Quote / Job Question

[TreeFrog01]

I am in the process of preparing a quote for a homeowner. I am new to the business as an Owner. I am removing two large branches off of the front porch of the house. One branch is suspended from the tree and needs to be secured prior to any work being done.

The HO says they called their insurance co- USAA. They were told that an adjuster would not be coming out and they should get estimates from a tree service and construction contractor. Both should prepare a statement of loss / damages. I always thought the statement of loss damages was prepared by the adjuster. Any comments on this item????

Second-
The HO believes the limbs were struck by lightning causing them to come down. I can not find anything to support this. They want me to include lightning as the cause of the limb breaks. My only though is the HO has a better deductable for the lightning as the cause than wind.

Any suggestions here would be appreciated. I want to start the job asap to assist the HO from sustaining any further damage. I will not compromise my integretiy for one job however. Anyway, should it matter what caused the damage? I am concerned if I do the job, the HO and Insurance co. have a dispute and I dont get paid. I usually ask for payment at completion... this job has me a little concerned.

Thanks for any help,
Jason

 

[sgreanbeans]

Never wait for the insurance company to pay you, get it from the HO and make sure he understands that, he is paying u, not the insurance co. He can reimbursed. You will wait for ever for your money if you get it at all. Insurance Cos' hate trees and will try to get out of paying for them anyway possible. The adjusters is there to insure that the insurance company doesn't get screwed, they are not there for the HO, even tho they may say they are, they are not. Never under any circumstances fudge any paper work in the HO's favor. Adjusters go to schools for this and have expert witness's on retainer, usually BCMA'S. You get caught doing it, they will charge you with fraud, you can claim ignorance, but it wont fly, so if it does not look like lightening, don't say it does. That does affect most HO's home owner policy's. Lightning is easier to get covered. Plus, u don't want to burn your bridge with the InsCo over a single HO, that u may never see again. Stay in this long enough and you will deal with USAA again, especially if you live near any military installation's.

Just a FYI, if ya need the work, cool, do what ya have too, if not, I would walk. A HO that asks a guy to put himself at risk by doing something fraudulent, may not be the best customer to work for, as that shady approach can quickly be turned towards you. Good luck and cover your 6

 

[Garden Of Eden]

No disrespect, not my experience with ins co at all. Done work with 5-6 I think. Longest I've had to wait was like 3 weeks, only because I fudged up on the paper work. Lol. I've had worse experiences with HOs than any ins co. That being said, if I can afford to walk when my spidey sense tingles, I do.

Jeff

 

[Carburetorless]

I can say very little about ins. companies that is positive.

Bottom line is, when they pay claims they loose money, when they deny claims they save money.

If the HO is confident that the Ins. Co. will pay up, then they should have no problem paying you out of pocket.

 

[Garden Of Eden]

I can say very little about ins. companies that is positive.

Bottom line is, when they pay claims they loose money, when they deny claims they save money.

If the HO is confident that the Ins. Co. will pay up, then they should have no problem paying you out of pocket.

Or, by paying the claims in a timely efficient manner they are proving to their customers, that they will hold up their end of the deal. I bet companies that pay claims efficiently, retain more clients. Just my thoughts.

Jeff

 

[TreeFrog01]

Thanks guys! I spoke to the HO again and they are telling me they are getting a ration of crap from the insurance company. It sounds like they are going to do the work themselves. Bottom line- the HO is trying to take advantage of the situation. I am stepping away.

It would be interesting to watch them get this maple limb off the house! It is twisted and still connected by 20% of the branch and resting on their roof. The branch is about 40 feet long with several other smaller branches and weighs approximately 2,000 lbs by my calculations.

Hope no one gets hurt, but I bet they tear the crap out of their house getting this down.

 

[Carburetorless]

Or, by paying the claims in a timely efficient manner they are proving to their customers, that they will hold up their end of the deal. I bet companies that pay claims efficiently, retain more clients. Just my thoughts.

Jeff

You just keep telling yourself that, and hope you never need to file a claim.

 

[Garden Of Eden]

You just keep telling yourself that, and hope you never need to file a claim.

You assume I haven't. I've filed 5 claims. Had a check covering loss in less than 48 hrs in each case. These are claims on my personal homeowners and auto policies. Most of the time in my experience, ins companies are reasonable, its the rare occasions they aren't that get publicized. Typical with almost every business.

Jeff