If a hailstorm with hail stones the size of baseballs landed in the cornfields of Nebraska there would probably be little property damage associated with it. Local property adjusters would handle property damage from a storm such as this. But, if that same hailstorm went through downtown Omaha there might be 20,000 property claims that day. This type of severe storm is known as a Catastrophic Event or a CAT Storm. It happens hundreds of times a year in the United States. The types of severe storms that might be categorized as CAT Storms would include:
• An Ice storm in New York in January
• A flood in Ohio in March
• A tornado and hailstorm in Omaha in May
• A hurricane in Orlando Florida in August
We hear about storms such as these on the news almost every day. When a Cat Storm happens, the enormous volume of claims is overwhelming for the people personally affected and those that help them through it.
Insurance companies, State, and Federal agencies take these events very seriously. Sometimes they must mobilize as many as several thousand people throughout the United States and get them to the storm location as soon as possible, usually within 72 hours.
Insurance Companies set up call centers for people (Insured) to file their claims. They organize those claims and assign them to field adjusters. It is the field adjusters' responsibility to contact each insured who has filed a claim. Then they must assess the most severe damage, schedule appointments for inspections, write a detailed estimate of the damage, and finally arrange payment to the Insured for the necessary repairs. Generally, all of this happens within 30 days after a CAT Storm.
The insured, the people most affected, are unquestionably devastated. They know to call their insurance agent and file a claim, yet beyond that, most have no idea how the process works. After the Insured calls in their claim they wait to hear back from their adjuster to make an appointment to inspect their home.
Initial contact with the insured is one of the first tasks assigned to the adjuster. However, the Adjuster who must now find a place to live, become familiar with their claims area and set up an office, is inundated with all the tasks at hand. They must access or triage the damage, prioritize those who have been displaced, give and get important information, and schedule their appointments. This consumes valuable time at the beginning of a storm when the adjuster could be in the field inspecting the damages.
This is how our service, Adjusters First Contact, becomes a priceless, vital tool for the Catastrophic Adjusting Industry. Our proprietary software and patent pending method allows our trained customer care specialists to call each insured, to gather and give ALL of the important information necessary to expedite the claim, organize that information and submit it to our website for the Adjusters, Claim Service and Insurance Company to instantly access. Our service provides both accountability and efficiency under one roof.
Our Motto is: “Customer Service When Needed Most” and we live by that.
