WHAT IS A SUPPLEMENT ESTIMATE?
A supplement estimate is an estimate requesting more money from the insurance company. Once water damage has been cleaned up, an insurance adjuster writes a repair estimate to get the customers property put back together. (Repair drywall, replace flooring, paint, ect.) Once that estimate is complete Restorex Disaster Restoration reviews it to make sure it covers all the repairs that need to take place.
If the adjuster left something out, we can send the insurance company a supplement estimate that includes those forgotten items.
For example: An adjuster might pay for replacing cabinets but forget to include detaching and resetting the counter-top. They might pay to install new baseboard but forget to paint them 2 coats. Adjusters can be so forgetful sometimes…
Note: All adjusters and legitimate contractors estimate through a system called Xactimate. Estimates can be sent back and forth in this system until a final price is agreed upon.
Insurance Adjuster’s Estimates
Usually adjuster’s estimates don’t have enough money in them in my opinion. (If you asked an adjuster, they would probably claim that restoration companies’ estimates are way too high.)
However, as a property owner you should be on my side because if you’ve ever been through a remodel, you know that having additional money is never a bad thing. Unforeseen circumstances almost always come up. Especially when you’re making new repairs to an older home. That’s just the nature of the beast.
The reason why I believe that adjuster’s estimates are low, is because while they do write a lot of them, very few adjusters actually understand how to perform the repairs.
What I mean by that is it’s one thing to know what needs to be done, (For example: ceiling drywall that has been affected by water damage needs scraped, re-textured, and painted). But it’s another thing to actually know how to perform that task.
A lot of home repairs are very difficult, even for our experienced carpenters.
Every Water Damage is Unique
Each home we work on is unique and presents a different set of challenges. Have you ever textured drywall on a ceiling? If you haven’t, try it sometime and let me know how it goes. Now imagine trying to match a new section of texture on a repaired ceiling with the texture that is already there.
It may take our carpenters two or three times to get it right, and they may not be able to match it at all depending on how complicated the existing texture is.
Adjusters typically pay enough money to make the match on the first try because they don’t understand, or care. By doing this they are able to save the insurance company money and aren’t held accountable if what they paid for doesn’t work out.
Let a Professional Contractor Review the Estimate
Ensure a professional restoration company reviews the adjuster’s repair estimate before work begins. This will allow the process to be as smooth as possible. If they haven’t, then a supplement estimate needs to be submitted in order to account for those left out items.
Program note: Not all adjusters are evil penny pinchers, whose sole purpose is to screw their customers and save the insurance company money. There are plenty of talented adjusters out there writing good repair estimates and taking great care of their customers. However, since you as the homeowner can’t choose which adjuster settles your claim, it’s a good idea to have their repair estimate reviewed. Better safe than sorry.
Unexpected Circumstances and Repairs
Another scenario where supplement estimates come in handy is when something unexpected comes up during the repairs.
For example: An adjuster might originally write to only replace vinyl flooring. However during removals it is determined that the sub-floor underneath it is rotted out and needs replaced also.
At that point Restorex Disaster Restoration would contact the adjuster to let them know we’ve come across something unexpected and the details of the repairs has changed. We would then submit a supplement estimate to the insurance company to compensate for that, and any other differences.
Adjusters don’t have Superman vision, (Or at least none of the ones I’ve met have…) so they can’t always tell in advance exactly what challenges a repair job might have in store. The good news is that supplement estimates are available to make up for left out or unforeseen items.
Think of it as an estimating safety net. This allows Restorex Disaster Restoration to get our customers fixed up right without having to rely solely on the original repair estimate. Praise the Lord.
NEED HELP WITH WATER DAMAGE? CALL (317) 315-5071
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