WHEN SELECTING A GENERAL CONTRACTOR

• Check company with AZ Registrar of Contractors
  602-542-1525 or http://www.azroc.gov

• Check out facility and meet the staff

• Ask how many years they have been in business

• Ask for references. What types of services, who they provide them for and how timely their completions are

• Inquire about payment terms, deductible responsibility and mortgage company involvement

• Check their policy regarding 20 day pre-liens and lien releases

• Find out the company’s reputation in the industry

• Inquire about financial status and ask for bank references

Please read the following excerpt from the Arizona Department of Insurance issued June 20, 2003:

• Be wary of contractors or repairmen that solicit door-to-door.  Doing business with licensed and insured contractors gives you protection and options if you do not received the quality work for which you contracted.
• Call the Arizona Registrar of Contractors to verify the license of a contractor: (602) 542-1525 or toll free at (888) 271-9286.  Call the Better Business Bureau at (602) 264-1721 (Phoenix) or (520) 888-5353 (Tuscon).
• Never let anyone persuade you to seek reimbursement for non-existent losses or damages.  This constitutes insurance fraud, which is a felony.

You may be contacted by a public adjuster who offers to represent you and handle your claim.  Such services are legal, but as with all contractual, intangible services you purchase, it is important that you understand what you are buying and make sure these services are right for you.  If you choose to hire a public adjuster, read the contract carefully.  You will likely have to share a percentage of your insurance settlement with the public adjuster as payment for his services.  In addition, once you have appointed the public adjuster as your representative, understand that you insurance company or its adjuster may no longer be permitted to communicate directly with you about your claim.  In most instances, the adjuster will receive your claim payment and you will have to wait until he delivers your payments.  The adjuster’s contract may require that he be made a “loss payee” on any settlement checks from the insurance company in order to secure his fee.

Check the public adjuster’s references and credentials and call the Department of Insurance to determine if the adjuster is licensed, (602) 364-2499 or (800) 325-2548 (In Arizona but outside the Phoenix area)
(602) 364-2977 (Spanish) (602) 364-2505 (Fax).  Or check their website at http://www.id.state.az.us to look up information about licensed adjusters.

Proudly a part of VBS,

Rachel Sester

When she’s not in the office Vicki enjoys reading, shopping, and cooking up a delicious meal.

Vicki hard at work

1: Call your insurance company and report the claim.
They will ask for basic information about the loss; what happened, when, where, etc. What damage you think has happened or occurred from this, how much of the home/business has been affected. Or other questions similar to these ones.  It’s a good idea to record this information and ask your insurance company where you can send a notice of the claim in writing.  Even if they tell you it is not necessary, I would suggest you do this anyway.

2: Read your insurance policy.
This means more than just the declarations page.  Don’t simply glance over this a few times, I mean really get in there and read all that your policy has to say. If there are portions of your policy that you don’t understand, highlight them, or jot them down on a separate piece of paper and ask your adjuster about them.

3: Do not clean up the mess.
Your first reaction will probably be to want to get your home/business back in shape as quickly as possibly,  which often times means cleaning up the mess.  Try to resist! Take lots of pictures or video, if you can, of everything you think has been affected by this claim.  This could be the boxes in the corner that are soaked after the water heater flooded the living room. Or this could be taking a picture of your neighbors trampoline in your dining room ceiling! Take as many pictures as possible, they say a picture is worth a thousand words – so think of how easy it will be to explain after the fact what happened if you have an arsenal of pictures for your adjuster.   The adjuster will also take pictures of the loss.  Do not rely on this alone, even if the adjuster comes out immediately, you still want to have your own documentation.  Many times adjusters change throughout the course of an insurance loss and a second or third adjuster may not be as familiar with your claim as the first.

4: Record all damage done to your home/business and the belongings inside.
Take your time and write down everything you feel has been affected by this insurance loss. Make a list of all damages; picture frames, couches, computers, drywall, cabinets, etc. Record everything before you throw it away and make sure you insurance adjuster looks at your items before tossing them.  If you are unsure about whether to keep something or not, ask your insurance adjuster.

