Restoration Rewind Delta Development Group Monthly Newsletter
September 2018
CONVENTION 2018! I don’t know about everyone else, but it feels like FOREVER since we were all together at our 6th Annual Franchise Convention; actually, it was less than a month ago. We want to thank everyone again for coming out to Copper Mountain to join us and your fellow Delta owners and employees, the venue was absolutely, beautiful! A big thank you and another wonderful welcome to the Nashville Office, it was great to have the HRI team to be able to join us and get a full dose of the “Delta Kool-Aid”. We kicked off the event on Thursday with the annual State of Delta address from President and Founder, Michael Mastous. His recap of the last 18 months included great information about the HRI acquisition and all that we have accomplished as a network since then. Since the convention, we have signed an additional 4 licenses! Mike also shared the great news surrounding our new Training Facility which will be the location for all our trainings as well as our new IICRC approved ASD Flood house. We are very excited and will keep you all posted as we progress through that project. During the state of Delta address, we also introduced our brand new team members. We quickly went from a team of 4 and a few consultants to a team of nearly 10! Brand new to Delta are; Kevin Callahan, Training Specialist and Jeff Cohen, Franchise Business Coach. Not new to Delta, but new to our DDG team is Josh Schneider, Director of Mitigation Training. Josh comes from the Denver office where he has been the Mitigation Division Manager for the last 4 years. And Emily Conroy, Financial & Accounting Specialist. Emily also comes from the Denver office where she has worked as a subcontractor helping with training and collections. We are happy to welcome these new team members, the more minds that we have to help our franchisees and their employees the better for everyone. We are looking to add even more employees in the coming months!
Friday kicked off the MAIN EVENT! We had Brand DNA consultant Suzanne Tulien present to us the amazing DNA of our wonderful Delta Brand! Nothing new, our DNA is what makes us who we are, but in our work with Suzanne over the least 8-9 months we flushed out the true components of the Delta brand and were able to get super clear on who we are. Any brand is made up of DNA, that DNA has 4 components; Core Values – what a brand considers its most important values, Style Attributes – how a brand relates to its clients, staff, vendors, etc. Differentiators – a brand’s distinctive skill sets and quality attributes and Standards of Performance – How a brand performs its roles.
The owners and managers that were present at the convention got some wonderful tools on how to present Delta’s Brand DNA components and begin living it in all our offices, every single day. To also help, I will be writing an article every month about one of our Brand DNA components and breaking it down, so you can get every more of the Delta Kool-Aid! Make sure that you look for those Brand DNA articles each month, and until next month check out our Brand DNA OneSheet on the next page. We also want to remind everyone to request their invite to the Delta Disaster Services Workplace. It is just like Facebook but only for Delta Disaster Services employees. And it doesn’t have any connection with your personal Facebook. We are creating a great network for sharing all that we can with each other, that’s the point of having a network, right?! Email me today at rneblett@delta-us.com to get your invite and join us today! We are giving prizes on Workplace…come…join us!
Welcome to the Family! Brad and Sue Ayers, College Station, TX Congratulations! Brad and Sue Ayers, Delta Disaster Services of Brazos Valley. They completed the July Delta training and will have their Grand Opening the end of August.
Brad and Sue have been with ChemDry for many years. They have been VOC members and great brand ambassadors for Chem-Dry. We are excited to help them with this new endeavor. They just landed their first water damage job and they are off to a good start.
Randy and Erica Herman, Dallas, TX Congratulations! Randy and Erica Herman, Delta Disaster Services of Northeast Collin Counties. They just completed level 200 training in August.
Randy and Erica have been with the Chem-Dry for decades. Owning ChemDry operations in both Washington state and Texas. Like the Ayers, they have been VOC, Franchisee of the Year for Chem-Dry, and have spent many years helping fellow Chem-Dry owners. Randy and Erica have been in the water damage business for years too and they are excited for this new chapter with Delta Disaster Services.
