Creating A Partnering Liason Relationship With Respected And Trusted Competitors

Some great stuff here guys . It is a war and you can take back your communities . The last two post superior ideas. tico great points . rooftite good angle . Very positive This is more promising than expected . Thanks Ed>>>

Ed This is out of the Law studies I trying to accomplish this weekend It should answer your question Presenting a Claim

Insurance claim procedures are often designed to work on a timetable, although these time frames are often approximate. For example, standard health insurance provisions provide that

* the insurer must receive a notice of claim or loss with 20 days of the insured’s loss;

* the insurer must provide any claim forms with 15 days of receiving the notice of loss;

* the insured must supply proof of loss within 90 days;

* the insurer must then pay the claim immediately or as soon as possible.

Claims processing rarely works out this neatly, sometimes for good reasons and sometimes not. Failing to meet these timetables can itself become a matter of dispute and legal action.

Other procedural provisions in insurance contracts also exist regarding the payment of claims, such as:

* terms restricting the period within which a claim must be presented;

* terms restricting the period within which a lawsuit must be initiated against an insurer;

* requirements mandating that an insured who seeks coverage under liability insurance must assist and cooperate with the insurer; and

* provisions that are used in uninsured motorist insurance restricting an insured’s right to settle tort claims.

Further, most policies state that the insurer’s obligation to pay a claim is predicated upon compliance with these procedures. A claimant can lose his or her right to bring a suit against an insurer if the claimant has failed to comply with one or more of these requirements and the insurance claim is rejected on that basis.

The next few sections describe some of these provisions. Notice of Loss Provisions

A notice of loss requirement in an insurance policy affords the insurer a reasonable opportunity to protect its rights, but it also benefits policy holders and the public. Prompt notice to the insurer increases an insurer’s opportunity to acquire information about the circumstances of the loss. A timely investigation promotes early settlements, which clearly benefits the insured. Finally, these notice of loss provisions serve the public interest, because an early and timely investigation increases the probability that fraudulent claims are detected.

Failure to comply with a notice of loss provision is generally excused when the failure is attributable to the risk covered by the insurance. For example, a delay in providing notice to a disability insurer may be excused when the insured is unable to provide notice because of this disability.

In some cases, a reasonable mistake is recognized as an excuse for delay. However, the courts frequently apply more strict standards to policy holder conduct. Courts can be intolerant when a claimant fails to comply with a time limit simply because of his or her negligence. For example, one court ruled that a four-month delay in notifying the insurer of a suit was neither excusable nor reasonable under the circumstances.>>>

The thing to do is for local guys to band together and get a vigorous "buyer beware" campaign going. Use the local newspapers and local media to get the message out to homeowners about how stormers will not be there 4 to 6 months after they install there roof. And how essentially they have NO workmanship warranty what so ever. No matter what area you are from in the country you know who in your town is a local roofing contractor if your in the business. So when you have a CAT situation in your area all the local guys should get on the phone to each other and work together to mount the "buyer beware" campaign. The guy across town who under normal circumstances is your competion is now your brother in arms. By working the "buyer beware" campaign this will drive the calls to the guys who are local and can PROVE they are local.>>>

tico You appear to have a solid grasp on what should happen, I agree with most of your assessments . For a lot of these guys that face the stormers is immediate near future . I would like to hear some of your or for that matter anyone's experience working with other roofing contractors especially residential . directly . Have you ever had a cooperative relationship with other roofing contractors? Or as a contractor what is it you would do to facilitate one . This is a huge order not insurmountable non the less very difficult>>>

By the phrase, "The collective usually gives way to the dollar", am I reading you correctly in presuming greed rules over the group?

I think so, therefor, that is why it is imperative that a formalized agreement be discussed and all of the potential Pro's and Con's of the arrangement that may and will come up, be dealt with, prior to the actual occurrence of those dilemmas.

For the marketing materials, it could be with all of the contractors names, putting up their local presence as a community oriented contractor that will be there when the Stormers are long gone, or as an entity name for the group.

