Q: How can I tell if my business model as a retail contractor will be a good fit for insurance program work?

A: The best indicator is not your trade, it is your operational discipline that will ensure you “STAY” on the program for many years. Insurance programs are not looking for the cheapest contractor or the most aggressive salesperson to hire for one job. They are looking for reliable, professional partners they can use multiple times in one week, companies that respond quickly, document thoroughly, communicate clearly, and show up when they say they will. If your business already has systems in place for job tracking, photo documentation, experience defining scopes, Xactimate estimating, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), and consistent follow-through, you are more ready than you think. If you are still running jobs out of a notebook and chasing collections every month, the insurance channel will quickly expose those gaps. The good news is that the contractors who make the transition successfully are not always the biggest or most established, they are the ones who treat every job like a business, not just a paycheck.  If you are systematic with owner hands off, clean backgrounds, then it is easy to comply with SLA demands.  Adding program work is a logical next step toward building a company that runs predictably, grows profitably, and creates intrinsic value, making you more valuable to a PE exit.

NOT EVERYONE IS A GOOD FIT FOR INSURANCE PROGRAMS:   The contractors who struggle in the insurance channel are those who treat every job as a transaction rather than a relationship. If your business runs on storm chasing with a call center and D2D offering a FREE ROOF, and chasing collections every month, using high-pressure one-call closes, inconsistent follow-through, storm chasing, public adjusters mindset with the carrier is the bank not a partner, with a “get in and get paid or sue” mentality, the insurance channel will expose those habits quickly and painfully. Insurance programs operate under formal Service Level Agreements with strict performance requirements, response time standards, and vendor grading systems that are designed to identify and remove contractors who cannot meet the bar — there is no room to hide behind a good sales pitch when your performance data tells a different story. If your operation is not yet built around systems, accountability, and professional communication, insurance program work is not the right next step, it is a goal worth working toward once those foundations are in place.

Q: How long does it take to get approved for programs and start receiving jobs? I am used to running Google ads and seeing new jobs within the first 30 days.

A: That is one of the most important expectations to set before you begin, and we appreciate the honesty of the question. If you are coming from a retail advertising mindset where you fund a Google campaign on Monday and the phone rings by Friday, insurance program work is going to require a significant shift in how you think about sales and return on investment. Retail advertising is transactional by design — you pay for visibility, a homeowner calls, you close or you don’t, and you measure it in days. Insurance program work is relationship selling, and relationship selling operates on an entirely different timeline and delivers an entirely different return. The contractors who get frustrated and quit are almost always the ones who measured a long-term relationship strategy against a short-term advertising metric and declared it a failure before it had a chance to work.

The realistic timeline looks like this. In the first 45 to 60 days you are building your intelligence foundation, who to contact, who works in your service areas, where they are located, and how to reach them professionally. From 60 to 90 days, you are making introductions, submitting vendor applications, attending the right events, and getting your name in front of the right people. Program approvals typically arrive within 60 to 90 days with a structured approach, compared to 12 to 18 months of expensive trial and error without one. Your first referred jobs from those relationships generally follow within 90 to 180 days of approval depending on your territory, your trade, and how actively your sales team is working the relationships we help you build.

The reason the wait is worth it comes down to lifetime value. A homeowner who found you on Google is a one-time transaction, maybe a second call if they remember you favorably. An adjuster who trusts you and adds you to their go-to list is worth tens of thousands of dollars annually in recurring referrals, and that relationship compounds every year you maintain it. The contractors who have been in carrier programs for three, five, and ten years are not running Google ads to survive — they are running their business. That is the outcome we are helping you build toward, and it starts with understanding that the most valuable things in business are rarely built in 30 days.

Q: Do I need to show proof of licenses, certifications, and insurance to get approved for carrier programs?

A:  YES!  This is one area where preparation makes the difference between a fast approval and a rejection that sets you back months. The documentation requirements for DRP, MRP, and TPA programs are more rigorous than most contractors expect the first time through, and the bar is rising every year as programs become more selective about who they add to their approved vendor lists.

Licensing is the baseline. If you are a roofer, plumber, HVAC technician, general contractor, or any other regulated trade, you must carry active state licensure in every state where you intend to perform work — not just your home state. Florida requires a state-issued contractor license. Georgia, Texas, and a growing number of other states require membership and compliance with roofing-specific organizations such as RCAT before carriers will consider your application. Many programs also require proper business registration, a registered agent, and a physical or verifiable business address in each state you service. Getting this wrong on an application does not just result in a rejection — it can flag your company in a program’s system and delay future applications.

