You may have wondered where the phrase “a canary in a coal mine” originates. Wiktionary dictionary defines it as “something whose sensitivity to adverse conditions makes it a useful early indicator of such conditions; something which warns of the coming of great danger or trouble by a deterioration in its health or welfare.”

On a February day in Salt Lake City, Utah, representatives from major property restoration and insurance companies came together to discuss the state of the industry. 

Why do we as a whole, the disaster restoration industry, allow unethical and fraudulent contractors to continue to operate within our industry? I know you’re probably saying to yourself “…what?

Estimating is an art. It is not an exact science. These were two of the first truths I learned about estimating over thirty years ago. They still hold true today.

Fire damage restoration seems pretty straight forward from the outside. Remove and clean the contents, clean and restore the home, remove odors, bring the contents back, and move on to the next job. Yes, that is a very high birds-eye view of the process, but covers the basic steps. 

A few years ago, a restoration client of mine asked me what he could do to speed up payment from bank escrow accounts for the insurance claim work he had done.