EP# 142 - Shane Bailey Unveils the Secrets to Winning the Post-Catastrophe Insurance Game

Have you ever felt like you're up against an unscalable wall when dealing with insurance claims post-catastrophe? It's time to arm yourself with the essential knowledge to scale that barrier and secure what you deserve. That's precisely what Shane Bailey of Building Science Authority delivers in our latest Good Neighbor Podcast episode. With his expert guidance, gleaned from years of experience in the aftermath of disasters, Shane unveils the often-misunderstood intricacies of insurance company tactics and strategies for homeowners to fight back and ensure fair settlements.

In a candid conversation brimming with revelations, Shane and I explore the critical importance of preemptive property documentation. He shares tales from hurricanes past, where homeowners were left shortchanged due to a lack of evidence distinguishing old damage from new. This episode is more than just a talk; it's an empowering toolkit for protecting your home's value against future storms. Shane's insights are a beacon of hope for those navigating the stormy seas of insurance claims, offering clear, actionable strategies to hold insurers accountable and prevent your rights from being washed away.

Building Science Authority
Shane Bailey
Naples, FL
239-908-1237
buildingscienceauthority.com
WEBSITE

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

here we go.

Speaker 2: 0:08

Yeah, you're still there, right this is the good neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together.

Speaker 1: 0:15

Here's your host, cabo jim schaller welcome good neighbors to episode number 142 of the good neighbor podcast estero. Today we have Good Neighbor Shane Bailey from Building Science Authority. Shane welcome.

Speaker 3: 0:34

Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1: 0:36

Yeah, pleasure, pleasure. Always good to get to know people here in the community and learn a little bit more about what they do. So why don't we jump right in? Why don't you share what you do over at Building Science Authority?

Speaker 3: 0:50

Well, we're based in Southwest Florida, but a lot of what we do is catastrophic loss and, having done that for a while, we've learned a lot of the ins and outs, as the insurance companies deny a lot of the claims and I'm sure a lot of our listeners have had denied claims in the past or even minimal payout on certain claims and so we've learned a few things over the years on how to deal with the insurance companies in the best way possible for the best outcome, in the hopes of indemnifying the structure versus just partially repairing it Absolutely, and that's becoming a big issue down here and a lot of people are having trouble navigating through those, those waters per se.

Speaker 1: 1:33

So let's back up your story a little bit. How did you get involved in this industry?

Speaker 3: 1:40

Well, after Hurricane Irma came through, I've been a building investigator for the last seven years. We work on, you know, mainly catastrophic loss or failures to a building. And so Irma came through and we had obviously the best year we've ever had the best three years. And then Hurricane Michael hit. I went to Hurricane Michael and rented a place there in Panama City for two years. There was that much work and through this we met with a group of people. The group is so dynamic and they are well-known and experts in their own fields and we would talk about these issues that we're having of the buildings are not getting fixed properly.

Speaker 3: 2:25

So what happens is is you go through one hurricane, say irma, and then by the time the next one comes through upside down in the building you know, in your house. So the house could have still have damage from the previous hurricane that didn't get fixed because they didn't have the money to fix it. And so we learned from that that the first thing the insurance company did is they created a what's called an algorithm and they know, based on the size of your house, based on an average income level of your area, they have an algorithm and they know how long it's going to take to for you to get disgusted and just walk away from it, and that's they're hoping for. So one of the misnomers I wanted to point out today. One of the big things is the insurance companies aren't our friends. They answer their boss, or is their shareholders, not you? And so what happens is, because their shareholders are the boss, they have to take as much money away from your claim as possible, to the tune tune of the National Institute for Insurance. And right after Hurricane Michael up in Panama City, two years after, they produced the numbers, out of all the claims that were filed, they only paid out 60%. So 40% were paid percent. So 40% were paid Claims that they actually paid. They paid 60% of those. So if you had a $100,000 claim on your home, you only got 40, you got 60,000, and then you had to come up with your 40%. So we know that their first thing that they do is deny and delay, and that's the best thing that they can do.

Speaker 3: 4:06

The problem is, the onus is somewhat on us as homeowners. We urge our homeowners, under our purview, to document their house. Walk around with a video camera on the inside, record everything. Walk around the exterior of your building, your house. Record everything. If you can't put a ladder up, just look at the roof, don't get on it, but record everything that you possibly can, because that takes away their initial denial.

Speaker 3: 4:33

The first thing that they say and a lot of people don't realize this after, let's say, do we have a hurricane tomorrow? After the hurricane you didn't document at your building, they say that's from Hurricane Ian, so you can't claim this. And they got you. They got you there, so that's not hurricane damage. Then you have to hire experts to say it is and it's recent damage. And that's what you call a company such as us. And we go in there and what we do is we build a report and it's recent damage.

Speaker 3: 5:05

And that's what you call a company such as us. And we go in there and we do is we build a report and it is case ready. So in other words, we're planning on already going to court, but we build it in such a way to scare them in the sense of hey, they have some experts there, they're going to, they're really taking this seriously and they're going to, they're probably going to get their money, so let's just go ahead and settle with them. So that's kind of the background of where we came from and how we got to where we are. So you don't only have to be good at your job, you also have to be good at the back of the back end of the deal and understand what the laws are and know the rules and play by the rules and use the rules to your advantage.

