Don't settle for less, make the Wise Choice!

---

We will thoroughly review all the details of your loss and provide you with guidance on the steps you or your contractor will need to take to get the necessary response from your insurer. Insurance claims are often a very slow process, and unfortunately, we cannot make them move any quicker. However, we can often provide you with the information they will need to prevent additional delays. 

Sometimes the property owner isn't sure if it is their insurance company or their contractor that is trying to take advantage of them. We can review your loss alongside the estimates from your insurer and your contractor to help you understand if either party is being unreasonable.

It is common for an insurance estimate to not be completely accurate on its first iteration. Maybe there was additional damage that couldn't be seen originally, maybe there were additional undamaged items that had to be replaced in order to repair the damaged items, or maybe the adjuster just missed something.  There are many reasons that the original estimate may not be quite right, and most of these are 100% legitimate.  Any adjustments to the original estimate are called supplements, and many contractors struggle with providing sufficient documentation to justify the supplemental items they are requesting. We can help your contractor document these additional items and request payment from your insurer in a way that is more likely to get approved. 

The majority of insurance companies write their estimates using a program called Xactimate. Oftentimes it makes the entire process go smoother if the property-owner's estimate is written using the same software. However, this program is relatively expensive, and many contractors don't want the expense of having to purchase it or the time commitment required to learn a new way to estimate. And many of the contractors that do have Xactimate, have only a rudimentary understanding of its capabilities and don't know how to use it effectively. 

Our appraisers have written approximately 8,000 - 10,000 claims in Xactimate including simple wind/hail exterior estimates, complex water losses, hurricanes and tornados, and total loss fires. Our proficiency with this software is unmatched.

Maybe your insurance company requested an estimate from you, and you haven't decided on a contractor yet. Or maybe your contractor is old-school and just wrote a price on a notepad without any kind of breakdown. Whatever the case, if you need an estimate written in a language your adjuster can understand we are able to help.

Most insurance policies include provisions for appraisal in the event both parties cannot come to an agreement on a reasonable price to repair your damage. Oftentimes this is only invoked after you have exhausted other options for a reasonable settlement. Appraisal can be initiated by either the property owner or the insurance company. Once it has been started each party will retain an unbiased 3rd party appraiser. The two appraisers will inspect the loss together and write their own estimates which they believe are correct. They will then review with each other and make revisions as needed in an attempt to come to an agreement on the amount of the loss. If they cannot reach an agreement, they will send their estimates to an umpire who will have the final decision. In the State of Texas, appraisal settlements are binding on both parties. 

Our appraisers are all licensed with Texas Department of Insurance. We offer several options when it comes to appraisal. 

    - We can review your loss with you and advise if we believe appraisal will be beneficial based on the facts of your loss.

   - Prior to invoking appraisal, we can inspect your property, document all of the damage, and prepare an estimate in Xactimate which details the difference in price between the insurance estimate and what the reasonable costs should be.

   - If you already have a detailed Xactimate estimate from your contractor, we will complete the appraisal inspection and prepare an estimate using your contractor's estimate as a guideline.

Appraisal can only be utilized to dispute pricing of repairs and cannot dispute coverage decisions.  If your insurance company has denied coverage for any damages, those cannot be addressed with appraisal. 

 Wise Choice Loss Consulting is not a Public Adjuster, nor do we intend in any way to represent ourselves as Public Adjusters. We offer services to help the property-owner and/or their contractor navigate an insurance claim. We do not represent them to their insurer, however, if allowed we may speak to their insurer on their behalf in order to provide information and/or documentation in a manner that is more easily understood by the insurer.  We are an unbiased 3rd party, and our fees are not contingent on the outcome of the claim.