Richard Havens owns a single family dwelling. Rick is a flooring contractor and has many contractor friends including some that do restoration. Rick filed a claim in March 2015 with his insurance company for a hail storm in September of 2014. When his adjuster came out and inspected rick and two contractors met her. Her initial settlement was $4134.68. Rick's deductible was $1500 and his initial check after depreciation was $1253.11.
Rick's contractor buddies were appalled but could not help Rick. Rick asked other buddies and their friends and contacts for help but nothing happened. Finally Rick was referred to KAT Construction Management.
KAT began to work with Ricks original adjuster however she was steadfast in her settlement. She explained that she met his contractor and as far as she was concerned she obtained an agreed scope and did not intend to change it. In fact she said they do not reopen claims once they have met with the insured's contractor. She told us if our roof measurements were different than hers she would only consider changing or modifying them if we sent her an Eagle View to corroborate. I explained that I am Rick’s contractor and I was not at the inspection, I did not know the others that met her and they had not contractual relationship to the insured. They were there to support the insured. She told me I could send her my estimate but she was not planning on changing her mind. We did send our estimate, a photo report and a letter outlining our understanding of the situation. We received a call from the initial adjuster the next day. Her attitude had changed, said she would look into things, but she still ended the conversation with not much more I can do.
I called a few contacts at the insurance company to attempt to move the claim forward. It was recommended to me that we file another claim for a later storm. I conferred with the insured and he agreed. I explained to rick that there was still a chance that the claims would be merged but all would depend on the adjuster & the inspection for new claim.
We sent the new adjuster our estimate, our photo report, our letter outlining our understanding of the situation. An appointment was scheduled for August 30th 2015. We met the new adjuster at the risk. The new adjuster agreed with our estimate. We gave the new adjuster our notes and measurements and she confirmed they were correct. The new adjuster told us she had the authority to merge the claims and with rick's permission she would do so. She explained to Rick that merging would save him a second $1500 deductible but the timeline for com0pleting the work would be September 29th giving him 30 days or he would forfeit his depreciation on any item not completed.
Rick asked KAT can the work be done it that time frame and we explained to risk that if he paid us the first, second insurance check amounts and the deductible we would guarantee the work would be completed. Rick did have a delay in getting us the initial insurance check and the deductible and KAT did work with him. As of 9-23-15 all work has been completed. Rick is ecstatic and has referred us to his mother who is now a client as well.
Ricks settlement is not complete however to date KAT took Rick from $4134.68 to $12153.67 and the adjuster explained to Rick that the insurance company would be adding 20% for Overhead & Profit for KAT's management. She also explained that there were items KAT would supplement for and would be paid by the insurance co. Our supplement amount is over $17,000 with our management fee, permits, and some hidden items that were not discovered at the time of the adjusters inspection. The amount we helped Rick get is a far cry from the original amount offered. Rick has told us and his mother that KAT took care of everything, He said, “I did nothing but receive updates, they did everything for us”. Rick has told KAT, his neighbors, his family, and friends that the quality of the work has exceeded his expectations.
We are very proud to have worked with Rick and to have been able to help him through the restoration process.
Real Estate Transaction (Realtor & Seller)
"Highest Return for seller"
Robert Marker was selling his Single family home. He had begun prepping the house and had scheduled to list the property for sale with his real estate agent. We explained to Rob that he was painting over evidence and he should consider filing a hail claim. The claim would likely pay for the exterior paint and a new roof and potentially other items that could make his house more attractive to buyers.
Rob told us he was quoted an as is price from the agent and he would be satisfied with that amount however he did believe that if the roof was damaged filing a claim and installing a new roof would be the right thing to do.
Rob introduced us to his agent and she explained her concern, not wanting a claim or construction to negatively impact the sale. We explained that we could have the roof on within a week after the insurance settlement was received and believed that if a claim was submitted right away the roof would be installed within two weeks, well before a closing would likely take place. We also explained that if they did get a cash buyer who could close sooner we could use an escrow or shared account to ensure that the closing would not be affected.
All agreed and a claim was submitted. Rob’s agent received an offer that Rob signed within 3 days of listing it. We met with an adjuster one day after Rob listed the property to assist with his inspection. The adjuster’s initial settlement did include a new roof and new paint but excluded the areas Rob had painted. The insurance company’s initial settlement was for 8191.47. The roof was installed within 3 days of Rob receiving the check and the house painted within the first week. All of the initial work was done prior to the buyer’s inspection and prior to the buyer’s appraisal. Rob later told us that KAT saved his deal. He told us that the appraiser came back 10,000 less than the parties agreed to because Rob’s home backed up to a busy street. Rob’s agent explained that the roof and paint were brand new and in the end the appraiser agreed to add that value and made his appraisal for the sale amount.
Rob’s final insurance settlement with KAT’s fees totaled 16,218.60. The last checks were delayed by the insurance company. In fact three different adjusters were assigned to the claim and KAT had to work with the adjuster’s supervisor to get the final check approved. It all happened in the background and Rob was comfortably in his new home. Here is an email Rob CC me on that he sent to his real estate agent...
Hi Kathy - Now that everything has been completed I wanted to let you know about the experience I had working with Phil Weber in regards to having the insurance claim completed. It really worked out great. As you already know he had the roof done and house painted well before closing. I'm not sure I could have found companies myself that would have been able to complete everything on such short notice. It was also really nice not having to coordinate any of that while trying to manage everything else associated with the selling. Also, I feel there was great value added in having him work with the insurance company directly. Without Phil's help I do not think they would have paid to have the house painted (he convinced them that was necessary), in addition to other roofing repairs that were not included in the original insurance estimate. In addition to all that after the jobs were completed he was able to do an inspection and make sure everything was done properly. A good example is the roofers were supposed to replace a few vents on the roof that they didn't do. If Phil didn't check it I would have never known and he got them right back to the house to replace them the next day.
Overall I feel that he could greatly benefit your clients or anyone else that may be looking to file an insurance claim. Getting the additional supplements from the insurance company could potentially add a lot of value to people's homes. Please feel free to contact him at results@claimanimalz.com or claimgc@katcm.com if you'd like him to help any of your clients in the future. It really was helpful and beneficial to have him manage the process. Thanks. Rob Marker
