I am done........

I still to this day do zero residential roofs with a signed contract. Hell I still do some commercial roofs on a hand shake.

charlotteroofers Said: I have a binding agreement because mine states, Once approved that they agree to have my roofing company complete every repair deemed necessary by their insurance company with no additional cost to them except their deductible..

What about any decking that has to be changed, do you charge above insurance's payment for that? Up until three years ago I hadn't been around any stormers/out of towners. I can't believe how many of them will throw metal over holes or just not change bad decking. I have a clause in every contract that makes plywood extra unless we are changing it all.

It is a shame when a customer tries to burn a good Roofing contractor that came out, gave a free hail damage inspection, met the adjuster, got the roof approved then were told to put in their lowest bid. Hey, it happened to me a few times and I always have a signature or I do not represent them and when they try to burn me I remind them that I have a binding agreement because mine states, "Once approved that they agree to have my roofing company complete every repair deemed necessary by their insurance company with no additional cost to them except their deductible.".

I am the best at what I do and go all out for my customers to ensure that the Insurance Company is paying current xactimate pricing for all items needing repair.

If my customers decide that they want to install their roof themselves or hire another roofing company it states on my agreement that they will only be released if they pay my roofing company $500. for time and services rendered. Most big roofing companies and stormers do this and take a whole lot more up to 25% of their entire claim but to me that would definitely deter them from signing initially

I agree JET........at least in the US it would be that way, not sure about NZ. Seems like a good way to get work though, just crash thru houses and tell them to call their insurance, lol.

Vaa...I had a friend pull into a gas station and do that....his truck rolled into pumps :woohoo:

I did have a customer where his neighbors tree fell thru the customers house, the neighbors insurance wouldn't pay for the damage to the guys house, my customers insurance paid. So I guess that is why you have to lawyer up a neighbor to have a tree cut down if it is in danger of falling on your home.....or else let it fall and have your insurance pay it.

What a mess........

YOUR insurance company should have handled this claim.......no questions asked. To make the injured party go through all of this just jacks up the emotion issue. I'd have a face to face talk with my agent on this one. This guy's your neighbor........

JET

A friend had a tree come down on their house this last weekend. What a mess. I do all the repair work on the roofs in that part of their neighborhood. So I go over today to look it over give them my opinion and set up to give them an estimate for a whole roof. I sensed the apprehension at my advice. It was contrary to the adjusters. People are so nervous about dealing with professionals. I sense what I have heard from others on here. The H/O giving off shaky vibes. I know how this whole thing is going to go down before it started. I appreciate and understand the contractor side. This is my second personal encounter with insurance adjusters and H/O's. I already know how the adjuster is going to react and the end result. Interesting set of circumstances knowing and understanding both sides. The key " getting the H/O to understand and that ain't easy with multiple personalities involved. I don't need the job ( will take it if I can) watching the process on the outside looking in. In my best Spock "Interesting" "put the handbrake on when you park up" wise advise Mike B) :) :) B) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzLB4xAY10Y&feature=related Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

Estimators on Call Said:

Once that 3 days is up, ... order the permit...

This is the best advice that I've ever gotten on this site. It made it all worth it!

If you aren't required by law to give an actual numbers estimate, why are you?

Here is what I would suggest...

Get a contingency contract drafted by a lawyer. In the contract, give them 3 day recision rights. Your contract with them is that you will do the roof for insurance proceeds. In that contract you want to make sure that the customer understands that by doing it for the proceeds that means anything you can collect from the insurance company plus their deductable.

You also need to have in the contract something written in (again if your state laws allow it) that allows you to speak with the insurance company in behalf of the customer.

Don't do any work on that job until the 3 days are over. Don't even open a file in the office.

Once that 3 days is up, get the adjuster scope, and immediately put in for all of the things the adjuster left off. (there will be thousands of dollars worth of items.) Call the adjuster and get a revised estimate from them, order the permit, and then get product delivered.

If the adjuster shows up with a different contractor, or suggests to the homeowner to find someone else after that initial 3 days, go back to the lawyer and sue them for interference with a contract.

You will lock in more jobs and get paid faster. We write Xactimate estimates all day for people all over the nation that do this exact same thing.

