This episode sponsored by: LiveSwitch https://join.liveswitch.com/ClaimClinic

Top Ten Xactimate Profit Secrets: XactSecrets.com

The Claim Clinic — “What the RIA Cost of Doing Business Report Means for 2026”

In this episode of The Claim Clinic, host Andrew McCabe breaks down the just-released 2025 RIA Cost of Doing Business Report, revealing what the latest financial and operational data say about the future of the restoration industry. Drawing on fiscal year 2024 data, this year’s report paints a picture of an industry growing up fast — with mid-tier firms scaling aggressively, TPAs losing ground, and contractors getting smarter about their true costs.

Andrew walks listeners through the major shifts: small firms saw a huge jump in profitability, large companies faced margin compression, and the average overhead across the industry now sits at a hefty 38.5%, obliterating the old “10 and 10” myth once and for all. He also explores how cash flow stress — with the average receivable sitting at 60 days — is quietly reshaping business models, forcing restorers to run leaner and think like CFOs.

Finally, Andrew ties the data to on-the-ground realities: the rise of independent pricing, the growing divide between residential and commercial strategies, and what the next wave of technology and training investment means for contractors heading into 2026.

It’s data with teeth — and proof that the restoration world isn’t just surviving, it’s evolving.

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YourContractSucks.com

Restoration Rebel Roundtable Briefing Summary

Date of Discussion: 12/22/22

Compiled: 10/26/23

This roundtable highlights core strategies for restoration contractors navigating insurance claims: protect your pricing, prioritize transparency with clients, and maintain independence from insurer mandates. The discussion centered on a successful contractor case study that challenged the insurer’s control, reinforced by homeowner support and a well-drafted contract.

Key Themes:

1. Protect the Value of Your Work
2. Rebels stress the importance of not doing free work. "Offering free services only serves to erode the value of similar services industry-wide."
3. Radical Transparency—with Clients, Not Carriers
4. “I never communicate with an adjuster without also communicating with my client.”
5. Community over Competition
6. “Restoration companies in my market are part of my community. It is our unbreakable unity that will create the change that we strive for.”
7. Walk Away When Necessary
8. “No relationship is worth losing money, sleep, or my humanity.”
9. Case Study: ‘100% Non-Fucking Compliant’
10. A contractor refused to comply with the insurer’s process and was paid in full per their client contract. They enforced a signed agreement that specified pricing terms and a 10% markup on subcontractors. Matterport documentation strengthened their position.
11. Contract Law Trumps Insurer Preference
12. “We are implementers of contract law. The only rules we have to follow… is the rule of law.”
13. Matterport as a Differentiator
14. 3D imaging helped secure the job and justify the scope. “People in South Korea could walk through the building and they'd never seen the building.”
15. Refusing to Provide Cost Breakdown
16. “You're not my client. My agreement is with my client.” Back-end data like timecards and subs was withheld, and the client’s legal team backed the contractor’s position.
17. Xactimate Is Not a Contract
18. “Single sheet contracts are not valid… you can’t get all the proper things you need on a cover sheet of an Xactimate PDF.”
19. Homeowner Buy-In Is Essential
20. “If the homeowner will not stand up to their insurance company, you can't stand up for them.”
21. Project Managers Are Critical
22. “My project manager could not have done a better job… ahead of schedule on a $5-6M project.”
23. AI on the Horizon
24. Discussion touched on the future impact of tools like ChatGPT and AI-based estimators like Impartial. There was concern that these could disrupt traditional estimating roles, but skepticism remained about insurer adoption: “The players on the carrier side are easily 10 years behind the technological curve.”

Conclusion:

Contractors must anchor their operations in sound contracts, transparency with clients, and the willingness to challenge insurer narratives. The discussed case shows that success comes from standing firm with a signed agreement, resisting insurer overreach, and equipping clients to advocate for themselves. The Rebel ethos remains clear: know your value, support each other, and never surrender to artificial rules.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

I am here to deliver an urgent truth: the restoration industry is under attack, and the time to act is now. Unity is not optional. It is the only way forward. For years, I have watched as this industry has been taken from us, piece by piece. Now, the carriers are no longer content with nibbling away at what we’ve built. They are moving aggressively, driving independent restorers out of business, silencing the very voices that make this industry strong. In some parts of the country, this is already a reality. Appraisals are being weaponized. Payments are being delayed for months, even years. Outright denials have become the norm. In these markets, independent restoration businesses have been wiped out. This is not an isolated problem—it is spreading. And it will reach every corner of this country unless we stop it. But hear this: we are the ones who allow it to happen. Their programs and policies depend on our compliance. Their agenda succeeds only because we tolerate it. That ends today. The truth is simple: we win together, or we lose everything. There is no middle ground. Five years from now, if we fail to act, we will have no voice, no control, no choice in how we serve our clients. We will be at the mercy of systems designed to benefit carriers—not us, not our clients, and not the communities we serve. Anyone who thinks they’re above this fight is wrong. Anyone waiting for someone else to step in and fix this is mistaken. The responsibility to protect our industry falls on all of us. Every single one of us must decide, right here and right now, to fight back. Stop going along with their programs. Refuse to comply with systems designed to strip us of our power. Stand up for yourself, your business, and this industry. Together, we have the strength to reclaim what is ours. The time for waiting is over. The time for action is here. Fight for your livelihood. Fight for your clients. Fight for the future of restoration.

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