Inspections – Crisis or a Change of Perspective?

There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of years about independent inspections for the extended service contract industry, and as Jeff Frazier pointed out in the comments to Don Larsen’s article on the industry in December 2013, there have been relatively few voices doing all the talking. I suspect the main reason that more people haven’t been speaking up is that the industry is actually healthier than some of the conversation would lead us to believe and that we are all in it together. We all feel the same pressures, see the same risks and are working toward the same goals. I see the same issues that Don Larsen enumerated in his article and L’Tanya Carr brought to the forefront before him. The differences are that I do not see the situation as a crisis and I do not believe an industry-wide inspector certification program is necessary.

We, like Carr Appraisals and others, do hundreds of inspections per day, tens of thousands in a year and our customers are very happy with the results they receive. We take the job of providing fast, accurate, reliable reports very seriously. Have some of our favorite inspectors retired? Of course they have, which is why we must constantly recruit and train new ones. Do our customers want faster results, more customization and an ever-increasing number of inspection types with no increase in cost? Sure they do, so we must continue to invest in technology to meet their needs.

With the continual advancement of technology, computer integration between administrators and agencies is a huge benefit. As our systems "talk" to each other, mistakes are minimized and time is reduced in multiple areas. Our clients are very interested in the time it takes to obtain information from the inspector. Being able to upload reports and pictures from the repair facility is a big plus. If an inspector is able to take a video (with audio in some cases) instead of a still picture to demonstrate to an administrator excessive movement in a particular part, or to let them hear a particular noise - these are things that just were not possible years ago and will only continue to improve the process.

Don Larsen is absolutely correct to point out the importance of integrity in the claims adjudication process, and independent inspections are an integral part of that process. It is also correct to point out that waiting for a certification program to come along and eliminate any business issues that exist is not a recipe for success. Our approach is to talk to our customers and inspectors in an effort to constantly improve. For example, we had a recent inspection report that did not fully address the concerns of the adjuster. When this situation was brought to our attention, we reviewed the particulars with our team and our customer and realized that the assignment had been sent to us in a very confusing manner. Our assigning team had not done a good enough job clarifying the assignment for the inspector and our customer had not done a good enough job providing a clear assignment in the first place. The matter was resolved with procedural changes on both ends, fixing that specific problem and making sure it doesn’t happen again. We don’t need an additional layer of cost and bureaucracy to solve issues that arise; we just need good relationships and communication.

Our job would be easier if all of our customers wanted their inspections done the exact same way, using the same type of language, requiring the same pictures and the same reporting procedures. But they each have their own reasons for wanting things done their way, and our job is to make it happen. There will always be different schools of thought on adjusters taking their own verbal reports versus having the inspection companies do that job. There will always be some companies that require a signature page while others don’t want one. No certification program or industry cooperation will change that. We can, however, have very productive discussions about best practices and how to avoid any issues. Let’s shift the focus from discussing what’s wrong in the industry to what we do right, and let’s make sure to do it the right way every time. The first step in this process is opening communication by building strong relationships. I look forward to building relationships with all of you at the Industry Summit in September.