Don't Leave Necessary Repairs Off the Claim Quote

An insurance job has two readers. The adjuster checks your scope line by line against the insurer's own estimate, and the homeowner wants to know when you start.

If a repair is missing from the approved scope, your team may need to document it and request a change before doing the work.

A missing repair item cannot be reviewed unless your team adds it to the claim quote.

A one-line scope leaves the adjuster to guess what the repair takes. A detailed claim quote lists each step of the work, so the adjuster sees every one.

Your team confirms the measurements, materials, and code for each line before the quote goes out. See what your team checks.

Each step the repair needs gets its own line, so the insurer decides on every one.

The adjuster may leave out repairs your scope includes, or disagree on materials, labour rates, or amounts. More damage often appears once the walls are open.

Each difference your team can't show line by line is a cost the insurer has no reason to pay. Meanwhile, the homeowner calls to ask why the job hasn't started.

A claim quote the adjuster can match line by line keeps each disputed repair visible until the insurer decides on it.

Restoration contractors use it on every water, fire, and smoke job. Residential trades use it on the insured repairs that come their way, such as a plumber after a burst pipe, a roofer after wind or ice damage, or a basement contractor after a sewer backup.

If most of your work is private-pay, the standard contractor quotes cover it. I turn on insurance claim quoting for contractors who handle insured damage often.

Insurance claim quoting starts at your inspection of insured damage, before the adjuster reviews the claim. You use it again for a supplement, when the adjuster leaves out work or more damage appears after repairs start.

An online estimate does a different job. It gives a homeowner a preliminary price range for planned work, from their own answers, before you visit. A claim starts with your inspection, because the homeowner can't measure hidden water or smoke damage.

If the homeowner priced the job online first, your team replaces their answers with what the inspection finds. See how you adjust an estimate.

• Your repair estimate: the measurements, damage, repairs, and prices your team records at the inspection. You own it, and both quotes come from it, so your team enters the job once.
• The claim quote: the documentation the adjuster reads. It lists the insured repairs, with a line-item code, amount, and price on each line, for the adjuster to compare with the insurer's estimate.
• The insurer's review: the adjuster's own estimate and the insurer's decision on coverage and payment. The insurer owns this part, and your quote is one input to it.
• The homeowner's approved scope: the quote the homeowner signs, in plain words. It can add work the insurer doesn't cover, such as an upgrade or finishing the rest of the basement.

The claim quote asks the insurer to pay, and the homeowner's quote sets the work you do.

Each line of the claim quote shows:

• The repair or replacement work
• The line-item code
• The materials and labour
• The amount and unit price
• The line total in Canadian dollars

The quote also shows the customer and property details, the subtotal, and HST on its own line.

A line-item code is the short code Xactimate or Symbility uses to name one piece of work, such as tearing out wet drywall. Your business uses one of the two programs on every claim quote, and I set up its codes before your first claim.

• Basement flooding and sewer backup: pumping out water, drying, tear-out, drywall, insulation, flooring, and baseboards.
• Burst and frozen pipes: water removal, drying, opening walls to reach plumbing, drywall, ceilings, and finishes.
• Ice dams and roof leaks: shingles, underlayment, flashing, and the ceiling and insulation damage below.
• Wind damage: shingles, siding, soffit, fascia, and eavestroughs.
• Fire and smoke damage: removal, cleaning, restoration, and replacement of damaged materials.

When a job needs a code your quote doesn't carry yet, I add it at no extra charge.

Each line carries your own price, adjusted for the job's postal code, in Canadian dollars. The adjuster prices the same line from the insurer's regional price list, so the two amounts can differ.

Your claim quote shows the adjuster what the repair costs your business, line by line.

Quotes show 13% HST on its own line, the Ontario rate. Outside Ontario, I set up your province's sales tax before your first quote.

The claim quote is a PDF your team sends to the adjuster. When an insurer requires the estimate built in Xactimate or Symbility itself, your team copies the scope in line by line, and each code on your claim quote names the matching line.

• The damage: each repair on the quote matches damage your team found and recorded at the inspection.
• The measurements: each amount matches what your team measured on site.
• The codes: each line's code names the work that line describes.
• The prices: each price fits the job, including any special access or materials.
• The backup: the photos, moisture readings, and notes the adjuster asks for are ready to send.

Your team approves every claim quote before the adjuster sees it.

The insurer decides what the policy covers and what it pays. Your repair price and its payment are two different numbers, and the deductible, depreciation, coverage limits, and exclusions all change what it pays.

Some insurers require the estimate prepared directly in the software they name, such as Xactimate or Symbility. The Growth Engine doesn't replace that process.

• Which repairs the policy covers
• Which prices it accepts
• Whether it approves a supplement
• How much it pays, and to whom

A detailed claim quote gives the adjuster every line to check, and the decision on each line stays with the insurer.

Your team visits, finds the damage, and records the measurements, materials, and work needed.

Keep using your own roof measuring, aerial photo, or moisture mapping tools. Their measurements feed your repair estimate.

From that one estimate, the Growth Engine builds the claim quote for the adjuster and the homeowner's quote. Your team checks each one before it goes out, and both stay on the homeowner's customer record.

The adjuster builds the insurer's estimate in the program the insurer names. Compare it with your claim quote to spot differences in:

• Repair steps
• Measurements and amounts
• Materials and specs
• Labour and unit prices
• Taxes
• Items the adjuster left out

Your original claim quote stays as it was while you work through the differences.

When the adjuster leaves out necessary work, or more damage appears after repairs start, your team updates the claim quote and asks the insurer to review the extra cost. This request is called a supplement.

Your team prepares the backup and talks to the adjuster. The insurer decides whether the extra work is covered.

When the insurer finishes its review and the homeowner approves their quote, you advance the quote and schedule your crew. The customer, both quotes, and every visit stay connected.

Some claims are waiting for an inspection. Others are waiting on the adjuster or a supplement. Each claim quote stays open on your quote list until your team marks what happens next:

• Advance: the insurer approved and the homeowner said yes.
• Nurture: the timing isn't right, and the customer stays on your list for later.
• Suppress: the customer gets no more marketing messages.

Each claim stays linked to the homeowner's contact details, both quotes, calls, texts, and visits.

When a homeowner calls for an update, your team sees both quotes right away. Claim numbers and adjuster details don't have their own fields.

Insurers and adjusters build their estimates in programs such as Xactimate or Symbility. The Growth Engine runs your quotes and your customer around the claim, and the insurer keeps using the program it names.

• A claim quote with an Xactimate or Symbility code on every line
• A plain homeowner's quote from the same inspection
• Your own prices, adjusted for the job's postal code, in Canadian dollars
• HST on its own line
• Each claim's status on your quote list
• Both quotes, calls, texts, and visits on one customer record
• New codes added at no extra charge

Once the insurer approves and the homeowner signs, contractor quotes take the job from the signed quote to your schedule and invoice.

See What Goes Into a Claim Quote. In an hour, I show you each part of a claim quote and review which claims you handle, which code system your insurers use, and how your team documents supplements.

See how a water or fire job runs from the emergency call to payment

See contractor software pricing

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