Home and Property Owner Services
If the unexpected has happened and you find yourself having to deal with your home or property that has been damaged, ProDescs ® can help. Whether you are familiar with the insurance claim restoration process or not, our services for home and property owners can be tailored to fit your situation.
Tornado, Fire and Flood Claims
For those who have experienced a total or severe loss to their home, we are sorry that you now have to go through this challenging time. But this is what we do. We help to put people back into their homes by assisting them with one of the most important and strategic pieces of information needed for a property damage insurance claim, and that is the estimate that documents the damage to the property. A ProDescs ® professional can reconstruct your home on paper.
This professionally prepared estimate is what you can have created in order to move an insurance claim forward for the loss of your home. It is important to note that many adjusters, whether a company adjuster, independent adjuster or CAT (catastrophe) adjuster, do not have any construction background. ProDescs ® can have a large loss specialist with a construction background prepare a large or total loss estimate for you. We know that at some point, a contractor will be involved to restore the property. The contractor will need the amount of the estimate to realistically reflect what needs to be rebuilt.
We highly recommend to those who have experienced a severe loss to their property to read this article from a well respected real estate attorney. In this article it is recommended that for a large loss that you hire an independent estimator to prepare an estimate for the loss to your property. Please refer to #6 in the article.
We want to encourage you to have a ProDescs ® professional put your loss in an estimate form that ensures that everything needed to rebuild your home is listed in an estimate that can be presented to your insurance company. With a little bit of the property owners help, we can reconstuct your home in an estimate form. ProDescs ® uses the insurance industry standard estimating software Xactimate®. Your insurance company will be familiar with the itemized estimate format that ProDescs ® uses for a property loss claim.
Minor Property Damage
We also offer a service for minor property damage. If the damage to your property is
minor and you want to
determine whether you should file a property damage claim, ProDescs
®
offers our Should I File? service to help with this important decision.
Please review the services that we offer to home and property owners in the list to the right and click and or touch
the service that may suit your circumstances. Whatever type of property damage that you may be dealing with, . . .
ProDescs ® is here to help.
Homeowners & Property Owners
Property Damage Estimate Review and Evaluation
If for some reason, you are not comfortable with what your insurance representative or contractor has written in their estimate for repairs, ProDescs ® can evaluate your claim estimate. When you provide ProDescs ® with the estimate that has been prepared for you and digital photos of the property damage, we will prepare a written evaluation of what we find in the estimate and in the digital photos. We provide you with a completely independent evaluation of your loss. We do not contact and discuss the claim with either the insurance representative or the contractor. It is important to note that it is usually rare that a policyholder would need to request this service. Most insurance representatives and contractors provide exceptional service and know what they are doing. However, there are those in the industry who have limited talent and skill to properly assess property damage and to make the repairs to the property. In the event that you have lost confidence or possibly never had confidence in your insurance representative or contractor, ProDescs ® can give you an independent analysis of your claim. We may find that the scope of work to restore your property has been underestimated and then again, we may agree with what your adjuster or contractor has provided to you. Either way, ProDescs ® offers this service for those policyholders who want an independent analysis of their claim. As stated elsewhere, ProDescs ® does not submit claim information to insurance companies on behalf of the policyholder nor will ProDescs ® negotiate a claim or items in an estimate with an insurance company on behalf of the policyholder. ProDescs ® firmly believes that the policyholder is their own best advocate in the handling of their claim. As the policyholder, you also have the options for ProDescs ® to provide a property damage estimate for your property damage or to provide consulting services to discuss your property loss.
To contact or to order services from ProDescs ®, click here.
top of PageProperty Damage Estimates *
ProDescs ® is able to provide an itemized property damage estimate when provided with the information about the damage to the property. ProDescs ® staff assist the property owner or a property owners representative with the information gathering phase. The property damage loss information is then sent to ProDescs ®. Because the staff at ProDescs ® are professional damage appraisers and estimators, ProDescs ® can provide an estimate to the policyholder that can be submitted for claim purposes. This estimate can also be utilized by the contractor selected by the property owner. Project production estimates for contractors will be included with the estimate order. When the estimate is complete, we email an estimate package to you, which can then be emailed or printed and mailed to your insurance provider.
