Two independent claims adjusters in the Southeast have teamed up to create what they say is a quick, low-cost way for proper
ty owners to double-check insurance carriers’ damage estimates on claims.
They’re calling it “CarFax for property insurance claims,” referring to the site that checks for accident reports on vehicles. Insu
ranceClaim123.com, as it’s known, is a tool that could potentially have an impact on the way insurance carriers, lawyers and public adjusters do business.
The system uses a bit of artificial intelligence along with building-permit and other records, photographs and adjusters’ int
uition to find possible oversights by insurance company adjusters, including missed property dama
ge, inaccurate material prices, and cases in which insurers offer to pay only repair costs instead of full replacement value.
“We think homeowners can use this to negotiate with the carrier on the
final amount,” said Ben Mandell, a former homebuilder and an independent adjuster since 2017. He has worked with fellow independent adjuster Mark Vinson to develo
p the InsuranceClaim123 system over the past year. Vinson, a computer science major in college, developed the website.
With the website, homeowners can alleviate that “gnawing feeling” that they’re not being fully paid for legitimate claims, Mandell said.
They say it works like this: Homeowners can upload their insurance company build-back estimates to the website. Within
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three to five business days, the site will provide a report, flagging items that Mandell and Vinson say probably s
hould have been covered. Or it can confirm when a carrier’s report appears to be accurate.
The cost is $295 per report – a better deal than what a public adjuster or lawyer would charge to contest or litigate a claim.
The InsuranceClaim123 report contends that tree impacts “typically
deform fascia, gutters, hangers, and downspouts together.” An attic inspection should also be done to check for damage to rafters and trusses. The insurer’s estimate
of the number of new roof shingles needed did not jibe with the amount of plywood decking needed. New vinyl siding can’t easily b
e matched to old, and a larger section should be replaced, the report notes.
The scope of roof decking that needs replacing also suggests a larger amount of interior damage, and a full replacement of ceiling drywall may be needed in at least one room. T
he insurer should cover the cost of more insulation and paint, the report said.
The insurer’s report noted 67% depreciation, but the InsuranceClaim123 report argues that a typical depreciation is
more like 15%. All told, the carrier’s estimate is $20,000 to $45,000 too low, the website posits.
Insurer advocates and public adjusters said it’s difficult to imagine how a system could arrive at an accurate damage estimat
e without physically inspecting a property. But the entrepreneurs said it’s all part of the “secret sauce,” which includes the adjusters’ own years of experience, property in
formation, and up-to-date material costs—not unlike the process used by carriers’ desk adjusters when revising field adjusters’ reports.
“I really got into this by trying to reverse-engineer what the insurance companies were doing to reduce our estimates and build their reports,” Vinson said.
A licensed public adjuster in Texas, Vinson said he was able to access hundreds of redacted adjuster reports from a third-party administrator to use as a learning base for the system.