Top 2017 Claims Trends That Will Impact 2018 Written by: Bill Brower, Vice President, Product Management, Claims
2017 will be remembered as the landmark year for digital transformation of claims processing within the property and casualty insurance industry. After all, it was the year we saw the use of drones for home roof inspections, auto appraisals via photos, customer video chats and bots used in claims processing. While many of these solutions have been topics of discussion in the industry for quite some time, insurers began to implement them in earnest through new technology during 2017. Here’s a deeper look at what we think are the top 10 reasons why 2017 should be considered the kick- off year for digital transformation in insurance claims. ▪
The “touchless claims” vision became real As digital capabilities become more robust and customers increasingly demand digital in every aspect of their lives, fully-automated claims processing is evolving into a strategic imperative. In a recap of our Future of Claims Study, you’ll see that the compelling vision of the “touchless” claim is turning into a reality. Insurers are accelerating their movement along the automated claims processing continuum in order to drive greater efficiency, increase profitability and most importantly deliver a better customer experience.
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Photo-based appraisal displaced in-person auto appraising Speaking of touchless claims, insurer Allstate demonstrated its commitment to a more virtual claims handling approach through the closure of its drive-in appraisal centers in favor of photobased appraising, made possible through its QuickFoto mobile app claims option. The company also made additional investments in other digital technologies that support photobased appraising including their Virtual Assist solution for auto body shops1. These investments are already reaping benefits for Allstate in terms of faster customer service and greater process efficiencies.
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Drones became the new “insurance inspector” With four hurricanes striking the United States in 2017, drones were quickly put to work to allow insurers to accelerate roof and exterior inspections. A drone could also travel into flooded areas
to give adjusters access even before the waters subsided. There were several media spots highlighting the use of drones in claims including NBC’s Today show, where executives Glenn Shapiro of Allstate and Patrick Gee of Travelers were interviewed about the benefits of drones for expediting home claims2. In 2017, we learned that using drones can shave several days off of claims processing time, free up human resources for more valuable and strategic tasks and save insurers money. ▪
Interactive features strengthened relationships with customers The digital world offers a plethora of tools that can help insurers improve every aspect of the claims process, from FNOL through closure3. A very important element in the entire process is the customer experience. Features such as video chatbots that can interact with customers on simple processes, voice analytics that sense customer mood and behavioral analytics that predict customer needs not only increase efficiency, but also create a stronger connection between insurers and their customers.
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Chatbots became sociable Consumers spend a lot of time on social media, so Progressive Insurance is meeting up with them online. In October of 2017, the company announced the launch of its artificial intelligence chatbot on Facebook Messenger4. Prospective and current customers can access the chatbot through the company’s Flo’s Facebook fan page, thereby extending Progressive’s reach to upwards of 1.4 billion active Messenger users. Including these types of AI features in customer outreach capabilities is likely to become standard practice, as insurers continue to digitally transform their businesses to remain competitive and better serve their customers.
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Claims apps became integral to the claims processing digital transformation While undergoing a digital transformation is, in some aspects, unique to each insurer, a simple three-step strategy serves as a useful common template5. Step three in this strategy is embracing the right tools to meet business needs. Insurers now have a broad suite of options and applications available to help them digitally transform their organizations for the best outcomes. Options include mobile capture, process intelligence, customer communications management, robotic process automation and case management.
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Telematics entered its next phase Telematics has proven itself as a foundation for usage-based insurance, providing valuable information to the insurer while helping customers become safer drivers and reduce their premiums. But the technology is far short of maturity in terms of the broader value it can offer both customers and insurers. This forward-thinking LexisNexis Insurance Insights blog post explains the telematics opportunities that lie ahead in the areas of proactive customer care, process improvements and improving data to drive better decision making. For example, telematics shows great promise for driving more efficient claims management as well as helping to prevent fraud through real- time alerts and an expedited claims cycle.
