Today I went to a wonderful business networking group meeting as a visitor. This group is pretty formal and professional, with a very specific agenda that they go through every week when they meet. One of the items on the routine agenda is that one member gives a formal presentation of his/her business, so that the other members get a better sense of what the business offers and who the owner is as a person. Today's speaker was the owner of a water damage remediation and restoration company. Coincidentally, my blog last week touched upon my own experience in dealing with a problem that needed a company like his. Another coincidence, is that he got into the struggle he has had in dealing with property insurance companies during the process of serving clients. I had previously blogged about my perspective on this struggle in my piece from 12/21/2018. I was happy to hear my opinions echoed by another business owner.
To reiterate the point I previously made, and the point this business owner made today, here is a reminder of the priorities of the parties involved in a property water damage problem:
Insurance Company: Primary Goal: Money in their pocket.
Secondary Goal: None
Service Provider: Primary Goal: Earning what they believe is the market value for what
they do for quality services.
Secondary Goal: Helping the property owner with their damage
Property Owner: Primary Goal: Getting their property damage taken care of properly Secondary Goal: Getting Insurance Company to pay as much as possible and/or the Service Provider to accept as little pay as possible
Same as I said before, you can see how these competing priorities can create a lot of problematic issues. The business owner speaking today said that he had become so frustrated with how insurance companies get in the way of property owners receiving his good service, that he decided he will not work "through the insurance company". He agreed with me that the insurance companies only care about finding any way they can to pay as little as possible for a damage claim, and that if he were to work through them, he'd be pressured to cut corners to keep costs down. He said other businesses may be willing to work through insurance companies and receive less, because they can then receive a large volume of referrals from insurance companies. This business owner decided he does not want to work this way because it would be the property owner that suffers at the end of the day. Ahhh, my type of business owner, seeking to provide honest, quality services for his clients instead of caring most about money that comes at other people's expense. I found my self nodding in agreement the entire time he was speaking about this issue. He will certainly be getting referrals from me when someone is in need of his services.
I too, seek to ensure people get what they pay for. Please do not let insurance company involvement cause you to receive less than you deserve and are entitled to. Also, be careful that the service provider you choose to help fix your damage actually cares about providing quality services more than he/she cares about pleasing the insurance company. I know this may be a lot to sort out when you are dealing with an upsetting personal issue that requires insurance company involvement, so please feel free to reach out to me for help if you feel overwhelmed or are too busy to address these issues. I'm a phone call or email away !
