By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

 Outsourcing your obligations like a BOSS!

This short story can be read here: [Tom Sawyer- Whitewashing the Fence]

Ben Tally: “Say – I’m going in a swimming, I am. Don’t you wish you could? But of course, you’d druther work – wouldn’t you? Course you would!”

Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said:

Tom: “What do you call work?”

Tom: “Why, ain’t that work?”

It doesn’t take long to see how easy it is to manipulate someone to do your work FOR THEM. To pass along operational responsibility to another and make them feel obligated and almost excited to do it.

THIS MIGHT STING A LITTLE

To get right to the point of this mindset detour…..this is what is happening to the disaster recovery specialists that perform work where insurance carriers and their multiple tentacles of control are involved.
They have slowly (and effectively)...

Let's talk onboarding.

In 2016, I met a guy named Andy McCabe.

He was making videos on LinkedIn. I liked what he was saying but I really was drawn to his desire to stand up and talk about things no one else was, and things that most avoided from fear.

We spoke for a while and developed a MOVEMENT called Restoration 2.0.

A reboot

A newer version

An update

An exit from the Matrix.

The carriers were getting more brazen and stronger with their tactics outlined in Delay, Deny, Defend.

A profit driven system applied to the claims process.

Carrier relationships that built incredible companies were no longer as strong and many had deteriorated with the expansion of the MRP's and growth of TPA's.

Quality and Customer service had been removed as KPI's and replaced with Claims Ratios, claims shrink and lowering of overhead by limiting site visits ( pushing the documentation onto the contractor).

Frustration was building.

Franchising was exploding (MRP's) and the quality of work in the industry...

In a secluded area of Fort Lauderdale, FL - a coastal town with generational wealth building by the minute - there is a luxurious complex where Bentleys are daily drivers, and sit under carports. 

All of America’s rich and famous have been there, and many have a mansion on the water for their yachts to be parked behind. The cost of merely owning the yachts is so stinking high it would make maggots gag. The cost of real estate in that luxurious spot probably attracts vultures in human form if you are picking up what I’m laying down. 

I managed to stay there and work a large loss in one of the luxurious complexes where the “stinking high” costs are chump change to those living in the area. 

I can’t imagine living that way, but dammit, I wouldn’t mind trying! I must admit, while I cant say its my cup of tea - I prefer mountains and countryside - I can definitely say that I was blown away by the luxurious...

We turned this one over to the APA. 

Guess where it went from there?! 

Here is the scenario.
Comment at the end and let us know what you think! 

1. Invoice for complete (agreed upon) services. 
2. Packout from fire.
3. Liberty Mutual.
4. QuickBooks invoice sent to insured.
5. Liberty RECREATED the invoice, with contractor logo and all, with lowered unit rates.

Can you imagine the STONES?

Of Course their reasoning is inaccurate, but that's beside the point.

We posted a letter on Facebook and tagged the company that the adjuster was referring to.
We thought we’d share it here… but we’d love to hear your perspective.
Be sure to drop us a comment below. 

“Greetings Liberty Mutual Insurance, I'd like to extend my knowledge base and services to you and your organization.

I will actually do this once at NO FEE, as I think the overall Net Gain will help and impact endless parties.

From a factual standpoint, I'd like to clear up...

I don’t expect you to believe everything I say, but you have to know I wouldn’t lie to you. 

I have some unique and great experiences. 

I have been very fortunate to have some amazing mentors and peers bring me into their universe and grant me the opportunity to see things I may have never otherwise seen. 

I have always gone against the grain, like cutting a big juicy Texas brisket. 

Do things others have and certainly do things people say can’t be done. 

One of those is the current trail I have been on the last few years. I have been on a path to showcase what we (in this restoration/ emergency services industry) have come to accept as truth. And that is that somehow, our process and direction is owned by and steered by insurance carriers. 

I am not a fool and recognize how large  they (insurance carriers) are and the power they yield…..but being righteous is a super power.

Education and confidence is the...

Everyone is talking about what to do about fuel. 

What are you doing in your company to compensate for the added cost?

Costs are up. 

Adjusters are still resisting invoices. 

So what will you do… what are you doing?

How can you run a profitable business with inflation, and rising fuel prices?

Was 10/10 good enough to cover fuel costs last year? Is it good enough to cover costs now? 

“Add a line item for fuel surcharge.”

That's what everyone is saying you should do. Even the mothership of Xactimate (Verisk) has empowered the contractors to bill for increased fuel cost. (Don't take our word for it.)

So Xactimate says its ok to bill... but we are getting feedback that adjusters are stalling. It seems to have caught a lot of adjusters off guard. They don’t have a copy & paste argument for that one… yet. 

But they will. They got knocked back on their laurels, but they work for massive...

A bottle of water at Costco is approximately $0.25.

The same bottle in the supermarket is worth about $0.50.

The same bottle in a bar costs $2.

In a good restaurant or hotel, it can be worth up to $3.

At an airport or on the plane, you may be charged $5.

The bottle and the brand is the same, the only thing that changes is the place.

Each place gives a different value to the same product.

When you feel like you are worth nothing and everyone around you belittles you, change places, do not stay there.

Have the courage to change places and go to a place where you are given the value you deserve.

Surround yourself with people who really appreciate your worth.

Don't settle for less.

- Anonymous

This is Part 2 of a series taken from the our new E-Course "show notes"
 45 Days to build a STRONG restoration company. 

Planning: Identifying your business goals?

From the desk of Sir Klark Brown.

Our big 2022 goal is in this blog. You don’t want to miss it… we don’t want you to. We need your help to accomplish our BHAG (BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS GOAL)

You decided to start a mitigation company. Based on your experience and exposure you may have some lofty goals. 

Goals of money… Hopefully an emphasis on profit. 

Ideas of free nights and weekends. 

It is possible you feel like this recession proof business will provide endless quality leads. 

These are valuable in building your company. 

Let’s bring things back to reality and set short term and long term goals

In the world of setting goals, this sentiment is shared by many without being discussed as it should:

The crash of overwhelming failure felt when unrealized...

Is the day coming when having equipment on the job is “the cost of doing business”? Is the day coming where you can’t charge for equipment?

We had quite a discussion in the Restoration Advisers Official Group on Facebook. If you aren’t in the group we highly encourage you to jump in there for some zero BS discussion. No outside advertising. No belittling. Just real, raw, and professional discussion. Join here.

The insurance company is always evolving in their arguments and creativity to drive their costs down so they can reinvest the premiums. In the book Delay Deny Defend, the author describes insurance companies as investment companies. They invest the premiums and drive down costs by negotiating claims. *

They are claiming that more and more standard practices are part of “the cost of doing business”. Supervisor hours, etc. So why wouldn’t they say that equipment is part of the cost of doing business?*

Those who believe the notion that...

We often hear of insurance companies and third party adjusters claiming that restorers overcharged them for work. The claim is usually that the “restoration industry standard” is “10/10”, or that overhead and profit (O&P) cannot be included in the invoice.

Let’s be clear here, there is no such industry standard. There never has been and there never will be (unless you are on a program, then you have to play by the rules that you agreed to). If you have read the book that we talk about in Disaster Podcaster EP 22 Restoration Markup and Margin, you know that few restorers can run a business and breakeven at 10/10, let alone make a profit. The idea that a restoration company can survive at a low markup defies the mathematics of basic business and common sense.

Our experience in the industry tells us that “industry standard” of 10/10 is a old benchmark that has been propagated by insurance companies and TPAs that are trying to keep their...