Eight Free Tools for Public Adjusters: Deadlines, Matching, Hail History, Drying and More
Last week we released an O&P calculator, a supplement builder and an appraisal calculator. These eight cover the next set of arguments we see on files every week: a missed deadline, a mismatched elevation, a denied storm date, a trimmed mitigation invoice, an overstated depreciation, an underpaid ALE and a short roof. Each tool is free, needs no sign-up, and ends in text you can paste straight into the file.
1. Insurance Claim Deadlines by State
The problem: The carrier went quiet and nobody wrote down when its deadlines fell.
What it does: Enter the notice, proof-of-loss and acceptance dates and it lists every deadline the insurer must meet in Texas (Ins. Code §542.055–.057), California (10 CCR §2695.5 and §2695.7), Minnesota (§72A.201) and Florida (§627.70131), marks the ones that have passed, and drafts the letter.
Worked example: Texas claim noticed 20 days ago: the 15-day acknowledgement deadline passed five days ago. The letter cites §542.055(a) and asks for the steps in writing.
2. Matching Law by State
The problem: The carrier will replace three courses of siding that no longer exist in that color.
What it does: Pick the state and material. It shows the matching regulation, statute or case law (about ten states by regulation or statute, more by court decision), quotes the text, and writes the matching paragraph for the supplement, falling back to the policy language and the NAIC model rule where a state has none.
Worked example: Iowa: Admin. Code 191-15.44, replace as much as needed for a reasonably uniform appearance 'within the same line of sight'. The paragraph quotes it and asks for the full elevation.
3. Hail History by Address
The problem: The roof was denied for 'no qualifying storm event'.
What it does: Enter the address and dates. It geocodes the address with the US Census geocoder and lists every NOAA Storm Prediction Center hail, wind and tornado report within the radius, with size, distance and the observer's comment, as a report for the file.
Worked example: A property in Kemp, Texas, for May 28, 2024: NOAA logged quarter-size (1.00-inch) hail 3 miles north of town at 12:10 UTC, reported by an amateur radio operator with an estimated 60 mph gust. The lookup returns it with its distance from the house.
4. Air Mover & Dehumidifier Calculator
The problem: Mitigation invoices cut to 'three air movers for three days'.
What it does: From wet floor and wall area, rooms, insets, ceiling height and class of water it gives the S500 air mover range and the dehumidifier count from IICRC's own chart (LGR 100/50/40/40 by class), the equipment cost per day, and a printable daily drying log.
Worked example: Three rooms, 420 SF wet floor, Class 2, 70-pint LGR units: 13 to 17 air movers and 1 dehumidifier, with the log to justify each day.
5. Estimate Comparison
The problem: Two 30-page estimates and a reviewer asking 'what exactly is different?'
What it does: Paste the line items from both PDFs. It matches lines by description and unit, then lists what the carrier left off, where quantities or unit prices differ, and the dollar gap, as a downloadable report. Runs in the browser; nothing uploaded.
Worked example: The sample roof shows $3,611 in missing lines (drip edge, starter, steep charge) and $630 from two squares cut off the shingle line.
6. Depreciation Dispute Calculator
The problem: A 12-year-old architectural roof depreciated 60%.
What it does: Works backward from the carrier's percentage to the useful life it implies, compares it with NAHB's published life expectancies, puts the overstated holdback in dollars, and flags labor depreciation.
Worked example: 60% at 12 years implies a 20-year life on a 30-year product. Benchmark depreciation is 40%: $4,280 overstated on a $21,400 line.
7. ALE / Loss of Use Calculator
The problem: Additional living expense paid for the hotel, but not for anything else.
What it does: Category by category, temporary cost minus normal cost, for housing, food, mileage, utilities, laundry and storage; the total for the displacement; when Coverage D runs out; and what is still owed.
Worked example: A family out for eight months with a $4,430 monthly increase over normal costs: $35,440 in ALE against a $70,000 Coverage D limit, $29,440 still owed after the $6,000 paid so far.
8. Roof Squares Calculator
The problem: A hip roof estimated at 10% waste with no steep or high charge.
What it does: Surface squares from footprint and pitch factor, waste by roof style, starter, drip edge and ridge cap, the Xactimate® steep and high-roof charges that apply, and how many squares the carrier is short.
Worked example: 2,450 SF footprint at 8/12, hip, two stories: 29.45 SQ surface, 33.87 SQ with 15% waste, a 7/12–9/12 steep charge and a high-roof charge.
How they fit into one claim
- Confirm the date of loss with the hail history lookup.
- Put every insurer deadline on the calendar the day notice is given.
- Build the scope: roof squares, drying equipment, and the supplement lines with their basis.
- Compare it against the carrier's estimate line by line.
- Argue the columns: depreciation, matching and O&P.
- Keep ALE current while the rebuild runs, and run the appraisal numbers if the gap will not close.
All seventeen free tools are on the tools page. The one thing none of them does is write the estimate itself. That we do by hand, and the first one is free.