Picking the right contractor may seem like a daunting task, especially when you find yourself in the stressful situation of having to deal with unexpected damage to your home. Whether you decide to choose PRS or another restoration contractor for your repairs, we want you to be well-informed so you can make the best decision for you and your family.
In Virginia, you are entitled to select whichever restoration contractor you would like to repair your home, even when your insurance company is paying for the repairs. Your insurance company may give you our name and the name of other contractors, but it is ultimately your decision as to which contractor you select. You are under no obligation to get multiple estimates for your repairs, even through they may request it. Oftentimes, having to get multiple estimates will delay the repair process.
The first step in the Our status as a preferred contractor with many insurance providers does not mean that we work for them; we work for you, the insured/homeowner. While we often receive job referrals from insurance providers and certainly work with them on behalf of our customers to make the claim payment process as smooth as possible, we do not work for them. We only have our homeowners clients’ best interests at heart.
We believe that the best way to select a restoration company is to meet with several reputable Class A contractors in person (without the hassle of getting estimates from each). This approach allows you to get to know what makes each firm unique and to meet the project manager who would be your point person with whom you’ll be closely working for several weeks, depending on the size of your needed repairs. From there, you can select the contractor with whom you feel most comfortable, and only then have the selected contractor work with your insurance company to obtain an approved estimate.
When faced with the task of selecting a restoration contractor, many homeowners choose to get comparative estimates from multiple contractors and make their decision based on price and availability. Receiving detailed estimates from multiple contractors is a very time-consuming process, particularly if your repairs will involve multiple specialty trades (i.e., electrical, plumbing, or HVAC). The burden is on you to coordinate intrusive visits into your home from various restoration contractors and their specialty sub-contractors to facilitate their estimates. Even once those visits are complete and you have multiple estimates in hand, we don’t believe price and availability are the best selection criteria.
All licensed restoration contractors are required by insurance companies to use the same estimating software package, which includes standardized pricing for each line item of work based on the zip code of you home. So, a given repair project should be estimated at the same price by multiple contractors. If there is a difference in price between two restoration contractors, there must either be a difference in the scope of work (what areas of work are included) or the measurements, which shouldn’t be different. If the scope of work or measurements differ, then you’re really comparing apples and oranges and would need to correct those differences and have the estimates updated. If two estimates are for the same work and are based on the same measurements, the prices should only be minimally different.
Another factor often considered by homeowners is the contractor’s lead time, or how soon they can get started on the work. We know you are anxious to have your home repaired and to get back to normal as quickly as possible, but if someone can start tomorrow, there may be a (bad) reason why! We pride ourselves on providing top quality workmanship and are often scheduled out around two weeks, sometimes up to 4-6 weeks if there has been a large weather event in our area. We work with our clients to get on our production schedule as quickly as possible and can use the interim period to prepare for the job, including making finish selections and ordering materials.
If you do decide to meet with multiple contractors, we simply ask that we maintain an open line of communication through the selection process. If you receive conflicting information from another contractor or have a question or concern, please reach out to your PRS estimator/project manager so we can clear up any confusion and make sure there are no misunderstandings.
While we understand and respect that not all homeowners will choose PRS, we would appreciate being informed of such decisions. If you do move forward with another contractor, you may receive a call or email from a PRS representative to help us understand the thought process that led to your decision as we seek continuous improvement.
