We have known Jim for about twenty five years. One day, he was at our house for a party and I overheard a conversation he was having about how many insurance companies will not pay fair value in situations involving disasters such as fire, flood, etc. I later asked him about this conversation, and he proceeded to tell me the names of a few insurance companies that had very good reputations for standing behind their policies.
I shared this later with Phil, and we then made a decision to switch our insurance to one of the companies that Jim had mentioned. About three years later, we had a flood in our basement. Thankfully we had switched our insurance policy – the incident was covered by our new carrier.
I worked with Jim many years ago when he was a project manager for a fire restoration company. One thing about Jim, he is always a strong advocate for the customer. Back then, he was just learning about fire and water restoration and some of the things that can happen when certain insurance companies come out to survey damages and estimate the coverage.
Jim learned the ropes well; he thoroughly understands the process and the pitfalls of this industry and is a proponent and advocate for the customer. This knowledge made such a difference in how our situation was handled. Our neighbors also had severe flooding because of the same rainstorm; the neighbor on one side had one of the companies that Jim had warned me about – all they received was $5,000.00.
The neighbor on the other side had no insurance at all. In our case, the policy that we had with a company recommended by Jim had a small $50.00 a year addendum attached to it, which covered the sump pump. What caused our damage was, in fact, the sump pump burning out. So because of the foresight of Jim, suggesting that we have our company attach this rider, we were covered. Jim was the first call we made. He told us that when we called our insurance agent, let him know that our contractor will be handling the claim and representing us.
Jim handled all the negotiating with the insurance company; I am certain that this made all the difference in the amount we received for our claim, which ended up being almost $50,000.00. Jim is a master at using all the same software that the insurance company uses. Part of the game that insurance adjusters play is trying to get you to agree to a settlement amount. Jim knows how to deal with them and he won’t let that happen. By the time he was done, he had managed to bump up their estimate by at least $16,000.00.