In the water damage industry, you rarely work alone. When a homeowner or business experiences emergency water damage, chances are they’ll call a plumber and their insurance company right away. Because of this, you can expect a lot of your work to come from insurance or plumber referrals and you can certainly expect to work closely with insurance companies as a job progresses.
An adjuster has the responsibility of determining the scope of the work and just how much of the insurance company’s money will be spent making repairs to a property. As a restoration professional, you know better than anyone that this can create tension between you and the adjusters serving your clients. At times, it may seem you are speaking two different languages and the disagreements are inevitable, but the relationship between restoration specialists and adjusters doesn’t have to be competitive if proper attention is given open communication, detailed record keeping and sharing of knowledge.
How to Avoid Miscommunications
Whether it’s a marriage, friendship or professional relationship, open communication is essential to keeping conflict to minimum between two parties. Miscommunications can be at the root of many disagreements between adjusters and restoration specialists, which is unfortunate since they can be so easily avoided.
Make clearly communicating with the adjuster on a job your top priority and watch the dynamic of your relationship change. Instead of letting yourself get caught up in the tasks necessary to get the job down, as quickly as possible, slow down and double check you are keeping all parties involved in the process. Work with your adjuster and the property owner to agree on a central form of communication. Will you talk over text, phone or email? Additionally, find out when you should communicate. Does the adjuster want an update twice a week or is it OK to call once a week or twice a month?
Once you come to an agreement on how and when you will communicate, stick to it! And, if anything changes, make it your responsibility to make sure both the adjuster and the property owner are kept in the loop.
Keep Detailed Records
Poor documentation of a job is a risk you don’t want to take. Failing to keep track of the hours spent working, the extent of the damage and the supplies being used could come between you and your check from the insurance company.
Remember, adjusters aren’t just keeping you accountable, they are required to carefully document the details of the job so they can pay you for your work. We suggest both written records and detailed photos of the damaged area, before, during and after the cleanup and repairs.
Great documentation will serve you in the future, too, as it can be used for training purposes or if you need to go back and reference a past job.
Share Your Knowledge and Expertise
When working on a property, never forget that the adjuster is the expert on insurance claims and you are the expert on water damage restoration. The adjuster will be expecting you to share your knowledge with them, helping them determine the scope of the damage and amount of repair work required. Don’t be afraid to speak honestly with your adjuster, especially if you suspect you are not seeing eye to eye. Don’t start a fight! Use your knowledge to show them your side of the argument.
Before beginning work on a property, make sure you and the adjuster are on the same page. Do you both agree on how much damage exists and how much time your team will be spending restoring the property? Starting with a clear agreement between your team and the adjuster will avoid any bumps in the road that may slow down finishing job or getting paid for your work.
Build a Longterm Relationship
When you are knee deep in a restoration job, it is easy to think only about here in now. It is right to focus on your current job, but you don’t want to be so short sighted that you forget about the future of your relationship with an adjuster. Take the time to build a lasting relationship on trust and open communication, knowing that you may work with the same adjuster multiple times in the future.
Additionally, a strong relationship with an adjuster could easily turn into a source of business for your company. If an adjuster knows you are a team player, efficient and professional they will certainly recommend you over the restoration company that never returns calls or fails to provide proper documentation of their work.
At the end of the day, there is no benefit to a competitive or tension filled relationship with another professional in the industry. Focus on building a strong relationship with claims adjusters, and your reputation as a professional will take off. At More Floods, we provide the resources water damage restoration specialists need to create strong business models, to learn more about becoming a member click here or call 1-866-667-3356.