Dealing with Disasters and other Crises

Have you ever wondered why contents teams are so highly prized by adjusters, agents and even other contractors? We think there are multiple reasons,  but near the top of the list is that they have protocols for challenges and crises (even disasters within disasters). 

Imagine that the team is packing out a water damage claim when suddenly a gushing sound is heard and hundreds of gallons of sewage sprays forth from a broken pipe.

Or an insured falsely accuses the contents specialists of having broken her highly valued antique clock.

Another insured is seen loading some of the team’s tools into his (her) car and driving away!

A homeowner turns on his wet, big screen TV in the master bedroom (to see if it still works) and blames the contents pros (who just arrived) for letting him do it.

Another homeowner is engaged in a shouting match with a field adjuster about the replacement value of some old crime novels.

The contents pros have “prompts” and procedures for most “unforeseen” incidences (we put “unforeseen” in quotes, because once one has occurred, the contents professionals share information to create a series of steps for the mitigation of such circumstances – thus avoiding them in the future, or if that is impossible, then to deal with them in a succinct manner.

Teams that don’t have procedures, find that they are sometimes slowed down or paralyzed and unable to move forward with an assignment. A team with strategies, guidelines, and plans in place, simply proceed according to those systems. 

In the case of the raw sewage leak, for example, they move everything out of harm’s way and avoid cross contamination, then move on to prompt #2, #3 and #4.

In the case of the false accusation by the insured about the vintage clock, they showed the digital photo images of the already damaged clock that were taken when the contents manager first entered the room with the insured by her side (it actually happened).

Multiple disasters call for multiple procedures – not harried adjusters, upset customers and lost revenue.