I'm Glad I'm Not You, Cus Then I Wouldn't Be Me

I know its Wednesday but it's late enough in my book to call it Thursday.

7 days and I'm home in Florida with wife and kids. A week will never seem so long.

I came across a strange deal on Saturday. I was scheduled to offer a ladder assist for a Farmers adjuster who was meeting with a private adjuster for a reinspection. Now one of the things I like about the company I work for here in Houston is we write a contract that is as safe for the homeowner as anything can be. We actually don't quote a price we quote it "as per the adjusters report." We cannot charge any more than the insurance will pay and the only out of pocket cost to the homeowner is their deductible and any upgrades they might choose. In a world of disreputable roofers, we work very hard at making sure we are not counted among them. Saturday was my first run in with a private adjuster. Now, I'm willing to bet most are reputable and knowledgeable but my first encounter was an eye opening view of the opposite. The house was 2 years old and built with a 30 year architectural shingle. The roof itself suffered from two quarter sized mars on the surface from where some small tree branches or flying debris had struck it. There were no missing shingles and there was no evidence of wind lift. The private adjuster had put in for a total roof replacement and also had charged $1000.00 for a 12-16 inch tree limb that had supposedly fallen on the roof. There just wasn't damage to support the claim. They also had put in for a $1200.00 dollar fountain that had been broken in the backyard. Well after inspection which I helped the adjuster asked if I would go back down and ask the P/A to come on the roof and show where they had observed the damage. The P/A came up and after a few failed attempts of saying damage was at X place and when asked to show it couldn't, I was ready to have everyone clear the roof so I could pack up my ladder and head on home. When the Farmers adjuster to the P/A he was not going to total the roof nor approve the tree limb removal the P/A resorted to wait until I call your supervisor. She didn't realize that the adjuster she had was actually one that trains their CAT team and also helps out in their fraud investigations. While they bantered back and forth I walked over to the edge of the roof where the lone tree in the backyard was, the very same tree that was supposed to have deposited the big limb, I noticed something strange and turned and asked if I could ask a stupid question. The Farmers adjuster said sure and I asked if anyone could show where the tree limb had come off the tree. See, at the height we were at, the tree branches were less than 2 inches in diameter and there was nowhere you could find showing any evidence of damage to the tree. When both adjusters walked over and saw the same thing I did, the P/A wanted off of that roof and out of their as fast as possible.

I don't know the outcome but I know from the stories I've heard that Farmer's pursues these things as far as they can and here in Texas, insurance fraud is a second degree felony and that leads to the QOD:


What crime have you ever personally witnessed?