It is important to note that the policyholder is responsible for submittal of the estimate to the insurance company. ProDescs ® can provide an estimate submittal service on behalf of the policyholders but only with the named insureds permission to do so. Your insurance company would need to know that ProDescs ® has your expressed and written permission to submit a dwelling repair estimate on your behalf. As the policyholder, you are responsible for submitting claim information to your insurance company. It is your claim.
The information gathering process may seem daunting but is actually quite simple. The basic tools used for a field site inspection are: a pen or pencil, clipboard with graph or copy paper, a tape measure and a digital camera. Any roof or elevated area should be inspected by a professional roofer or contractor. To get an idea of how this it typically done by a restoration professional, a typical damage assessment site inspection is as follows:
- A photo is first taken of the property. This is a photo taken from the street or immediately in front of the damaged structure. This photo is typically known as a 'risk' photo. A second photo may be taken identifying the street # of the property such as a mailbox or house numbers.
- After meeting with the policyholder or owner's agent, the restoration professional will make a diagram of the affected room(s) or area(s) noting where doors, windows and openings are. This is typically done on graph paper. The diagram of rooms will look similar to a floor plan. If there is exterior damage, the diagram of the exterior will look similar to an elevation plan. To view a sample diagram, click here
- The areas where property damage has been observed are then measured to include room width, length, height, door size, window size, closets, etc.
- On the diagram or a separate sheet, all the building components that have been damaged are noted, such as, flooring, drywall, molding, trim, doors, windows, light fixtures, etc.
- The affected areas are then photographed for digital file keeping purposes. These photos also provide verification of the damage of the property. Photographs of an affected area should include photos taken from each corner of the room with close up photos of the damaged areas. Overview photos should be taken of adjacent areas that lead to the affected areas. For instance, if the room that is affected is the bathroom and is located off the hall, take photos from each end of the hall toward the door of the bathroom in addition to the photos of the bathroom. With the advent of digital photos, there's no such thing as too many photos.
The following is a typical estimate preparation flow with a client requesting a property damage estimate:
- The client makes intial contact with ProDescs ® through our Contact Us Page.
- A ProDescs ® Professional will contact the client to obtain general information about the type of loss.
- After receipt of the necessary information to produce the estimate, ProDescs ® will create estimate and send the initial estimate draft to the client.
- The ProDescs ® estimator will then walk thru the estimate with the client to determine if the estimate has included all affected building components.
- If any revisions and/or additions are required, ProDescs ® will complete the estimate and email the final copy to the homeowner.
- The homeowner can now use the estimate as they see fit. Whether it is for review purposes only, to compare to an adjuster or contractors estimate or to submit the estimate for thier claim.
- ProDescs ® will confirm satisfaction with the client.
Should I File?
Filing a claim or even contacting your claims department can have a lasting impact on your rates. For some companies, you may even be cancelled just for inquiring about coverage for a claim. For those property owners who have found or suspect that there is damage to your home or property from water, wind, hail or other event and the damage appears to be minor, ProDescs ® offers our Should I File? service to assist with the decision of whether they should file a claim or not. If you have found minor damage or suspect that there may be damage from water, wind, hail or other event, you will want to consider this service before you contact your insurance company to file a claim. The service offers an evaluation of the suspected damage to determine an approximate cost of the damage. There are so many homeowners who file a claim only to find out that the amount of the damage does not exceed their deductible. Ding!! You have just filed a claim without any settlement. For many insurance companies it doesn't matter if an actual payout was made, your rates may be tagged for increase regardless of whether there was a payout or not. We offer this service so home and property owners can do what they can to avoid a possible rate increase by determing whether to file a claim or not. Why ding your insurance policy when it is not necessary and risk a rate increase.