Certifications signal quality and commitment to the programs reviewing your file. IICRC certification — particularly Water Damage Restoration, Fire and Smoke Restoration, and Applied Structural Drying — is increasingly required by restoration-focused programs and strongly preferred by virtually all others. Haag Engineering certification for roofing and exterior inspectors demonstrates the technical depth that carriers and forensic programs respect. Material supplier certifications such as GAF Master Elite, Owens Corning Preferred, or CertainTeed credentials show that manufacturers trust your installation quality enough to back it with their own warranty programs. Fortified Home and Fortified Commercial certifications from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety are becoming meaningful differentiators in wind and hail markets where carriers are actively steering work toward contractors who build to a higher standard.

Insurance requirements go well beyond a standard general liability policy. Most programs require commercial general liability with minimum coverage limits ranging from one million to five million dollars per occurrence depending on the program tier and scope of work. Commercial vehicle coverage on all company and employee vehicles used for business purposes is non-negotiable. Pollution and environmental liability coverage is required for contractors performing any mold remediation, lead abatement, asbestos removal, or chemical application work — and many programs are now requiring it broadly regardless of scope. Contractor’s pollution liability, professional liability, and umbrella or excess policies are increasingly standard requirements for larger program tiers. Some programs require that Focus Efforts or their designated TPA be listed as an additional insured on your policy, which means your insurance agent needs to understand program requirements before you apply.

Background checks and compliance screening are the piece most contractors do not think about until it is too late. Virtually every serious carrier program now requires criminal background checks on owners, principals, and field technicians. Many use third-party compliance platforms such as Contractor Connection, Verisk, or similar screening tools that evaluate your company’s claims history, complaint records, licensing status, and financial standing before approving your application. A single unresolved complaint, a lapsed license, or an owner with a disqualifying background check can pull an otherwise complete application. Staying on programs once approved requires ongoing compliance, licenses must be renewed, insurance certificates must be kept current with the program’s requirements, and background rescreening is common on an annual basis.

The good news is that none of this is insurmountable, it simply requires knowing what each program requires before you apply rather than discovering gaps after a rejection. That is exactly what our onboarding process is designed to do. Before we submit a single application on your behalf, we conduct a complete compliance and documentation audit so that when your application goes in, it goes in clean, complete, and positioned for a fast approval.

Q: What if I’m already working with some MRP/TPAs Now?

A: Great, we can begin marketing deep and wide within your current programs to help reach their complete claims teams, informing them that you are available for work. Most contractors only access 10-20% of available programs once excepted and never really market across the companies.  Also, a TPA with delegated authority can assign non-carrier claims, but often feeds their in-network partners first to keep them steady. Not only do we increase non-carrier work at TPAs, but we also help you identify and access the other 80% of insurance claims by knowing which carriers are clients of that TPA.  Faster penetrating and easier to scale knowing who really makes the final approval for your work.

Q: How much work can I expect?

A: Unlike retail canvassing and google ads, insurance work is a relationship business.  Available claims frequency varies by territory, daily and CAT workloads, other existing vendor participants, response times, quality of workmanship, and your ability to meet program objectives.  In addition, every program uses a TIP grading scale to evaluate performance, and low scores will decrease volumes. Typically, most approved contractors report 40-60% of their annual revenue coming from program work within 18 -24 months.  Our focus is to help you make the adjustment to a different style of performance, then leveraging industry know-how to help you accelerate your growth.

Q: What specific services do insurance claims departments need beyond just repairs? 

A: Insurance companies have multiple departments with different vendor needs:

• • – FNOL (First Notice of Loss) teams need emergency response contractors, temporary repairs, board-up services, and water extraction specialists who can respond within hours to prevent further damage.
  • – SIU (Special Investigations Units) need forensic engineers, fire investigators, water damage specialists, and contractors who can provide detailed cause-and-origin analysis for suspicious claims.
  • – Litigation departments need expert witnesses, forensic contractors, and specialists who can provide court testimony and detailed technical reports for disputed claims.
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Q: Do insurance companies need vendors for departments other than claims? 

A: Yes, multiple departments hire specialized vendors:

• • – Finance departments need contractors for property valuations, cost estimating services, and vendors who can provide detailed financial analysis of large losses for reserve setting.
  • – Underwriting departments need risk assessment contractors, property inspectors, and specialists who can evaluate properties before coverage begins or during renewals.
  • – Risk Management departments need loss control specialists, safety consultants, and contractors who can help reduce future claims through preventive services and risk mitigation strategies.