Used to lose several storm leads per year but not very many anymore. All my leads are referral and seem to be working with less greedy customers in the past couple years. Have had adjusters sway would be customers way as well as agents. What bothers me the most is when I negotiate with an insurance company to get my price and the homeowner never hires me. My guess is these types have lost their homes by now...

Here's my take on it. Smaller wind or hail storms means less pressure from stormers which mean higher chances of securing a job without a contintincy contract. Larger wind or hail storms mean more pressure from storms which means higher chances of getting jobs stolen out from under you. How do they do it? It's simple, promise a free upgrade, no deductible, keep the money for a few items not repaired, and "We can get to your roof within a week".

We have not had a large hail storm in my area since 2008 and I'm booked solid for two months. After a big hail storm I'm booked out within a month. When customers learn of this they start shopping around for stormer companies with crews at the local motel ready to roll, plus money in pocket.

RandyB1986 Said: CIAK, This one in particular is really challenging my character! I had this job in the bag...and the adjuster came out and approved it and then he had his buddies come in and steal the job so he could get his kickback. Obviously, I cant prove it. It is a challenge to not go over and smack someone in the mouth......

"I had it in the bag". Obviously not.

The only one that you should smack in the mouth is your salesperson, who was too timid to get the signature. When you leave the door open, another aggressive company will gladly walk through it.

My strategy when going after these insurance deals is to make it relatively painful for the homeowners to talk to other roofers. They are going to invest a minimum of one hour with me, possibly more and they will have to be adamant about not signing a contingency agreement. I don't know many people who want to sit with roofing salespeople for an hour. Many of my guys want to do a quick presentation (or no presentation) and figure out whether they will sign or not fast. I think that is bad strategy. If it's too easy to say no, they'll shop three, four or five contractors. My goal on the first appointment is to show them that it's pointless to try to shop contractors.

RandyB1986 Said: helping people get roof replacements only to have them go with another company! From now on I am going to start trying to have them sign some sort of commitment. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how I can do this? I dont want to scare a customer away by presenting a contingency contract before helping them....but maybe this is my only option.

My problem seems to be some insurance companies are asking for estimates before the adjuster comes out.....then if I price a little high and insurance comes in lower....rather than customer calling to let me know what the insurance paid, they just get other estimates and show them contractors what the insurance paid, they do it for that and I lose out without a chance.

Anyone have an agreement you present to your customers before working their claim? DO you mind sharing it with me at SSRB87@Yahoo.com.

I just drove by a job I had been working on getting for 3 weeks and a competitors sign is in the yard. The customer called for gutter repair and ended up needing roof, siding, gutters.......I bid it, got her the claim paid....and didnt even get called and told to fk off. Thanks for letting me vent.

I've done a lot of roofs for clients that started with a contractor like you and weren't required to sign anything.

Thanks.

What is so hard about getting a contingency contract signed? Why should that scare them off? It's simple: no signature, no meeting with the adjuster. If they won't sign, there's no deal.

I laugh when the sales guys come in and tell me "I've got another one" only to find out that they wouldn't sign. I'd be a rich man if I had a nickel for all the "sure deals" that fell through.

Ask for the signature. If they won't sign, great: find out what the real objection is.

Also, you don't "bid" insurance jobs. You agree to do it for the RCV. I always let the insurance company go first. Some of my guys like to do the job for the adjusters using Xactimate. That's not my style.

I have a consultaion fee for anything that someone is going to use to nogociate. If it's a buyer of a new home, an insurence estimate, or a seller. I make it deductable if I am awarded the work, within a 90 day time period. I don't need practice bidding jobs for someone else. A lot of people can do it cheaper then us, very few better then us. You have to make it clear before you get involved.

I won't deal with ANY insurance company.......they're all scum IMO and are only looking to screw over their customer and any contractor involved. Be up front with your customer if they tell you there's an insurance claim involved. Tell them that YOU are the one to trust here, NOT the insurance company. Trust is everything in every transaction and you'll be amazed how the customer will work with only you if you take the time and effort to let them know the angles involved.

JET

Nope but they are here too.

Dawg was a three letter name starting with c ending in r,they invaded Louisiana after katrina.