Continuous Improvement

A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, Proverbs 1:5 TPT

The phone rang, bringing me from a dead sleep. I glanced at the bedside clock and realized it was 12:30 AM. Earlier that day I left my hotel at 5 AM driving 12 hours to the opposite coast of Florida and back to inspect four hurricane damaged properties in 100 degrees plus heat. After returning to my room, I continued working, writing estimates until 11:30. Finally I collapsed onto my bed to begin all over the next day. This phone call was certainly not welcomed.

“Johnson, you need to get your head out of your -----” It was Steve my, storm manager during Hurricane Charley. “On page 47 of your photo sheets, you clearly show 10’ of preformed countertop, Your estimate states 10’ of flat laid countertop. FIX IT!”

It doesn’t sound like a big deal except this was 2004 and all our files were required to be printed out. This file totaled 127 pages. Ultimately the ‘grievous’ mistake I made amounted to a $1.27 difference in the final settlement.

The vendor I was working for had a policy of paying for my services 15 days after they had been paid by the carrier. Steve, my manager, was determined to read every line and review every photo, typically after 10 PM and after he had consumed vast quantities of Crown Royal.

Unfortunately, his office/hotel room was stacked with files (many of mine) that were waiting for his attention. As a result, I completed work that owed me over $30,000 but had not received a dime in pay. I was struggling to make a mortgage payment and fund my hotel room while at the same time being regaled by my manager’s drunken rants in the early hours of the mornings.

At the time I was furious with his attitude and what he was putting me through. Eventually, however, I became grateful for what I learned under his unorthodox and painful mentoring. While I suffered the pain of his scorn, I also learned the value of being qualified to do my job. Eventually I put him in his place, not with carefully crafted insults and retorts, but with the sweat and the determination that was required to meet, and at times exceed, his expectations.

The first core value of Johnson Dispute Resolution is ‘Continuous Improvement’. To us, that means what I know and understand today will probably be insufficient for what I will face tomorrow. The only way to be prepared for greater accountability and opportunity is to begin today to grow into what I will need to be in the future. This is what makes me more valuable to my clients, my partners, and my associates.

Every time an assignment comes into our office, the first item on the agenda is determining who is qualified to handle it. Sometimes this requires a phone call to the client to let them know that the appraiser they requested may not be capable. We then offer suggestions and have conversations to make sure that their needs are being appropriately served. We also identify training deficiencies in our staff and attempt to create solutions to address them.

Unfortunately, we do not aways find this same commitment in those that we oppose.

I was asked to serve as an appraiser for a water loss in McKinney in August of 2024. The inspection of the risk occurred on August 29th at which time the opposing appraiser promised his position estimate would soon follow. In fairness I was not able to forward my position estimate until early December, however I had still not received the opposing one.

Regularly I would request the position and was regularly told to expect it by that weekend, and then next weekend, and the next weekend, after weekend. Finally, by the middle of January the opposition stopped responding at all.

Finally on the 12th of February, I received a phone call from the opposing appraiser introducing me to another gentleman, on the phone. He explained that he was more adept at estimating. Because of that he informed me that going forward I was to negotiate the settlement with him since the named appraiser stated that he was too busy to create the position himself.

I politely refused, reminding him that he was the named appraiser, and it was his job to create and publish his own position. He became very frustrated with me, stating that it was normal to use the services of others in appraisal. I responded that it was appropriate to gather information from impartial experts on portions of the loss, but it was his responsibility to actually create the position that I would review.

Ultimately it became clear that, while I had worked with this OA on roof losses for years, he was completely unable to competently inspect and estimate anything more complicated than a roofing loss. This created a problem for me. How can I address and settle appraisal assignments if the individual opposing me is not qualified to do his job?

The work we do represents not only the resources of the property carriers we represent, but also the health of the insurance industry itself. Homeowners are paying increased premiums, claims settlement is becoming increasingly expensive, and the credibility of all the parties involved is coming under increasing suspicion. If the parties involved in the appraisal process are not willing to invest time and resources in perfecting their craft, I believe the entire process is at risk.

Each appraiser should bring proven knowledge and ability and at the same time commit to honest impartiality as is required by the appraisal process. Anything less than that is deception. Regularly I hear my opposition say that they need to get approval from the insured before signing an award. Obviously, they are not operating as independent agents any more than I would if I asked the carrier to approve every settlement I forwarded.

If my personal workload prevents me from handling additional responsibility, I need to be honest enough to direct it to someone who can serve the client with their full attention. Unfortunately, it appears that this has become more of a numbers game rather than a professional service.

I believe that the only way you accomplish this is through a commitment to Continuous Improvement. Several years ago, we had an appraiser at our firm. One day I got a phone call from a client’s adjuster about a file that this adjuster had recently closed. In the closing documents were a demand estimate and the umpire’s settlement estimate. Unfortunately, there was no estimate included from my appraiser. When questioned, he refused to produce one, saying that it was not necessary since the award had already been finalized. That appraiser is no longer associated with our firm.

I eagerly look forward to each opportunity I get to work with prepared and qualified opponents, Opponents that act with professionalism and bring skills to the process. I trust that those of you committed to the same thing will cross our path in the future.