Note: This visitor submit is by Steven Thomas. As President and Owner of Roof Leak Detection Company, Inc., Steven Thomas has evaluated over 20,000 roofing methods on business, industrial, and residential properties, and has been certified in court docket as an skilled relating to roof testing and evaluations. His firm is an authorized Testing Laboratory and has held this certification since 1994.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew’s devastation throughout South Florida in 1992, the realm of harm evaluation, significantly for roofing, underwent a big transformation. Initially, Roof Consultants, geared up with specialised coaching in roof harm investigations, had been entrusted with the important job of evaluating roof damages. When structural points had been suspected, Engineers with a background in structural assessments had been introduced in. However, the panorama of roof harm evaluation has shifted over the previous three a long time, and never essentially for the higher.
A Shift in Perspective
Upon reflection on two true incidents from my years of expertise within the trade, a worrying development emerged: The undervaluation of specialised experience in favor of generic engineering {qualifications}.
Case Study 1: Questioning Expertise
During an insurance coverage appraisal, I encountered a scenario the place the insurance coverage service’s appraiser, an Engineer, was additionally performing as an skilled. Despite noticeable unfastened roof tiles, the Engineer kept away from nearer inspection, asserting that his engineering background alone certified him for the duty. This declare was challenged by an skilled umpire who questioned the Engineer’s particular coaching in roofing. It turned evident that the Engineer lacked the specialised data obligatory for a radical roofing evaluation, highlighting a disconnect between perceived and precise experience.
Case Study 2: The Unfamiliar Terrain
Following Hurricane Wilma, I used to be assigned to examine a big loss in West Palm Beach involving over 200 roofs. The insurance coverage service’s “expert,” an Engineer from Naples, Florida, admitted to by no means having been on a roof. His reluctance to bodily examine the roofs attributable to his inexperience underscored a important oversight by the insurance coverage service in assigning a professional particular person for the duty.
The Essence of Specialization
These anecdotes underscore a important level: the significance of deploying people with related experience and expertise in roof harm evaluation. Credentialed and skilled Roof Consultants are specialists of their discipline, focusing solely on roofing. Their function shouldn’t be conflated with that of a structural engineer or a roofer. Dismissing the worth of a Roof Consultant’s specialised data is a disservice to the accuracy and effectivity of the insurance coverage claims course of.
Conclusion: Recognizing and Valuing Specialized Expertise
The incidents highlighted reveal a broader concern throughout the insurance coverage claims course of: the undervaluation of specialised experience and expertise. While Engineers and Architects (P.E.s and A.I.A.s) deliver priceless abilities to the desk, their {qualifications} don’t inherently equip them for particular duties resembling roof harm evaluation. It is crucial for each insurers and policyholders to acknowledge the significance of specialised experience and expertise in making certain correct and truthful assessments. Hiring a named engineering firm shouldn’t be the identical as deciding on a professional particular person to do the job. The proper experience not solely expedites the claims course of but additionally ensures that assessments are grounded in scientific information and sensible data, in the end benefiting all events concerned.