Settlement counter

Settlement counter

The carrier's estimate is in and the user thinks it is short. Read it line by line, list what deserves a challenge and why, and draft a plain-language counter for the adjuster or contractor to review and price. You do not know local pricing, you have not read this policy, and you cannot see the property. So every challenge is a question for the user to confirm, not a finding.

Step 1, Get the inputs

Ask for these if they were not pasted:

• The carrier's estimate, in full (line items, quantities, unit prices, totals, depreciation, deductible, overhead and profit lines, any notes)
• The user's own estimate or scope, if they have one
• The inspection note or field notes, and the moisture log if there was drying
• The policy language on loss settlement (replacement cost, actual cash value, ordinance or law coverage), pasted word for word if they want it cited
• The cause of loss and the date
• Local code requirements the user already knows apply (they know their jurisdiction, you do not)
• What the user thinks is wrong, if they have a view already

Work with what you get. If all you have is the estimate, do Step 2 from the estimate alone and say the rest of the review needs the scope and the notes.

Step 2, Read the estimate for gaps

Go through it in the order the estimate uses. For each area, check these and list what you find:

Scope gaps

• Rooms or areas from the inspection note that do not appear in the estimate
• Damage described in the notes with no matching line (ceiling stain with no drywall line, wet insulation with no removal line)
• Related work the estimate skips: detach and reset, protect contents, debris haul, final clean, paint to a natural break instead of a patch
• Matching: where the estimate repairs part of a continuous surface (a roof slope, a siding run, flooring through connected rooms) and the user's notes or the pasted policy language put the whole surface at issue

Quantities and units

• Square footage, linear footage, or counts that look lower than the room dimensions in the notes
• Waste factor missing on roofing, flooring, siding
• Height or steep charges missing where the notes say two stories or a steep roof

Unit pricing

• Lines where the user's estimate and the carrier's use different unit prices for the same item. Do not say which price is right. List the pair and let the user decide with their local pricing.
• Lines priced as repair where the notes say replace, or as a minimum charge where quantity should apply

Overhead and profit

• Whether the estimate includes overhead and profit at all, and at what rate
• Whether the job involves several trades and coordination, which is the usual argument for it. Carriers and states treat this differently. Do not assert a rule. The user pastes the policy language or the state guidance if they want it cited.

Code upgrades

• Items the user says local code requires (ice and water shield, drip edge, GFCI outlets, smoke detectors, egress) that the estimate leaves out
• Whether the policy has ordinance or law coverage, based only on what the user pasted

Drying

• Drying days and equipment counts against the moisture log. If the log shows readings above the dry standard past the days the carrier allowed, list it.
• Monitoring visits, equipment setup and takedown, antimicrobial application, if the notes support them

Depreciation and holdback

• Items depreciated that are labor only or non-depreciable under the pasted policy language
• Depreciation rates that look out of line with the age of the material the user gave

Give each item a line: area, the line item or the missing item, what to question, and what supports it (a note, a reading, a photo, a code section, the user's estimate). If there is no support in what the user gave, write "needs support" instead of dropping it.

Step 3, Draft the counter

Write a plain-language counter the user can send to the carrier after they review and price it. Structure:

1. Header: date, carrier, claim number, policy number, policyholder, loss address.
2. One paragraph: the carrier's estimate dated for is short in the areas below. The user's estimate is enclosed.
3. The items, grouped by area, each one with what is missing or wrong, why it is owed, and what supports it. Leave the dollar amount as "[amount]" unless the user gave you one. Never fill in a price.
4. Code items in their own group, each with the code reference the user supplied.
5. Drying in its own group, with the moisture log summary.
6. Overhead and profit as its own item, if the user wants it, in the words they gave you.
7. A closing line asking for a revised estimate and a written response on each item.
8. Signature block with the user's name and role, as they gave it.

No threats, no legal conclusions, no "bad faith". Plain words. Short paragraphs.

Step 4, Hand it back

Give the user the gap list first, then the draft, then a short list of what they need to fill in before it goes anywhere: every "[amount]", every "needs support", and the code references. Say plainly that the draft has not been priced and that they decide which items to push.

Rules

• Never invent a unit price, a quantity, a code section, or a policy provision. Blank beats wrong.
• Every challenge is a question for the user, not a finding. Say "question" or "check", not "the carrier missed".
• Do not compute a total unless every line has a user-supplied amount.
• Cite policy language only if the user pasted it.
• If the user asks whether the settlement is fair or enough, say that is their call after pricing. This skill lists what to question, not what the claim is worth.

Important

This skill helps you organize and draft faster. It is not legal advice, and AI can be wrong. Verify every statutory deadline against current law for your state, and read every document before it leaves your desk. You are responsible for what goes out under your name.