5: Keep all communication documented.
Even after a phone call or an in-person meeting with an adjuster, keep notes and send those in via e-mail or post mail to the adjuster. This is a good way of making sure everyone is on the same page and avoids confusion or miscommunications during your claims process.

6: Make note of everything that happens with your claim.
Get a standard note pad and keep track of all dates/times of any event the occurs with your claim and keep for your own records. You may even want to get a manila folder and keep this along with all of the other documentation you’ve acquired together.  Make sure to note each call to/from your insurance adjuster as well as all visits.

7:  Keep your property safe from further damage.
What this means is if you have had a break in and your front door is not secure, speak with your insurance adjuster about having and emergency board up done to ensure the property is secure.  Or if you have a leak in the roof, put a tarp over it until permanent repairs can be made.

8: Get frequent updates.
Make sure you stay in good contact with your insurance adjuster and are updated frequently.  Once you are at the stage of your claim that you are having the repairs done by a contractor, these calls will probably become less frequent as you will be in more contact with the restoration company.

Remember, you are not the first person and unfortunately won’t be the last person to go through this.  It’s not the most delightful thing to experience, but with these steps, your claim should move quickly and give you peace of mind sooner.

Proudly a part of VBS,

Rachel Sester

1. Think Positive

• Always be positive. Think success never failure. Beware of negative environment.

2. Decide upon your true drams and goals.

• Write down your goals and develop a plan to reach them.

3. Take Action

• Goals mean nothing unless we act upon them.  Reject fear. Just do it!

4. Never cease learning.

• Pursue training and acquire skills.

5. Be persistent and work hard.

• Success is a marathon, not a sprint.  Do not give up.

6. Analyze details.

• Get all of the facts and all of the input.  Learn and correct your mistakes.

7. Focus your time.

• Don’t let other things distract you.  Turn a deaf ear to negative or defeatist input.

8. Do not fear to innovate and to be different.

• Following the herd can be a sure path to mediocrity.

9. Deal and communicate with people effectively.

• No person is an island.  Open your ears.  Learn to understand and motivate others.

10. Be honest and dependable and take responsibility.

• If you are not honest and dependable and if you do not take responsibility, number 1 through 9 above are meaningless and will be entirely ineffective!

We are doing our part to make sure home owners have a satisfied claims experience and retain their loyalty.  From the First Notice of Loss, all the way through to payment, homeowners are a part of the process every step of the way.  We are available to clients 24/7 via an on-call manager as well as various social media outlets.

I’d like to take you through our internal customer service process here to show you how we are doing our best to keep happy, satisfied customers.

When a home owner has signed a work authorization or contract with us, it then goes to our production department for scheduling.  During this time, the file goes through our customer service department where all contact information is verified. A customer service agent will call the home owner, tenant or other listed contact and let them know the status of their job at this point. The person of contact will be given their project manager’s information as well as answer any questions they might have at that time.  After this step, the job file is given to our production department for scheduling.

If this is an insurance loss, the same customer service agent will now call the insurance adjuster to let them know the status of the job as well. They will answer any questions the adjuster may have as well as provide them with the project manager’s contact information.  The customer service agent will keep in weekly contact with the adjuster with updates on the job.

When the job is approximately 50 percent complete, they will get another call from our customer service department. The purpose of this call is to see how the job is going for the customer to this point.  The customer service agent asks things such as: if our field workers have been on time, how attentive we have been to their needs, and their overall view of the job at this point in time.

Once the job is complete, we then send out a customer service survey asking for overall feedback.  The customer is asked to rate various departments on a scale of 1 to 5. This is anonymous and completely optional, but we find most people are happy to give us their contact information along with their outstanding reviews of us here at VBS.

So now that you have seen our internal customer service process, you should feel confident in us here to keep you or your customers happy and pleased with their claims process.  It is always been our goal to provide top-notch customer service and in fact, it’s our motto around here!

~Concierge Service at Industry Standard Pricing!

Proudly a Part of VBS,

Rachel Sester

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