05/11/2026
Has writing a property damage estimate gotten harder?
Someone asked me that the other day. After writing tens of thousands of estimates over several decades, the honest answer is yes, to some degree.
Twenty years ago, the narrative of the loss lived at the loss. The field told the story. A good estimator walked the site, captured the damage, built the scope, and that was largely sufficient.
That’s changed.
Today, an estimate has to be defensible before it’s ever submitted. The numbers have to hold. The scope has to be explained. The narrative has to be documented, not just observed. Carriers, appraisers, and attorneys will examine every line item. The estimate is no longer just a pricing document. It’s a position.
We don’t resist that shift. We’ve adapted to it. Our team studies depreciation methodology, code compliance triggers, scope justification, and claim narrative structure the way estimators 20 years ago didn’t have to. That’s just the job now.
The companies still writing like it’s 2005 are the ones getting their numbers reduced. That’s not us!
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