To contact or to order services from ProDescs ®, click here.
top of PageSample Estimates
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For many homeowners, our sample estimates can provide enough
information to help in the
making the decision whether to submit a claim
or not. Even if you have already filed a claim, these samples are a
valuable resource for additional claim information. These samples
are priced incredibly reasonable and are available immediately and can be
downloaded in minutes. The decision to file a claim or not usually involves the total cost of the claim and
is compared to the amount of the deductible that is required. With
smaller claims, making a claim for $1300.00 when your deductible is
$1000.00 does not always make the best financial sense. Insurance
companies are not very predictable when it comes to raising premiums or
even dropping coverage after a claim is made. However, your insurance company appreciates
the fact the you are taking the initiative in determining whether you
should file a claim or not. Typically, homeowners policies are for
protection from catastrophic loss. Even though a policy may cover a
small loss, an insurance company expects the policyholder to make
good decisions regarding their financial assets, namely, their home and
property. In the end, the individual
financial circumstances of the policyholder is the primary factor in
determining whether to make a claim or not. Some
policyholders may have the ability to absorb a $10,000.00 dollar loss and
elect not to file a claim where a senior living on a fixed income may
need to file the $1300.00 claim. Here is a list of
benefits our estimate samples can provide:
- Assistance in determining whether to make a claim.
- Written by a professional restoration damage appraiser and estimator
- If your property damage is similar in scope, a ProDescs ® sample can be compared with the estimate from your adjuster or contractor.
- Peace of mind knowing that the estimate from your adjuster or contractor is complete.
- Independent 3rd party damage estimate
- A good representative cost for a similar damage scenario
- Estimates are completed using Xactimate, the insurance industry leader for claims estimating software.
Click on one of the links that are located in the right hand column for a list of estimate samples. *** Sample estimates are not for submittal for insurance claim purposes. Sample estimates are watermarked ProDescs ® Sample***
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Consulting
We understand. Sometimes you just want to talk to somebody about it. A home or business is a considerable investment and you want to do everything you can to preserve its value. ProDescs ® offers consulting services to policyholders for damage to buildings and structures. Our consulting services are based upon a reasonable hourly rate. If you are ordering consulting services, in order to better serve you, please have as much information regarding your property damage as possible and have your questions ready. If you have already ordered a property damage estimate, much of the information that is needed for the consult has already been generated and can serve as the basis of the consult and will lend to answering additional questions you may have. After ProDescs ® receives your order, you will be contacted by email to set a consulting appointment with a restoration professional. The same professional who provided the claim estimate will be your restoration professional for the consult. We prefer to set appointments for consulting services in order to maximize the time with good preparation prior to the appointment. If we can get it done in less than a half an hour, we're good with that. If it takes longer, we are here for you. You will only be charged for the amount of time spent discussing your loss. Please note, it is ultimately the policyholders decision on whether to make a claim or not. To contact or to order services from ProDescs ®, click here.
top of PageService Limitations
ProDescs ® does not submit claim information to an insurance company or negotiate a claim or items in an estimate with an insurance company representative on behalf of the policyholder without expressed written permission from the policyholder. If a policyholder wants to negotiate their claim with their insurance company, ProDescs ® would want to encourage you to do just that. The information that we have provided to you, the policyholder, it is ProDescs ® desire that this information be beneficial to you and to the settling of your claim. However, the policyholder is ultimately responsible for submitting claim information to an insurance company. As insurance restoration professionals, it has been our experience that the policyholder is their own best advocate. We understand that situations arise in which additional help may be required to settle your claim. We highly recommend that if issues arise regarding your claim and the restoration of your property, that you attempt to resolve the issues with your insurance company first. Most issues can be readily resolved with your insurance provider. If as the policyholder you have attempted to settle your claim with your insurance company but your claim has not been handled to your satisfaction and that you believe your policy provides more that what has been settled for, you may need to secure assistance from a public adjuster or an insurance attorney. ProDescs ® staff are insurance restoration professionals and are not public adjusters or attorneys.
* Disclaimer: Property Damage Estimates - ProDescs ® is able to professionally prepare property damage estimates for a home or property loss when provided with enough information regarding the damage to the property. Because ProDescs ® prepares the estimate remotely, we cannot verify the damage to the property. Verification of property damage is the sole responsibility of the policyholder and can only be be confirmed by the policyholder. The photographs provided to ProDescs ® can be used as property damage verification if the policyholder can confirm with the insurance company that the photographs included in the estimate are indeed photographs of the damage to their property. ProDescs ® cannot act on behalf of the policyholder to verify property damage.
