Delivering a consistent message to customers

Coquitlam, B.C.-based Canstar Restorations has provided peace of mind to property owners who have suffered damage to their homes and businesses for 38 years. What started with one office and eight employees has grown to 10 locations – the other 9 being located in Lower Mainland, Interior, B.C. and Calgary, A.B. – with over 250 staffers providing 24/7 remediation and repair for fire, flood and other insured losses. As with any industry, technology has changed the way Canstar does its work and how it is presented to clients. As an example, the Xactimate estimating system has changed the method and time expectations for scopes and estimates.

“Our business has evolved, and we’re now more sophisticated in the way we do our work, how we measure what we do and how we communicate that to clients,” says David Sheppard, the firm’s Chief Marketing Office. Our former Manager of Estimating and Compliance developed a program called Analytics, which retrieves data from our accounting and job-management software. Sheppard explains, “This program enables us to establish and evaluate key performance indicators, ensuring that we adhere to industry-standard practices regarding contact times, job turnaround, and invoicing. By having performance metrics in place, we can provide assurance to our insurance clients.”

Sharing information is not limited to performance issues, and Canstar has a department dedicated to education on topics ranging from structural drying to hoarding. In forums from lunch-and-learns to 200-person seminars, the restorer has partnered with insurance companies, brokers, non-profit housing associations and property management companies to see to it that everyone involved in the claims process delivers a consistent message to the insurance customer. Canstar’s primary objective is to provide customers with peace of mind and the feeling of being cared for in stressful situations. This has required a disciplined hiring philosophy and training so that every staff member is empathetic and professional. The addition of information technology now provides another tool to ensure that insurance clients can trust that their customers will be looked after when they refer them to Canstar Restorations.

This is an updated version of the article from the September 2013 edition of Insurance West.