New Cleanup Firm Group Draws Big Turnout

By Daniel Hays

NU Online News Service, June 24, 1:09 p.m. EDT?An organization formed to help independent cleanup firms compete with national chains said its first meeting last week in Chicago drew 230 participants.

The organizers of the Independent Mitigation and Cleaning/Conservation network said the turnout demonstrates that, "National chains seeking dominance of the insurance claim cleaning and restoration business in the U.S. are in for a fight."

IMACC said independent restoration and loss mitigation professionals came from the both the east and west coasts.

The organization said that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Harmon, told attendees that the need for a national presence representing independents has increased as their biggest customers, the insurance carriers, have been reduced.

"Consolidation in the property-casualty insurance industry has eliminated approximately 3,000 insurance companies in the last 22 years," he said. "The remaining companies have closed 10,000 local claims offices in that same period to reduce costs.

"Since insurers are responsible for assigning 80 percent of all mitigation and restoration work in the U.S., that means the decision to hire in the local market is increasingly being made at the national level," said Mr. Harmon.

IMACC, he noted, has been formed to give independent contractors "aggressive national marketing and outstanding representation to hundreds of insurers at the home-office level."

"Many insurance companies want the ability to call only a single toll-free number when dealing with cleaning and restoration companies," said Mr. Harmon. "Before the creation of IMACC, only the franchises offered this.

"The insurance companies know they get a better product from independents," he continued. "The only thing that has held them back is the independents' inability to provide national coverage. IMACC will now provide such coverage."

According to Mr. Harmon, the new group offers insurers "huge savings" resulting from virtual adjusting through its ClaimCam proprietary technology."

Kirk Hansen, IMACC, vice president of insurer relations, explained that ClaimCam is an onsite television camera that independents use to give adjusters live views of a claim site through streaming video.

"Technology is changing the way we deliver our service to policyholders," said John Eager, senior director of claims for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), a presenter at the meeting.

Mr. Hansen told National Underwriter that independent firms generally have a greater percentage of personnel who have gone through certified remediation training than those with the national chains.

The big firms, he said frequently make big promises to do quick cleanup operations, but they fail to do a complete remediation and "independents do a good business coming in afterwards and finishing up."

More information on IMACC, is available at or by contacting Mr. Hansen at or 630.527.9052.

IMACC, based in Naperville, Ill., was formed in April.

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New Cleanup Firm Group Draws Big Turnout

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