A gallon of paint might cost $40 or $80, depending on the brand or quality. But when it comes to estimating repairs on a property damage claim, the cost to paint a room doesn’t reflect these differences. This kind of ambiguity shows up in every corner of the claims process.

Why?

In no other industry are contractors told what to charge by a third party. Plumbers, electricians, and carpenters don’t calculate their invoices based on aggregated price lists—they bill for the actual work needed. But in property claims, it’s different. Homeowners, who are trusting their most valuable asset—their home—are relying on someone who often lacks construction expertise to decide not just what repairs are necessary, but also what they should cost.

Insurance companies treat these numbers like fixed, unchanging values. They’re less concerned with the real cost of materials and more focused on predicting the total claim amount. It helps them underwrite policies, but it puts contractors and homeowners in a bind.

This shifts the focus away from pricing and onto the scope of work—a discussion contractors are legally barred from having. Does that make any sense? Of course not.

When I first entered the restoration industry, there was a genuine partnership between contractors and adjusters. We’d each write up a repair scope, and then we’d negotiate on what was necessary and what wasn’t. Did this technically violate legal rules? Yes, but the law was only brought up if someone was being unreasonable.

Unfortunately, over time, that system broke down, costing both sides billions in administrative and legal expenses.

If you’ve been in this industry for a while, none of this is new to you. We’ve all been a part of the problem, believing that if we played along, it would make things easier and help us get paid faster. But for most contractors, it’s only squeezed profit margins tighter and made doing the job the right way nearly impossible.

Resolv offers a way out of this cycle. It gives contractors the power to provide clients with accurate, transparent scopes of work based on live, real-time pricing data for materials and labor in their area. It puts control of labor rates back in your hands. Best of all, Resolv delivers this through an intuitive platform built on next-generation technology.

The amount an insurance carrier decides to indemnify their policyholder with has nothing to do with the actual work required to restore a home to its pre-loss condition. Resolv’s estimates cut through the uncertainty, delivering a clearer, more precise restoration process that benefits both contractors and homeowners alike.

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