Managed repair programs are commonly identified as money-saving opportunities for insurance companies. However, while they try to tip the scales in their favor, homeowners and commercial property owners are often left with the short end of the stick. If insurance companies can take control of the process of managed repair programs and their various types, they may direct results in their favor. Fighting for control of the wheel is the goal because each aspect of payout is at play.
To gain a better understanding of managed repair programs and their compliance or violation of the ‘Unfair Claims Practice’ Act, we’ll look at these key areas in more detail.
What are ‘Managed Repair Programs’?
Catastrophic property damage loss is usually the result of natural disasters including wildfires, hurricanes, and other storms. When these types of damages cause you to vacate your home or business and incur a loss of use coverage, these out-of-pocket expenses can be detrimental. Especially, if there are no other options and you are waiting on reimbursements to get you by.
A managed repair program allows an insurer to dispatch their own preferred vendor to do the repairs needed on your property. This may save you the headache of trying to filter through your options and find the best service in pricing and insurance compatibility. The purpose of this type of insurance program is to encourage policyholders to choose from a list of pre-approved contractors from your insurance company to do the repairs on your home or property.
If this is in your best interest is another question altogether. One that requires taking a look at the Unfair Claims Practice Act.
Understanding the Unfair Claims Practice Act
The intent of this Act is to protect policyholders by laying the groundwork for standards that require investigation should they be violated. Firm investigation is conducted on insurance companies when they are flagged for violating the standards put forth in the Unfair Claims Practice Act.
What triggers these flags? Here are some examples:
• An insurer unreasonably attempts to put off, avoid or minimize the insurance claim
• Insurance companies participating in unjust behaviors toward policyholders
• Despite receiving proof of losses, insurers continue to fail to acknowledge and provide due coverage in a reasonable amount of time
Violations vs. Compliance
As much as we’d like to believe the insurance company has our best interest at heart when we are at our weakest moment financially, they are not always the most reliable. In fact, oftentimes homeowners and property owners do not receive accurate settlement amounts. The insurance company may use their own vendors as listed in the managed repair program; however, these methods are not always foolproof.
Whenever an insurer violates the standards put in place to protect people from bad business practices, the Unfair Claims Practice Act will inevitably come into play. Policyholders must know their rights and work with a qualified public adjusting firm to navigate these tricky situations with nuanced legal and financial consequences.
SunPoint Public Adjusters, Inc. Advocates Only for the Insured’s Benefit
SunPoint Public Adjusters, Inc. (“SunPoint”) is the “Gold Standard” of the Public Adjusting industry. We comprehensively review and evaluate your insurance settlement, immediately deploy a team of specialists to assess and quantify your damages, and customize a strategy around your personal recovery to promptly and properly maximize the resolution of your claim.
Our in-house experts and external veteran professionals are experienced in quantifying and negotiating building, personal property, inventory, or other additional coverages. We work solely on your behalf to favorably resolve your claim. Our team ensures your insurance company does not delay, diminish, or deny benefits that are rightfully owed to you. Industry authorities agree that having a public adjuster like SunPoint on your side early in the process expedites and maximizes your recovery.
Policyholders have been benefiting from our knowledge and advocacy for decades. We have handled, managed, and successfully navigated claims ranging from homeowner losses; corporate losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars; disaster losses involving government entities and entire municipalities; agricultural and recall losses, and virtually any type of disaster claim that could be imagined.
Our team of Public Adjusters, building cost consultants, inventory specialists, forensic accountants, and equipment consultants is unmatched in our industry. It is easy to be big. But it takes dedication every day to be the best – we have that dedication. Our goal is aligned with yours. To obtain a free insurance settlement assessment of your specific circumstances and recovery please contact us and strategize your optimal means of recovery.