Speaker 1: 5:42

Absolutely, absolutely, and so many people have struggled with that recently. So along your journey, is there something that maybe happened, you know, whether personally, business-wise that we kind of look back and maybe it was a challenge or an obstacle and now you can look back at and say, maybe you know what I'm in? A better place because I went through that?

Speaker 3: 6:03

Well, I definitely. Honestly, it's exactly what I just explained. When you're sitting in the middle of devastation and you see families being displaced from their houses and they say to you you know, Mr Inspector, I have nowhere to go and the inside is so dangerous that we're telling them you're safer sleeping outside, it actually affects you. You get, you get a little, you know, kind of like I imagine a mortician might be. You know, you just get so numb to it and it really weighs on you. So this is why getting together and with other people and our peers yielded this conversation of how can we do this better? How can we? One, the insurance companies need to know for sure this is proper damage. We don't want to fake it. We want to make sure they have the right information. And two, we want to make sure that this is going to get paid. So one of the biggest hurdles is getting it paid. And we realized not only do we have to wear one hat, we have to wear two.

Speaker 1: 7:10

So that was a big hurdle. That was a big hurdle for us, absolutely, absolutely. And I know you've touched on a couple of them, but are there maybe any myths or misconceptions that we can help clear up or help understand for our listeners?

Speaker 3: 7:19

So you do not have to, unless you sign an actual document that says you must use a certain vendor. We urge you never to sign a document that says you must use a insurance rated. In other words, it's one of their cronies, we'll use that word uh, one of their approved vendors? Uh, because they're. They are not on your side now. You just hired two people against you, but a lot of times on some of the new policies you actually sign that you sign away your right to get outside counsel. We would urge you never to do that. We urge you never to call the insurance company right after you see damage. Get the inspectors out there. Pay for it if you can. Instead of paying your deductible, pay the inspectors and that's covered under what's called scope and discovery, which does not come off of the money that you're guaranteed from the insurance company you see, on anything trending in the industry yes, uh, I'm glad you asked that question.

Speaker 3: 8:24

Actually, let's say your roof was replaced after Ian. Now the way the insurance companies are assessing roofs are from the day you had it replaced. You have 15 years and the clock is ticking. So every year that goes by one year less, one year less, and so on and so forth, to the 15 mark. Even if your roof is still viable in 15 years, they're going to tell you to replace it and they're going to say we won't insure you until your replacement. So now your replacement values go through the roof. You know it costs you more to do it, and so this is a big problem that they devalue your roof on a daily basis, that they devalue your roof on a daily basis. That's one we've been seeing that since these new insurance laws went through that are totally against the insured. We're highly upset that some of the laws went through and they're against the person who pulls the policy.

Speaker 3: 9:33

Is there one thing maybe you wish your listeners knew about what you do that maybe they're not aware of. The first thing we said document your home, or hire a company to document your home. They document it inside and outside and this gives you unequivocal proof. Outside, and they get. This gives you unequivocal proof and the uh you. This lends you the ability for the insurance company to uh then hold their feet to the fire. Uh, because they can't say no, this is a denial based on previous damage or outside damage to the hurricane. So that's the first one we would say we do that type of documentation, you. There are other companies that do it as well, but we urge you to document no matter what. Uh. If you don't, you open the door for them, for their, to say their first no.

Speaker 3: 10:16

The second thing we prefer you to do is not contact your insurance company. Again, they're not your friend. They answer to their shareholders. So you build your own report. Then they can't tell you. If you build your own report, it's called cost incurred. So what happens is you now are turning in a policy that the costs were already incurred by you. They can't even take a deductible from you because you can show that the deductible was paid out, to find out scope and discovery, what's wrong, how you know, what did it do, how much damage, how much water came in. And so you build your own report, and that way you are in a position of authority to your insurance company and it changes the game.

Speaker 1: 11:03

Absolutely, absolutely. That's all that stuff is is very important, like you had mentioned, it's one thing that people need to focus on how would our listeners go about contacting you if they had questions, concern, need, need assistance.

Speaker 3: 11:19

Well, we have our website building a science authoritycom again building science authoritycom Again buildingasscienceauthoritycom my direct line. Am I allowed to give my phone number out? Yeah, absolutely All right, 239-988-1287. And that's my direct line. That's to my cell phone. You call me. We'll directly set up an appointment to talk to you over the phone. Any questions you have, we'll do that. We don't charge for that. We want you to have the information to best identify your building, best get the building back into its original conditions, and that's what we're here for.

Speaker 3: 11:56

Absolutely and any last words for our listeners. Yeah, do yourself a favor. You know I've seen so many people at the end of an insurance claim. They're so overwhelmed, they don't care what it costs, they just want to put it back together. Don't put yourself in that position. You can do a lot of things to not put yourself. The old saying was an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It really, really is now a big deal in the insurance world. So do yourself a favor. Do some prevention on your home, on your business, and we can help with that. We can verbally help you so you know exactly what to do. But do an ounce of prevention pound of cure.

Speaker 1: 12:41

Absolutely. Hey Shane, it's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being such a good neighbor and I hope to see you out in the community soon.

Speaker 3: 12:50

All right, the pleasure was mine, jim. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2: 12:54

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, estero. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpestero. com. That's gneastero. com, or call 239-296-2621.