Vol.14, Issue 1

WHY are insurance ad-justers looking so hard for contents

restoration companies? Because con-tents pros save the insurance companies millions of dollars every year!

Standard structural restoration com-panies don’t.

One industry observer points out that

in just one year of soft contents process-ing by a specialized group of contents restorers, over 11 million dollars worth of soft contents (clothing, bedding, drapery, etc.) was damaged. And although almost $3 million of it was cashed out, almost $9 million more was cleaned and restored, resulting in a savings of $7 million for the insurance provider.

And that is just one group of restor-ers who specialized in only a portion of restored items. If you are an adjuster who is interested in saving massive sums of money each year (and significant sums on virtually every job) by using a con-tents company or a structural restoration company with well-equipped and trained contents professionals, contents teams provide the best opportunity for extraor-dinary success!

The biggest challenge with creating a strong working relationship with a con-tents restoration group is that there are so few of them. They exist in most major communities in North America, Great Brit-ain and Australia, but the demand for their services is remarkably high and as each new generation of insurance adjusters discovers their worth, such companies find themselves faced with the conun-drum of how to help so many carriers at once.

One new and interesting phenom-enon is the plethora of niche markets that have sprung up as a result of the contents

pros’ expertise. For example, once cus-tomers with fine wine collections see the consummate way in which their valuables are treated, transported and maintained, the word spreads and the company that performed so well is requested by other wine enthusiasts.

When an untrained crew tries to packout and clean fragile crystal, china, etc. and ends up damaging pieces of the prized collections – adjusters “beat the bushes” to find a real contents unit that pleases customers every time and saves the insurance company measurable amounts on every job.

In fact, many contents businesses are now including a small addition to their invoices so the adjusters can quickly see (and share with their bosses) precisely how much they have saved on each indi-vidual job by restoring instead of replac-ing.

And that is why insurance compa-nies in many countries agree that it just makes good, solid business sense to have a contents team listed in their data bases.

In fact, reports are coming in that because these restoration specialists are so valuable some carriers are delib-erately bypassing their own vendor lists and selecting companies with contents pros because companies without them simply can’t save them the amounts of capital that the contents experts can.

One great thing about working with contents resto-ration professionals is that they are well versed in the “how, when, where and why” of the techniques, solutions and devices they use.

Some companies, which do not have trained con-tents divisions, hesitate to attempt the restoration of many items because they lack the knowledge of how to go about it.

Some homeowners look on skeptically when the res-toration of their valuables is just beginning – after all, such projects do oftentimes appear to be monumental challenges to the untrained eye.

But the contents project managers have seen it all before and have received extensive training, so not only can they perform the work, but they can “talk a good game,” as well.

In other words, they can help educate health offi-cials, homeowners and others as to the efficacy of their

methods and the “provability” of their projected outcomes.

Thus, they become a valued ally to the adjuster who is trying to save his com-pany some money by restoring instead of replacing. And really appreci-ates the help the contents managers can offer when dealing with uneasy clients, inquiring officials and specialists whose ex-pertise has been sought.

In the Know

Great Year for Adjusters!

Many modern contents restoration instructors are urging their graduates to treat all contents as if they were contaminated.

After all, if there is a fire, there is smoke and soot contamination. If there is water damage, the potential for mold and other contaminants is present.

If there is a sewage back-up, everything in the effluvium’s path and near vicinity is suspect.

In all such scenarios, cross contamination is always a possibility and in hospitals, schools and other public places, Norovirus, bedbugs, and even MRSA and other insects, viruses and virulent germs may be unseen but very real threats.

In a recent edition of “Property Casualty 360,” author Caterina Pontoriero, tells the story of Tom Kirkpatrick, a contents consultant, who arrived at the waterfront home of a wealthy client to find a resto-ration crew throwing huge amounts of smoke-dam-aged goods into a large dumpster.

It was obvious to him that the crew was not mak-ing records of the discards and did not appear to be doing anything other than throwing everything away.

Kirkpatrick stopped them, brought in a second dumpster and meticulously (the way real contents pros perform) went through each piece to determine its value and condition.

“I picked up a designer handbag with some fire damage, and opened it. Inside the side pocket was a diamond and sapphire necklace worth $400,000,” says Kirkpatrick. “They had just tossed it! I remember the client’s face when she saw it. It wasn’t damaged at all.”

When an Eaton dress shirt can sell for $40,000 and a Louis Vitton handbag can go for $45,000, a rapidly filling dumpster can be worth a king’s ransom.

It is an all too familiar story when, for the sake of speed, huge sums of money and other valuables are lost. We have read tales of untrained workers dis-carding everything from a purse full of money to a husband’s ashes – that is why contents pros are so highly valued.

Their training has actually saved items worth more than the cost of an entire job!

Did you know that there are many insurance agents who routinely re-fer jobs to contents res-toration companies?

They do it for one very good reason. Contents teams help get policies renewed – most other com-panies simply do not.

Of course you have heard about the new campaigns that are being launched by contents divi-sions in which they take a stack of the agent’s cards and give a small basket of goodies at the beginning of a job (sometimes toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, etc. – some-times an assortment of “comfort foods”) to each client, but instead of giving their own business cards, ad-vertisements, etc. to the customer, they put the agent’s card inside (no mention of the contents company at

all) with a simple message – per-haps, “Because I care,” or “I’m here and I wanted you to know that I am going to stay with you.”

Then, at the end of the job, the contents manager gives another little gift (maybe flowers, or one of those little, clever fire extinguishers that are becoming so popular – or some other appropriate gift) with the agent’s card and another note that says simply, “Welcome home,” or “Welcome home – I’m glad we were able to help out and I want you to know that I’m still right here, only a phone call away.”

Agents want those special teams to have as many jobs as they can give them, because these con-tents professionals are helping the carriers to commit acts of customer service and excellent public rela-tions – so that when it comes time to renew a policy, the odds are im-proved dramatically that the client will remember them in a very posi-tive light.

Plus! The contents team ac-tually watches for opportunities to make the agent look very good to the insured throughout the job – perhaps they will call the agent when some treasured item is about to be returned in pre-loss condition (so the agent can be there when it happens).

Or they will alert the agent to some extraordinary restoration that has taken place, so the agent can simply be present when the “unveil-ing” occurs – it only takes a minute or two and the agent is seen in a very good light by the insured.

Contaminated Contents

Insurance Agents Refer Jobs to Contents Companies Transparency is GoodDocumentation is Even Better!

Contents Solutions! may not be reproduced in whole or in part except by prior written permission of the publishers. Contents Solutions is created each month by the research team at Total Contentz who are solely responsible for its publication and the material contained within ©2014.

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