Property inspection is stressful, complicated and can be downright miserable, according to the founders of Spex, an SaaS-based property inspection app.
After working as an insurance adjuster and trainer during Hurricane Irene in 2012, Spex co-founder David Cockrel came to the conclusion that the field needs better documentation from a point of inspection. "The industry relies heavily on independent adjusters who are often underskilled and are thrown into situations that are above their strength levels," he says.
Cockrel, who has eight years of experience in this field, realized that an adjuster's typical tools of a clipboard and digital camera cannot sustain the industry long-term. As such, the concept of Spex began and its service launched last year.
The Denver-based firm aims to refine inspections through its app, available in both an individual and enterprise platform, and through its Internet application, which is accessed through any web-enabled device.
The software collects photos (with annotations), notes, diagrams, dimensions, field sketching, video and audio entries, scope of work and all inspection reports. All of the entries that the adjuster or contractor inputs are collected into a clean spec board (the Dashboard), which is accessible online, and summarized in an exportable report.
The software is ideal for two sets of clients, according to Brett Goldberg, Spex's CEO. Small- and medium-sized businesses are ideal users. "We are talking to folks like small contractors and small insurance companies," he says, and also points to more than 70 such companies who use the platform on a daily basis. And the other is large insurance companies and large independent adjustment firms, whom he declines to name as users.
Accurately document loss
"Spex is designed to accurately document the loss," Cockrel says. "And whereas an estimating software program might focus on general items like a refrigerator, Spex is designed to get that exact building material correct.
"We allow the contractor and insurance company to be able to finally agree on the scope of work. That hasn't been a possibility before because both companies are doing their own inspections," he continues.
Indeed, when it comes to property inspections, each adjuster or contractor has his or her own way of performing that job—and those differences can add up to extra time, something not easily afforded during an emergency.
Will Scarborough, project coordinator and lead estimator at Disaster Services, Columbus Ga., recalls a period during the winter of 2013, where his area was hit by 8-degree temperatures for a few days. In the northern states, this is not a big deal. But Disaster Services, a restoration and general contracting firm based in Columbus, Ga., received between 50 and 60 calls regarding flooded homes. "To put that in perspective, for a company of our size that's about $150,000 in revenue for water mitigation, which almost equals what had done for the previous year—and we had that in a three-day timespan," Scarborough says.
Scarborough's supervisors needed to gather information as quickly as possible and turn it in for estimates. "I had stuff written on napkins, back sides of paper, and your crew just wants to get the job done," Scarborough recalls. "So when I get back to the office, it's all dumped on my desk, no rhyme or reason. Some of it is labeled, some not. Some had pictures on their phones, some had drawn everything, some had taken notes. All for between 50 and 60 houses."
Disaster Services was able to work through the information and deliver estimates to those homeowners, but when 2014 rolled around, Scarborough knew that he wanted a more consistent and standardized process for data gathering for its work, which also includes mold remediation and fire restoration, and he turned to Spex.
The company, which pulls in about $2.5 million annually, uses Spex to take pictures of the affected areas and write notes. Supervisors use the software through iPads. "This comes to me as a PDF where I can then e-mail to someone. It also separates the images as jpg files, which I can give to the insurance companies," Scarborough says.
Saves time & enhances customer experience
"This allows me to stay at the office, instead of driving around and lining up times with homeowners," he continues. "I get my information immediately."
Besides the time savings and standardization, Scarborough points out that this enhances the customer experience, because it creates transparency in inspections, estimate writing and the overall claims process.
A point that Goldberg echoes. "The Enterprise platform provides a view of the home, soup-to-nuts. All the way from the roof to the sump pump, and everything in between," he says.
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