Why Building Relationships with Restoration Adjusters Matters During Claims Negotiation

Contractor talks on the phone with a restoration adjuster to negotiate a claim When it comes to managing restoration insurance claims, documentation, deadlines, and pricing all play a part. But there’s another factor that often goes overlooked—relationships with restoration adjusters. At One Claim Solution, we’ve found that building and maintaining strong relationships with insurance adjusters can be the difference between long, drawn-out payment delays and faster, better claim resolutions. Here’s why relationships with adjusters matter so much.

Restoration Insurance Claims Are About More Than Paperwork

As much as we may sometimes wish restoration claims management was as simple as submitting a claim and getting paid quickly, in reality, there’s a lot more that goes into it. At the end of the day, that human factor still plays a role in how claims negotiation and resolution go, both on the end of a contractor and homeowner submitting a claim and on the end of the restoration adjuster.

That’s why a personal touch still matters. “It’s not always just about having the right information in front of the adjuster on a timely basis,” OCS Co-Founder Josh Ehmke says. “There’s also a personal touch that still is needed a lot of times.”

At OCS, we’ve seen a lot of success in encouraging and training our people to build a rapport and positive relationship with restoration adjusters. The stronger the human connection, the smoother the claim resolution process.

Building Trust With Restoration Adjusters Takes Time

Handling restoration insurance claims is what insurance adjusters do all day, every day at work. Every claim and interaction they have with contractors is just one of hundreds. That means building a strong relationship with an adjuster takes time. It requires slowly building trust over time through consistent respectful communication and prepared documentation. And the more a restoration adjuster trusts you, the more likely you are to be heard out by an adjuster, even with invoice items that often face pushback, like asbestos testing or air scrubbers.

At OCS, we’ve seen the power of consistency and human connections pay off over time. “Our people have the right skills, the right personality, the right ability to be able to connect with the adjusters on the back end in order to help streamline that claims process,” Josh explains. We combine documentation with professionalism to increase the odds of a favorable restoration claims outcome.

Relationships Help Resolve Disputes Faster

When issues do come up with an insurance claim, having an established relationship with the restoration adjuster makes resolution easier and faster. Instead of feeling like you have to prove to each other that you’re acting in good faith, both you, the contractor, and the adjuster can focus on discussing the issue at hand. You can have a simple conversation that clarifies an invoice or corrects a miscommunication instead of having the issue drag on for weeks.

Building Relationships With Restoration Adjusters Pays Off – Literally

Building relationships with adjusters isn’t just about trying to make friends. It’s about getting the job done. Restoration claims management built on healthy relationships with adjusters decreases the days to pay and increases claims payouts. Building positive relationships is just a bonus.

The OCS Relationship Building Approach

At OCS, we believe restoration contractors should be paid fairly for the work they do. We also believe that advocating for that payment professionally and effectively, even when there’s pushback, is a skill set all its own. That’s why we’ve developed a team of trained, knowledgeable claims advocates who know how to negotiate, defend line items, and hold their ground when needed, all while still maintaining professional relationships with the people restoration adjusters reviewing your claims.

Let OCS Strengthen Your Claims Process

As a restoration contractor, your time is best spent doing what you do best: doing jobs, serving customers, and growing your business. At One Claim Solution, our job is to handle the insurance billing and claims negotiation so that you don’t have to deal with the stress of building relationships with insurance adjusters. Because we work with so many different restoration contractors and insurance providers, we are able to build strong relationships with adjusters quicker than most restoration contractors can when they handle their claims management in-house. If you’re interested in taking advantage of the relationships we’ve built and the success we deliver, reach out to One Claim Solution today.