Contractor Relations

3/29/2018 (Permalink)

This photo shows flooring and drywall removed, prior to reconstruction

By: Eric Knepprath

Not long-ago contractors survived on referrals from insurance agents and claims adjusters to build their business. Smart contractors built strong relationships with agents and adjusters and maintained a level of trust with them that would keep those referrals coming in. The main things that would drive and protect these relationships were being prompt, fair and honest estimating, communication, and providing great customer service. The industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years and for several reasons direct referrals have become a thing of the past. Because of this shift in the industry, if you are not a national name or a vendor for every third-party administrator out there, it's getting more difficult to find a consistent workflow than ever before. 

Because of the way the national contracts work, contractors end up working with independent claims adjusters or staff adjusters that are not always local. All communication is done by email and phone and the contractor is relied upon to provide accurate information to the carrier so they can settle the claim. At SERVPRO of Boise we believe those practices that kept our referrals coming in the past are ore important than ever before. If the insurance company is going to rely on us to provide them the information they need to help our customer, we have a much larger obligation in this process than before. We have to be quick, accurate, and thorough so that customer and adjuster have the information they need to keep the process moving forward. Understanding that our clients didn't plan for this project and doing everything we can to make it a smooth process for all parties is what sets us apart from the competition.