Hello. For many years I adjusted property claims and now I am a Supervisor handling property adjusters at the Los Angeles office of DMA Claims Services. The element that sets DMA apart is SERVICE. It is an attitude that started with the founder of the company, David Morse, and is drilled into every new adjuster upon arrival, no matter how experienced.
Here is an example of what I mean by service:
Our insured sustained damage to the tiles on his roof in a winter storm. But this was not just any house, it was a beautiful custom-built home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. And the roof tiles were not just any tiles, they were customized, glazed ceramic tiles from Japan. The damage was slight. Immature cones from two large fir trees each weighing two to three pounds had fallen 30 feet onto the roof and broken 10 or 15 tiles. There was minor interior water damage.
The problem arose in the cost of repairing the roof. Because these were custom tiles, they could not be matched and the whole section of the roof would have to be replaced to get a consistent look. The estimate for this was over $43,000.
My adjuster had a background as a roofer and disputed the estimate but was not getting anywhere. That is where experience pays off. He made some calls and found the company that had supplied the tiles used in the original construction, and determined they still had about 100 of these tiles in storage. These of course were a perfect match. He then had the supplier give written instructions on the replacement of single isolated tiles rather than whole sections at a time. The insured’s contractor was totally handled and did the job for less than $2,000.
All this was handled quickly and despite the savings to the carrier of $41,000, the end product of the repair was superior to what had been originally planned and estimated, due to the use of original tiles.
What accounts for this unusual combination of three happy entities (insured, carrier, and contractor)?
Service. Good, fast service, a bit beyond what is ordinary in the profession.
It is this kind of service that can produce a combination of elements even more rare – insureds happy, claims fair and not inflated, and the surface of your desk shining through.
Give us a call at any of our offices for more information or to give us an assignment.
Yours truly,
A DMA Claims Supervisor
