Insurance work

[timmy74]

Im not sure if this is the correct forum BUT does any of you self employed guys do any work for Insurance firms and if so how did you get into it. Ta


PS im a gas engineer/plumber

 

[noseall]

i have done intermittent insurance work.

a potential customer will phone me saying they have a some tiles blown off, or the bath overflowed and the ceiling is down, or the mower went through the patio doors or whatever.

if the customer wants you specifically to do the job, then you need a colleague in the trade who can provide an alternative more expensive quote. this does not guarantee you get the job but it helps.

the customer may even ask you to load the quote to deal with the excess which they have to pay.

once the job is complete, the insurance will either pay the money direct to you or send it to the policy holder, who then pay you.

 

[roughcaster]

I'm the same as Noseall on this. I have never done anything specific to obtain work from insurance companies. Through some accident or mishap, a householder might find the name of a plasterer/plumber/builder etc in the yellow pages, or by word of mouth, and phone, asking for a quote for the repair. You then go and look at the job, put in a quote and wait and see if you get it. I can go for long enough without getting an insurance job, and then 2 or 3 come along at once.... Bit like waiting for a bus really.

Roughcaster.

 

[manortim]

i've done insurance work for years. not so much the 'cold calls by clients' but from the insurance companies themselves. if you do alot its very good, but usually there is a 4-6 week delay in getting paid, but once this 4-6 delay is past, money continues to come in week after week. thing is, most insurance companies now are getting their own employed guys so aren't using subbies so much, which i don't mind coz now we still get the work but usually we have to fix the mess their own '£9.50 out of their own academy' trainee plumber has caused.

 

[timmy74]

So how did you guys get into it or did the insurance firms contact you.

 

[Bilioustrumpstaine]

They have just said how they got into it

I have had the same experience of being asked to supply a quote for an insurance claim. I was recommended by a relative of the claimant. Payment does take a while but it is pretty much guaranteed. (touching a piece of wood as I type those words)

 

[Thermo]

ive done insurance work in pretty much the same vain, mainly for fences blown down in the winds. As far as im concerned i dont care who is paying for the work to be done, thats between the client and the insurance company, i still insist the client pays the money as per my terms and conditions. Never hads a hassle with it, and quite often they will already have a cheque made out to me from the insurance company already

 

[timmy74]

They have just said how they got into it

I have had the same experience of being asked to supply a quote for an insurance claim. I was recommended by a relative of the claimant. Payment does take a while but it is pretty much guaranteed. (touching a piece of wood as I type those words)

Sorry i misread, just a friend of mine has a plumber going to his house this week to fit a central heating pump. I could of done this BUT my mate (the customer) rang his insurance to claim off the house insurance and they sent this plumber.

So either he is on there books getting regular work (the plumber is self employed), or he (the plumber) has made initial contact with the insurance company to get the work in the 1st place. Does this make sense and get across what i was meaning to say.

 

[Mw Roofline]

The majority of insurance jobs are simply sought by the customer choosing you to do the work and just sending the bill to the insurance company

 

[manortim]

your mate called his insurance, possibly zurich or the like, they ALL use a company called HOMESERVE for the emergency side of it, thats any insurance company from barclays to direct line. the guy who went to your mates in a contractor for homeserve. i too am a contractor for homeserve, they don't take anymore contractors now coz they have their own employed guys.

the way i got into it was via the company i worked for previous to being self employed, i took the contract by being better and getting asked by them to do it.

 

[corgiman]

Yeah we do work for homeserve too, and like mano we got asked to do it after they called us in to sort out a ballsed up repair one of their employed chaps did years ago.

They are ok but hard to work for

 

[corrie]

Yes like most Slaters I do Storm Damage etc. Timmy I think you are meaning working for the Insurance Company or another party contracted by them to get tradesman. Some Ins Companys charge you a fee and take you on as a Contractor. They then organise the work for policyholders. They may guarantee you work but will then have you by the curlys and drag you here there and everywhere........no thanks!

Bear in mind when you do an Insurance Job you are generally working for the policyholder........not the Ins Co. The Company pays out to them.......they pay you. Legally it is them who owe you the money. Recently I have noticed some Ins Companys putting builder or slaters name on the cheque. This is to stop false claims I presume.

Advertise yourself as doing Ins Work and people may respond. Target the market where you think this might happen.

Alex

 

[vinty]

I do insurance work sometimes, storm damage and the like, the problem is if the insurance company rings me direct they want a response straight away, if i miss the call and ring back later i find that have they gone to the next roofer on their list, so you have to be on the ball. I advertised on yell.com which is how the insurance company found me, they tend to use the internet to source contractors rather than directories.