Five FAQ’s About Xactimate
Most restorers rely on the industry-standard software Xactimate to generate cost estimates and work with insurance companies. What is Xactimate and how can you use it to your benefit? From our experts at One Claim Solution, below are five FAQs that address each of these general questions in more detail.
What Is Xactimate?
Xactimate is a software system designed to help restoration professionals estimate the costs of mitigation and reconstruction for residential and commercial structures. Xactimate has been in business since 1986 and remains the state-of-the-art technology for helping contractors and insurance adjusters estimate restoration costs at a local level more quickly and accurately than they otherwise could.
How Does Xactimate Work?
Xactimate has an easy-to-use interface that allows users to rapidly diagram the layout of a home and generate estimates in just a few clicks. For instance, users can easily sketch roof plans, decks, stairs, and other features of a home. The Xactimate software allows users to generate much more precise estimates for damage costs than they would be able to otherwise. It also allows for a good deal of flexibility so users can still use the software for unique situations that may not fall into the common mold of a typical flood or mold remediation job (for example) and still generate accurate cost estimates.
What Features Does Xactimate Provide?
A core feature of Xactimate is accurate, up-to-date, cost estimates for all kinds of expenses like construction costs, cleaning costs, labor costs, overhead, equipment and material costs and more. Rather than search for these individually, Xactimate keeps them all in one place so you can quickly generate estimates on the spot. Xactimate also has features built-in for common household restoration problems like water damage, mold remediation, and cleaning hazardous materials.
Who Uses Xactimate?
Xactimate has a very wide user base and is used all throughout the U.S. and Canada. About half of the property damage claims in the U.S. are done using Xactimate and nearly 80% of insurers and restoration contractors use Xactimate’s pricing data to generate cost estimates. Nearly 10,000 individual items are included in Xactimate’s database with costs for time, materials, labor, overhead, and equipment included as well.
How Does Xactimate Facilitate Cooperation With Insurance Companies
Because Xactimate is the most widely-used software in the insurance claims industry, it is likely that the prices you see on your end are the same as the prices your insurance companies are seeing. This clears up a lot of discrepancies right off the bat. Nonetheless, it is still common for a settlement to go through a couple of revisions before it is settled on.
