Welcome to my {mostly} annual restoration trends update. I have spent more than 30 years working in the restoration industry which gives me a relevant perspective on the business of restoration. The following list is meant to help restoration contractors assess their business strategies – and just be an overall interesting read. I believe these issues will be the top drivers of change, not only in 2019, but into the future.

If you work with insurance claims, you will want to familiarize yourself with writing and reading Xactimate estimates. This is true whether you are an adjuster or a restoration professional. Xactimate has become the standard for the majority of insurance carriers and third-party administrators (TPAs). If you are new to Xactimate we have three tips that will help you master best practices for this estimating platform.

A lot of companies are constantly looking for a “good” estimator, but they haven’t taken the time to write down a description of what a “good” estimator is. By doing this, both you and others will know what you are looking for and be able to help with identifying a person that would fit that which you are looking for.

Anyone who has been paying even the slightest bit of attention lately can’t help but notice that drones, drone estimating, and drone classes have quickly become an ever-growing niche in the insurance industry. 

Storm season is here – along with the regular increase in restoration jobs heading your way. For many, Xactimate is one of the most essential tools for sketching, scoping, and estimating damages from virtually any kind of event.

In R&R, we often have articles about industry trends. Typically, these trends are broad – like working with TPAs, catastrophe restoration, and hiring problems. However, there are other topics being talked about just as regularly among contractors – especially online.

The Restoration Rebels and the movement they support exist to take back the restoration industry we love.

Over the past 15 years, the landscape of the estimating world has gone through many changes in the property restoration industry.