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Accessing police records became easier and more accurate than ever Police reports have long been an integral part of claims processing. However, accessing the reports and rekeying important information from them is time consuming, can result in inaccuracies and doesn’t take into account the future value of the data. Automated police
record retrieval has changed all that. Claims adjusters can now instantly order and retrieve police report data in real time, then automatically integrate that data and its data elements not only into an existing claim, but also into the claims system for future retrieval. These capabilities create greater efficiencies and also enable insights that can drive future decision making. Automated police record retrieval promises to be a game-changer for the industry. â–Ş
AI transformed the customer experience Often associated with a negative event (like an auto accident or a personal property loss), contacting an insurance agent is typically not top on the list of things customers want to do. AI is changing all of that. 2017 marked the year that AI came into its own within the insurance industry in a number of ways, including providing a much more compelling and satisfying customer experience6. For example, the insurance industry is exploring multiple ways to leverage AI in Claims to enhance the customer experience and shave days off of claims processing time. Additionally, AI enables personalization that enhances the customer relationship without any human interaction required. Clearly, 2017 was the year of innovation implementation for claims. With so many promising new technologies and capabilities gaining traction and establishing a solid foothold within the industry, the future looks very bright. We expect to see acceleration in claims automation during 2018 as companies build on the technology advances of the 2017 landmark year for launching claims automation.
Marketing Corner Following convention, I wanted to highlight the importance of PR. We have a tremendous resource with Allpoints and their abilities to get your franchise local and national attention to drive brand awareness to your local communities. Starting with our Wednesday webinar on Wednesday September 12th we will be hosting a monthly call with Allpoints on PR and new opportunities you can share for PR. You do not need to prepare anything for this webinar. Below is a short read supporting the use of professional PR companies and their value. Enjoy, Jason
The Importance of Public Relations to Businesses of All Shapes & Sizes by Meghan Turner & Ashley Spain
Does your business have a public relations strategy? Do you think that applying just a marketing strategy is enough for your business? No matter how small the business, a public relations strategy is essential to your success. What is the difference between marketing and public relations? Marketing is traditionally viewed as promoting goods and services to be sold to a consumer at a profit. Public relations promote goodwill and communication between the company and consumer. Good public relations build relationships with your customers. Public relations are a component of your marketing strategy; a company will be more profitable through communication and relationships with customers. How does a small business do PR? Public relations are not just for large corporations—even a small business benefits from good public relations. To have good public relations does not mean you need to hire an expensive PR firm. To develop a plan, think about your audience. This includes more than just customers. Additional members of your audience may be local media or employees. Use these additional resources to communicate your message. Don't shy away from media, but instead use it as another tool to communicate and reach a larger audience. By hearing positive information from a third party, consumers are more likely to engage in communications with your business. If an employee enjoys working for a company, that person may tell others about the good work of your business. Your internal communications are just as important as your external communications.
Also, think about how your audience wants to communicate with your company and receive information. Your message must be timely and well thought-out to impact your audience. Be sure to include a crisis communications strategy in your plan. In a crisis, PR can go a long way to show the public that you are open and honest. How you handle a crisis will determine how your business or brand is viewed in the aftermath. PR is more than writing a press release. In today's public relations field, professionals utilize more than the traditional press release. PR professionals commonly use social media outlets to convey their message to the public. Social media is changing the public relations industry as it allows businesses to communicate with a larger community. Instead of sending a message to just your local audience, businesses can now communicate globally. As the scope of public relations increases, professionals need to adapt and take advantage of new avenues to communicate with the public. Join a professional organization. Professional organizations in any field offer opportunities to learn more about current and upcoming trends in your profession. Such organizations are great opportunities for business professionals to gain knowledge on multiple topics through regular organizational meetings. These organizations provide knowledgeable speakers and resource links to assist professionals. A professional organization also allows you to network with individuals in your field and find out what other companies are doing to enhance their public relations. Research an organization or attend a meeting before joining to find the best organization that meets your needs.
CASH IN THE DOOR Based off May, June, July, and August’s royalties…DELTA DISASTER SERVICES OF SOUTHERN COLORADO lead the pack. Fantastic job team and Emmis!
