Excerpt from a YouTube video (speaker: Adam Bensman) explaining the difference between homeowner ‘estimates’ and a proper insurance damage assessment after hail. Bensman frames his role as an insurance restoration professional: document damage, create a full assessment for the insurer, and avoid negotiating price with the insurance company; homeowners should not select contractors based solely on lowest price.
Now, Jan, here's how this works. So your house here has been damaged with hail. We can see the garage doors have been damaged. You got some facial damage. Your roof is damaged, some downspouts. So here's how this works. Most homeowners make the mistake of wanting to get a few estimates, but an estimate is not what you need. What you need is a proper assessment. So my job as an insurance restoration professional is to properly assess your home. All I do is I document what's damaged and what needs to be done to replace it, and I submit that to the insurance company, okay? Now, that price will what they're willing to compensate for. That is set by a third party, and that's not negotiable. And the truth of the matter is, I never, ever, ever negotiate with an insurance company based on price. So I will properly assess your home. And if you're selecting a contractor based on price, you're doing yourself a disservice. We want to make sure that what's owed is covered, the assessment is done properly, and all you owe is your deductible. No more, no less. Sound good?
