As a property owner, having a public adjuster on your side after disaster strikes can mean the difference between a financial loss and getting a fair settlement.

But public adjusters don’t work alone at Jansen/Adjusters International. We have a team of experts on your side, working to settle your insurance claim. With reconstruction costs on the rise, having a construction estimator as a part of your post-disaster recovery team is essential. When working in tandem with a public adjuster, a construction estimator can ensure accurate pricing of your property, even with fluctuating prices for materials and labor, while the public adjuster works to conform the damages with your insurance contract.

What is a Construction Estimator?

A construction estimator is a skilled professional who uses their expertise to accurately predict the cost and resources required for different projects. Their responsibilities include analyzing blueprints, specifications, and other project documentation to determine the scope of work and materials, labor, and equipment needed to complete projects.

A talented construction estimator has a deep understanding of construction processes, materials, and labor costs as well as the ability to read and interpret complex architectural and engineering drawings. To create accurate estimates, construction estimators must have excellent analytical and mathematical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work with complex data-driven sets. They also need strong communication skills to collaborate with project managers, architects, engineers, consultants, and contractors to ensure that their estimates align with timelines and goals.

When working in tandem with a public adjuster, a construction estimator can help get your claim settled more accurately. By providing accurate estimates and keeping a close eye on costs and resources, a construction estimator helps ensure that the project is completed correctly. A construction estimator working with the public adjuster makes for a well-documented claim.

How Can a Construction Estimator Help Navigate Changing Reconstruction Costs?

Over the past two years, construction costs — especially the costs to repair or rebuild your property after a disaster strikes — have skyrocketed primarily due to a lack of supplies and labor. In a quarterly report published by Verisk, data signaled that total reconstruction costs, including materials and labor, increased by 6.8% from January 2022 to January 2023. Hourly labor costs alone increased by 8.6% from April 2022 to April 2023.

Construction estimators at Jansen/Adjusters International stay abreast of these rapidly changing costs using technologies that monitor how prices are moving from claim inception to claim resolution.

Utilizing a construction estimator’s expertise and advice, a public adjuster can ensure your contractor’s prices for materials include accurate cost estimates given the industry’s rapid changes. The goal is to limit costly change orders from material increases during construction.

For example, components, such as cabinets and doors, have had significant price increases in the past year. Since January 2022, interior trim costs increased by 18.9%, led by the costs of interior doors and crown molding.

Because some of these elements require craftsmanship as well as materials, such as wood or glass inserts, it becomes harder to find exact pricing via Xactimate.

With a regular estimate, a door would be put into one of four categories: standard, normal, high, and premium. Although an expert could recreate the door using the Xactimate program, it would be a disservice to clients to not also look to the market for custom pricing for the variety of doors available.

This can also be the case for specialty materials, such as the American clay utilized in place of drywall in a recent Woodlands home insurance claim. The insurance company's original scope of repair assumed the home walls consisted of standard drywall materials, but American clay had run behind cabinets, vanities, mirrors, and more. In part because of this specialty material, the team was able to nearly double the settlement the family was initially offered.

Collaboration Between Public Adjusters and Construction Estimators

During your claim, your insurance company will bring in experts who work for them, including building consultants, engineers, adjusters, and more.

If your insurance company has a variety of experts on their side, why shouldn’t you?

While small public adjusting firms may be able to assist in settling your claim, a three-person team may be juggling the sales, adjusting, contents, and estimating portion of each claim — or outsource critical parts of the process.

At Jansen/Adjusters International, our experienced public adjusters are joined by a variety of experts, including construction estimators, to help you get the settlement you’re entitled to without leaving money on the table. Our construction estimators and public adjusters work in tandem to settle your insurance claim accurately.

We stay up to date with pricing fluctuations, and our construction estimators validate what our public adjusters see in damages. This confirms their professional opinion and avoids outdated valuations. When a construction estimator supplies Xactimate estimates, taking their own knowledge of current pricing into account, the public adjuster can assemble a claim that also includes supplemental specialty costs.

Managing an insurance claim can be overwhelming, but property owners don’t have to go through the process alone. With a team of experts from Jansen/Adjusters International on your side, you can rest assured that you will receive a fair settlement.

To see how we can help with your claim, call 888.370.8909 or contact us here.