returning a call or calling to ask a question.
You need to pursue it harder and find out who you need to speak to beyond the jerk that won't return your calls.

You can start with involving the homeowner if they are in your corner. If they are not the confrontational type, then you'll need to pressure the receptionist to speak with the claims supervisor. You want a date, a time when you can expect for this to get resolved.

On your end did you turn in all pertinent documentation to support the invoice? If not I'd gather it up and scan it to electronic so you can email it to the supervisor.

You don't need to go ballistic but you need to be firm. 60-days is more than sufficient time for them to come to some conclusion. :oldrolleyes: :angry: :evil:
 

Greg Cole

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The reason I'm asking is because we are on day 60 waiting for an insurance check. Literaly zero correspondence from the adjuster. Main office says it's under audit because the bill for drying was almost the same as for the build back. They said it's highly unusual. There was a lot going on in this house (I had a previous post about it, moisture barrier on frame) and it took 2 days longer than "normal". I could easily explain it but they don't even bother returning a call or calling to ask a question.
The size of the bill can certainly trigger it to go toa different team inside the insurance company. Mitigation bills over $30k ALWAYS get kicked up to a major loss division with the major insurance companies. Thos usually take us 60-90 days to get paid.
The answer you got about it being close to the reconstruction side is likely BS. Many of our recon jobs are $1k-$5k. Total gut jobs obviously are much more. The only thing I can think of is:
If the job was a gut job and the bill is equal to the recon- then maybe that raised red flag. total guts should almost always dry within 3 days of demo being completed.
 
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tres davis

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Spoke with the homeowner today and I was informed that the insurance company has already paid their preferred vendor in full for the build back....which has not even been scheduled yet. That's some shifty business right there wow
 
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tres davis

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The size of the bill can certainly trigger it to go toa different team inside the insurance company. Mitigation bills over $30k ALWAYS get kicked up to a major loss division with the major insurance companies. Thos usually take us 60-90 days to get paid.
The answer you got about it being close to the reconstruction side is likely BS. Many of our recon jobs are $1k-$5k. Total gut jobs obviously are much more. The only thing I can think of is:
If the job was a gut job and the bill is equal to the recon- then maybe that raised red flag. total guts should almost always dry within 3 days of demo being completed.
It was not a gut job. Cat 1 loss
Had to take ceiling out in a bathroom and pull out cabinets/vanity in bathroom. Other than that it was just cut in exterior walls and holes interior etc
Only thing weird was there was a moisture barrier topical coating on the bottom frame boards(from a mold remediation after incorrectly handled water damage years prior) that I didn't figure out until day 3. Then had to sand that off along 2000 linear feet and leave equipment there for 3 more days. So if they just take an average sq ft cost and plug into a computer it might be higher than average. All it takes is a phone call to us and we can explain. The thing that bothers me is that the adjuster literally has had zero correspondence. I'm just trying to imagine what they could be auditing for 60 days when they have no information.
 
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Greg Cole

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It was not a gut job. Cat 1 loss
Had to take ceiling out in a bathroom and pull out cabinets/vanity in bathroom. Other than that it was just cut in exterior walls and holes interior etc
Only thing weird was there was a moisture barrier topical coating on the bottom frame boards(from a mold remediation after incorrectly handled water damage years prior) that I didn't figure out until day 3. Then had to sand that off along 2000 linear feet and leave equipment there for 3 more days. So if they just take an average sq ft cost and plug into a computer it might be higher than average. All it takes is a phone call to us and we can explain. The thing that bothers me is that the adjuster literally has had zero correspondence. I'm just trying to imagine what they could be auditing for 60 days when they have no information.

I would get the homeowner invloved at this point. The squeaky wheel gets the oil and you are nearing your lien max time. The homeowner will raise hell in order to prevent this from happening. Be nice- but be firm
 

Greg Cole

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Spoke with the homeowner today and I was informed that the insurance company has already paid their preferred vendor in full for the build back....which has not even been scheduled yet. That's some shifty business right there wow

Sounds like your $ went to the recon!
 

tres davis

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On the phone now with u s a a and their claims office person is telling me that they have never seen an invoice for water mitigation this large lol!
It's 17k are u serious lady??
 

Desk Jockey

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Hell, we've a few in excess of 100K before. All mitigation no rebuild and we are in small town USA.
If she has seen any she hasn't worked in that department long.
 

tres davis

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First response from adjuster was Friday at 4:58pm and he said he would be out of the office next week ha
Said he was sending a "non negotiable" check for 11k
I will be negotiating

Is equipment decontamination legit for a category 1? I think it's justified because you have to clean out Sheetrock dust so you don't blow it all over the next job and also there was a previous mold remediation in this house. Better safe than sorry in my opinion. We clean equipment after every job regardless of category

He also didn't want to pay for air scrubbers

He also didn't want to pay emergency service call(after hours) or any supervisor hours
Our payroll out on the job is more than the line items on xactimate for this so we had line items plus some hours. They said no hours you can't double dip.

Thoughts?
 

tres davis

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Definately not cashing the check. Will be disputing.
What do y'all think about the other points? Just curious what others thought about the disputed stuff
 
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Desk Jockey

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Who is the carrier? Cheap insurance companies are going to adjust on the cheap. Their premiums are low and so they cut everything back when there is a claim.
 

