Fabric Restoration Specialists and Customer Service

In terms of fabric restoration, no two claims are exactly alike. A quick room-by-room, on-site inventory is not the best approach every time, especially for large claims with different types of damaged items. Some operators are now taking a more thorough and detailed approach that can help to create additional savings for the insurance carrier. For example, by taking the time to distinguish different types of attire and adjusting the pricing accordingly in the initial estimate, insurance claim professionals can realize significant savings and make informed decisions regarding restoration versus replacement. Also, the detailed description of each item helps to ensure fair, accurate, and competitive pricing.

Establishing and meeting benchmarks is a key strategy for the industry. Insurers have come to rely on their fabric restoration providers to maintain a well-developed communication structure that enables them to deliver information to both the insured and the insurance claim office via e-mail or telephone in a timely and consistent manner. All parties involved with the claim should expect to be kept up to date on the progress of the order, invoicing, payment status, delivery status, and the final overall policyholder satisfaction level with the service that they received.

The claim professional should receive consistent updates on the progress of the claim when they are working with a large and efficient provider. They should also expect for the provider to contact the adjuster to discuss and review any specific items that require special consideration prior to the start of the restoration cleaning of these items.

What to Expect

Promises such as 24-hour, seven-day-a-week availability to respond to loss sites, arriving at the sites within hours of the incident, and providing prompt and detailed estimates within several business days of picking up an order have become fairly common. However, as the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words. This is definitely true when insurers are considering various providers and their boasts. To make these decisions, insurers are now demanding and receiving detailed performance reports that chronicle the standards met by the restoration cleaner over a period a time. Reports on customer survey results, estimate/invoice turnaround times, loss-site response times and the actual performance of the specialty cleaner can now serve as the ultimate measuring stick for the claim professionals to consider. Here are some common benchmarks:

• Upon receiving claim assignments, the company contacts insureds immediately to arrange a time to meet.
• Arriving at the loss site as quickly as possible (or when convenient for the insured).
• Itemization all of the high-end or special value items on-site.
• Next-day delivery of emergency rush order items.
• Delivering itemized invoices and detailed inventories (including brands and sizes) to the claim representative within four-to-five business days, helping representatives set and adjust reserves.
• Obtaining certificates of satisfaction from the insureds upon completion.
• Providing a non-restorable report at the time of invoice.

Restoration cleaners have learned that they must be more than just experts on cleaning and restoring clothes and others fabrics. They have embraced technology to assist the clients — both the policyholder as well as the claim representative. The best restoration cleaners have developed sophisticated customer relationship management systems that enable them to track items through the entire restoration process and produce detailed reports on the status of items. These systems also enable specialty cleaners to manage workflow and ultimately measure customer satisfaction.

• Detailed reports, which can be sent by e-mail, document these and other important steps in the process:
• When the restoration specialist arrived at the loss site.
• When the emergency order was delivered.
• When the invoice was delivered.
• When the order was completed.
• When final delivery was completed.

Successful fabric restoration specialists understand the importance of accurate, prompt, and detailed cost estimates and invoices at highly competitive and accurate prices to insurance claim professionals. Comprehensive cost estimates, using all of the established insurance industry standards for pricing and details for each item to be cleaned, should be provided within several business days of picking up the order. It should be a user-friendly and highly professional statement of all of the work with the associated pricing for each item in a simple format. Claim professionals should be able to rely upon these estimates to set their reserves for the claim without any concerns for additional charges or inflated pricing.

The industry has worked hard to create consistency across the board by using uniformed personnel and creating standardized procedures. With the consolidation of the insurance industry and claim centers, most of the claim offices for the large carriers service wide geographic regions. The best fabric restoration specialists have become large operations that are able to service entire states or regions. They provide claim offices with a single point of contact for claim assignments and all of the continued communication through the entire process. The large and busy claim offices serving wide territories for the major carriers have come to rely on restoration specialists to provide the same level of consistent and expert service regardless of the location of the loss site.

For the insurance claim professionals, the fabric restoration industry has clearly evolved during the last 10 years. By leveraging the tools, technology, and superior customer service of today's fabric restoration specialists, insurance carriers are able to help to create an additional opportunity to provide exceptional service when their customers need it most.

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