Posted On: July 28, 2008, 8:42 am CDT

Posted By: TwoCents

I am not so blind as to think some insurance companies do not manipulate these programs. I worked for medium sized P&C carrier handling property losses. We did just what you eluded to- used the software as a guide. I think you will find that the claims where settlement could not be reached was when a contractor not using any estimating software was involved. These contractors must be paid attention to as they often set thier own prices.

I take exception when someone takes the behavior of one company(or group of companies) and labels all companies in the same industry the same. This is no different than stereotyping based on age, sex, race, etc. The lesson that can be learned from this discussion is that not ALL companies behave in the manner that the companies which gain media attention do.