Desk Jockey

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They are good & bad. We do work for them and most of the time no big deal but we did have a large loss for them once that was a real struggle to get paid. The adjuster was ignorant and felt that our rates should have been Xactimate even though the home was a multi-million dollar home.
$50K chandlier's don't fit Xactimate. The had an imported hand painted glass ceiling in the kitchen that was worth 80K and he wanted us to clean it for wall washing rates. The guy was a dipshit. :oldrolleyes:
 

tres davis

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I'm young and look even younger than I actually am. He was a grumpy old dude and prob thinks I need that to pay my bills. If I had to have that money now i would just have to cash it and they save 6k
That's a good little hustle for them
 

Desk Jockey

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That's a good little hustle for them
Yes that's how they work. Drag it out on purpose, shuffle papers here and there make requests for more documentation, complain whether it was necessary or how they could have gotten it done cheaper.

We got paid on the big one but we did make some concessions, I suppose on any large loss there is some give & take. However the lack of respect for not only our company but the industry in general was very disappointing.
 

Greg Cole

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First response from adjuster was Friday at 4:58pm and he said he would be out of the office next week ha
Said he was sending a "non negotiable" check for 11k
I will be negotiating

Is equipment decontamination legit for a category 1? I think it's justified because you have to clean out Sheetrock dust so you don't blow it all over the next job and also there was a previous mold remediation in this house. Better safe than sorry in my opinion. We clean equipment after every job regardless of category

He also didn't want to pay for air scrubbers

He also didn't want to pay emergency service call(after hours) or any supervisor hours
Our payroll out on the job is more than the line items on xactimate for this so we had line items plus some hours. They said no hours you can't double dip.

Thoughts?
sorry for the delay in responding. NO - decon on cat 1 is absurd. Demo of sheetrock is to be performed PRIOR to bringing in the equipment. the only time we charge for it is wen we place an air scrubber for the demo portion. we get 1 day rental and pre-filters.
Cat 1 air scrubber are iffy - we place them on EVERY job regardless if we get paid for them.
emergency service call is valid provided you can prove you routed them immediately over versus scheduling for the next day, etc...
- good luck double dipping on the hours - Supervisory is hard to collect on unless you have a crew of 10 or more onsite.
our guide for billing is simple- is it reasonable- NOT - can we charge for it and get away with it!
 

hogjowl

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I hav a different take on this. May be the insurance companies are just growing tired of you guys charging the exorbitant rates you charge. Sure, I know the insurance companies helped set those rates with their vendor programs and exactimate pricing schedules and all, but you guys stretch it to the point of breaking all the time. I see it constantly.

In fact, I went in to my new State Farm agents office to purchase life insurance for my new grandbaby last week and the dude spent 20 minutes complaining about ServePro and ServiceMaster. He was practically begging me to start doing DR work.

No thanks.
 
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Desk Jockey

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Pigsnot I'm sure you are more right than wrong. The insurance industry has brought it upon themselves for letting the cowboys they sign up run free and scrutinize the shit out of the rest of us independents.

If we can't justify why we used a piece of equipment or performed a service, we don't charge for it. Truth is our services are valued far more by other entities than the insurance industry.

They recognize the value of the responsive service and recognize that service comes at a premium. Insurance companies see us as a commodity and that's why they continually take it in the shorts. :errf:
 

Askal

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I just called an adjuster on a 100k bio job (undiscovered body). "It's been 30 days since work has been completed and according to our contract we will be assessing finance charges to this bill in 6 days. I am just giving you a courtesy call so you will be in the loop. The first finance charge is 1,500."
 

tres davis

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There was previous mold issue and we found mold in wall along the slab just outside of the door where it extended out under an awning. It wasn't part of the mold remediation I'm guessing because they were only checking interior. I felt like if was enough to justify decon. I always go by better safe than sorry.
 

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Greg Cole

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There was previous mold issue and we found mold in wall along the slab just outside of the door where it extended out under an awning. It wasn't part of the mold remediation I'm guessing because they were only checking interior. I felt like if was enough to justify decon. I always go by better safe than sorry.
so- you setup containment over the area- setup a NAM. Used a hepavac? That would justify decon on ONE airscrubber.
If you didn't setup contaiment - then you just eliminated your ability to use fans - otherwise you spread the mold spores through the entire area once you kicked it on.
Not busting your balls but you can have HUGE liability when you bring up the subject of mold. on a water loss.
 

Hoody

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so- you setup containment over the area- setup a NAM. Used a hepavac? That would justify decon on ONE airscrubber.
If you didn't setup contaiment - then you just eliminated your ability to use fans - otherwise you spread the mold spores through the entire area once you kicked it on.
Not busting your balls but you can have HUGE liability when you bring up the subject of mold. on a water loss.

Greg has a good point - even if it's 5 years down the road and they discover mold in another area, you could be on the line for it. The whole whoever the last contractor to touch it is liable. It happens more than we think, especially dealing with higher end homes who have the money to hire an attorney that actually knows restoration. The same type of lawyer that could defend you could be your worst nightmare in court if all your i's aren't dotted and t's crossed.
 
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11000$ is more than I ever made on my best month of carpet cleaning.
I did water damage for about 5 years and now only carpet cleaning.
I figure 11 k is a lot better from the insurance than you would ever get from the owner.
Take the 11 k and go to the next job it's not worth the headaches.
Cap
 

Greg Cole

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11000$ is more than I ever made on my best month of carpet cleaning.
I did water damage for about 5 years and now only carpet cleaning.
I figure 11 k is a lot better from the insurance than you would ever get from the owner.
Take the 11 k and go to the next job it's not worth the headaches.
Cap
Sadly, this is why so many insurance companies lowball. The most we will wiggle off a bill is 10%. ALL of our ducks are in a row and our readings are to a T. We do our best to ensure that our notes, photos, and complaince tasks in DASH are dead on and tell a story.
This month alone we had adjusters ask for $120k+ in discounts. We gave $16k.
Don't be bullied by adjusters but make sure your bills make sense. I am happy to help if you'd like a fresh set of eyes.
 
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