I slightly disagree with your comment that people are not shopping contractors around when a situation is traumatic occurs. This may "Possibly" be more true, if the even is a major house or life threatening situation, but in most cases of Hail Damage, there is plenty of time to sit back and reflect intelligently. The sense of urgency is drummed up artificially, when dozens of solicitors canvassing the neighborhoods are disseminating the potential horrors of losing their claim availability if they delay.

Another point, is that the adjusters give good and sound advice to the home owners, which is to get several or 3 estimates and compare them. BUT.....The way that they instruct the home owner to do so, inherently makes it seem as if it a requirement on their part to get and turn in those several "Bids" from various contractors. (Don't take that as a slam in the face of the professionalism of the adjusters please) It is just the innuendo seems to prevail and distort the home owners perception of the claims process, subjecting untrained contractors into all leaping through hoops with little hope of achievement as an end result, so they therefor typically avoid the insurance claims like the plague.

(Just as a matter of inquiry, how long REALLY, is there for a home owner to put in a claim?) 1. Is it one year from the date of the incident? 2. Is it one year from when they first discovered that there was damage incurred? 3. Is it longer if the area is declared a CAT Claim Event? (Yes probably, but how much longer?) 4. What if no Record of a storm for a particular Zip Code is known, but there for sure is definitive Hail Damage? 5. If a home owner had the same insurance company, yet the hail damage seems to be weathered and looks to be several years old, would it still be covered? (Sorry to get off topic.....But, for Storm Work, these items need to be understood)

I hope that others are interested in trying to learn from a full disclosure of how a unified effort and learning the insurance restoration business can really come to their aide when the time comes.

Ed >>>

Must Do: (these features are terminating if not fulfilled. Think about it carefully, the Must Do cannot be scaled back or skipped over Should Do: (Preference, but not a terminating factor if not supported A must do .. Be able to handle the leads when they come fast and efficiently. 2. Understand the insurance company is not the enemy . If it is understood properly it can become your best friend . Quality is essential so is speed. People are not shopping contractors when in a situation that is traumatic. Protection of there belongings and security is of the utmost important . Basic stuff , I know . Decide who gets the leads. How or why . When out in an area that is hit have door hangers or other lead materials ( who name and number is on it ?? ) This is the test areas . All the other stuff is great in theory. When someone starts thinking why am I giving all this work away ? The collective usually falls to the dollar. This can be a huge problem . How will that be dealt with?>>>

I think that you are insinuating more of an Ask The Expert and Lead Generation concept there.

Although gaining viable leads is Always a good think to seek, what I am, in this particular instance,referring to is localized mini-networks, where each contractor may be able to proportionately accomplish more as an entity coalition, rather than individually by themselves.

WHAT would a group of 3-5 smallish sized contractors be able to do, with collaborative funds dedicated to seeking out the same customer demography?

A group financed canvassing effort for a newly struck storm casualty are would exponentially decrease the marketing costs, then splitting up the acquired projects on a fair minded basis. Some contractors may have better individual resources for certain projects than others. Some may choose to subcontract out the acquired projects, but hopefully, without the negative connotation that comes along with the Rent-An Illegal version of Subbing by the Stormers.

A dedicated Quality Control Atmosphere could be enabled to ensure that the Locals prove themselves as the cream of the crop.

Without exceptional dedication to providing a superior class project, there would be little differentiation between the impression of the Stormers verion of quality standards and the locals version.

What separates the level of quality?

If needed, the software costs could be split for a multi-user facilitation. A peer with extended knowledge of how to work the numbers could be cost shared via the contractors group.

There is power in numbers, but only if everyone is on the same page, backing each other up with the mission to remain true to the original envisionment and held accountable for continually providing an ethical and honest desire to continue forward, looking out for the success of each other, to prevent any one contractor from faltering, which would topple the groups credibility.

Ed

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Some models may help. There are referral services for lawyers . In this area there " Ask Gary " Gary is nether a person or lawyer . A bunch of lawyers are referred by the Ask Gary group . It is in name only. I'm not sure how the leads are distributed inside . I'm certain they pay for the service .If someone had the gumption they could run the whole country from home. This is a partial answer to what>>>