The Advocacy and Government Affairs (AGA) Committee of the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) was able to bring Mike Fulton, President of Xactware on for a industry briefing on Facebook Live, June 18, 2021. It appears that this video may no longer be available but portions can be seen via THIS LINK. Ed Cross, The Restoration Advocate, reminds contractors that Section 9 "Limited Warranties" of the Xactware licensing agreement reads, "You are responsible to ensure the estimate includes pricing consistent with components including, but not limited to, actual materials, equipment, and labor pricing...You agree to not inhibit or preclude deviations from the Price Data where contractor requirements, market conditions, demand, or any other factor warrants the use of a different line item price in the specific situation." 

The Xactimate Sessions​ from The DYOJO Podcast
File 002 - Learning to XM8 with all the resources from Xactimate 
The DYOJO Podcast Season 3, Episode 66
Guest: Brian Austin, Director of Instructional Design at Verisk

Brian shares many of the tools available to all Xactimate users including many that are included with your annual Xactware subscription:

• Self-paced online training for Xactimate
• Training courses for Xactimate with certified trainers
• A YouTube channel with Xpert Tips Xactware Training 
• ILX Construction Training - 50 courses that take students through the complete building process—from selecting a building lot all the way to the final inspection

If you didn't catch this from the previous paragraph, Xactware offers ILX Construction Training which is included in your annual Xactware license and is designed to help take an employees through the complete building process. In addition to these resources, Brian shares three tips for elevating your Xactimate game as well as your personal and professional development:

1. ​Embrace the change, or as Brian says, "The suck." Most of us are resistant to change but the rate of change is always accelerating and if you want to remain competitive you must embrace it. 
2. We are all very busy, yet you must set aside time to work on your personal and professional development. If you recognize the truth of the first point, you understand that making time, even if its thirty to sixty minutes a week, is critical to your growth as a leader, manager, and restoration professional. 
3. Participate in the discussion. Brian outlines how Xactware had built in feedback from contractors and encourages professionals to reach out to him directly if they are in need of assistance. 
4. Listen to The DYOJO Podcast. Brian literally says it is, "Terrific." 

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The DYOJO collaboration with DocuSketch offering a $200 discount on the initial hardware package to members of The DYOJO Nation who use the custom code "DS-DYOJO1".

The DYOJO Podcast, the official home of the DYOJO Nation as so declared by The Global Watchdog, Pete Consigli, exists to help intentional restorers to shorten their DANG learning curve for personal and professional development. WATCH on YouTube or LISTEN on Spotify, Thursday at 9 am PST.

Property restoration technicians, project managers, and estimators work in a variety of property damage scenarios including water damage, fire damage, mold removal, and insurance claim reconstruction. The most common tool for constructing estimates and/or agreed-upon scopes of work in the property insurance claims realm is an estimating software called Xactimate.

As Jon Isaacson discusses in his book, Be Intentional: Estimating, every insurance claims estimate, especially those composed in Xactimate, need two key things:

1. 1) Photos - lots and lots of photos. Photos of the source of the damage, the extent of damages, room by room, all four corners of each room, continuous surfaces and materials, contents, building materials removed, etc. You can never have too many photos.
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3. 2) A sketch or diagram - a dimensional drawing of the structure so that all parties, the homeowner, the insurance carrier, and the contractor can work from the same "blueprint" to assess damages, develop an agreed-upon scope of work, and assign values to the work that needs to be done.

​Many restoration contractors, business owners, and managers struggle to train their teams to clearly and consistently document the story of the loss. This video from The DYOJO Podcast is an excerpt from their latest podcast episode (Season 3, Episode 65). This episode serves as the launch of their NEW season as well as their NEW series The Xactimate Sessions.

The Xactimate Sessions - File 001
Learning Xactimate from Scratch
Guest: Greg Power (Tacoma, WA)

Jon Isaacson made an appearance on AdjusterTV with host Mathew Allen to discuss advice for new adjusters on how to deal with contractors - from a contractor. The relationship between an independent adjuster and a restoration contractor can be beneficial to all parties working on an insurance claim. While these parties may be on opposite sides of the issue, there are many aspects of their roles and responsibilities that overlap. In addition to learning Xactimate for claims estimating and negotiation skills with contractors, Jon shares how success in the claims process relates to the development of our mindset and habits.

Many of the principles that Jon shared are included the article Jon wrote for ClaimsPages titled, The Mindset and Habits for Estimating Success as a New Independent Adjuster. Some of those items to shorten your DANG learning curve include:

• Develop a process to help you consistently capture thorough data relevant to the claim.
• Create and/or refer to a database of carrier guidelines (most adjusting firms have these resources).
• Internal review can help you to get ahead of rejections. Especially for larger or higher end claims, have people in your network that you can utilize to get a second set of eyes on your estimate.
• There are third party services that can provide you with an instant review and suggestions for items you may have missed, and may also provide carrier profiles which help you identify common items specific to that organization.

For further reading, contractors and adjusters alike will find value in Jon's book Be Intentional: Estimating.