Finance Corner Is it time for a Subcontractor Tune up? You have all heard horror stories about the contractor who hired a subcontractor and ended up having to pay for the subs work comp and social security It is unfortunately, a common practice in Construction to hire people who do not have the proper insurance. Our projects are moving at warp speed and everything is fast, fast, fast! We need the sub now and don’t have time to make sure they have the correct paper work in place. After all, who would work without insurance? As quoted from “Insurancejournal.com” (please Google for the entire article): States Going After Employers Who Misclassify Workers as Independent Contractors “When construction slowed during the recession, some companies hired workers and wrongly designated them as independent contractors to avoid paying insurance, taxes, fair wages and overtime. States from New York to California are taking steps to crack down on employers who improperly classify their workers or fail to declare their income. Thirty states have laws on worker misclassification, up from 23 in 2010, according to Construction Citizen, a website that says it seeks to advance social responsibility in the industry. What to do on your end to prevent any problems: Check your subcontractor packets closely. Make sure you have: Signed Subcontractor Agreement for every Subcontractor. W-9 (YOU WILL NEED TO ISSUE ALL SUBS A 1099 AT THE END OF THE YEAR) IRS will request the tax ID number when 1099’s are filed. IRS can request copies of the W-9 and the Subcontractor Agreement or you may be held responsible for all employer taxes
Insurance Certificate: Current copy plus all past copies. General Liability, Automobile Liability, Work Comp * *Work Comp Sole Proprietor” Release. If the subcontractor has employees, they MUST have work comp insurance. If the sub is a are a sole proprietor, most states will allow them to opt out of work comp insurance. You must clarify this with your work comp carrier. You were provided with a copy of the Colorado “Independent Contractor Release” at your training in Denver and in your Appendix to the Operations Manual. Request a similar form from your work comp carrier or ask if they will accept the Colorado form. Good Practices: Background affidavit on an annual basis. Your insurance carrier will request to see copies of the Release or the Insurance Certificate for all subcontractors at your Work Comp Audit. Not following these requirements can be very costly. Please ensure your subcontractors are properly vetted and please call Dixie or Mike with any questions.
CLEANFAX MAGAZINE PROFILES DELTA DISASTER SERVICES
THE 2018 RESTORATION INDUSTRY LEADERS REVIEW It’s about success. Not just the numbers, but also how companies impact their clients and communities. Learn how leaders in the restoration industry made their marks. by Jeff Cross The 2018 Restoration Industry Leaders Review is about success. Not just the numbers, but also how companies impact their clients and communities. Take a few minutes and read on to learn what you can do to make your own company a true success story.
Without further ado, here are the 2018 restoration leaders:
Delta Disaster Services
Start-up restoration companies often have two main goals in mind: To provide people in crisis with restoration services and to create a profitable, efficient company. That was what Mike Mastous, founder and president of Delta Disaster Services, had in mind, but also a bit more. With nearly 20 years of experience in insurance, franchising, and restoration, 13 years ago he launched Delta Disaster Services in the Denver market with one objective — to build a quality business model that he could then franchise. And franchise he did. Delta Disaster Services is a nationally recognized, award-winning franchise brand that provides full-service restoration services to commercial and residential properties. Its restoration services cover damage from flood and water to smoke and fire, as well as mold and other environmental conditions. Delta Disaster Services franchise offices, located in 16 markets across the United States, are proud to have technicians certified in all restoration services they offer. And now Mike is proud to be part of HRI Holdings Inc., based in Nashville. The company is probably best known in this industry as the parent company to Chem-Dry Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning, but also owns the fast-growing N-Hance Wood Refinishing franchise. HRI Holdings acquired Delta Disaster Services early in 2018 and added the company to its portfolio of franchise offerings.
Early days Delta Disaster Services was a true start-up company. Thirteen years ago, it was just Mike, flying solo. “I doubled our revenues every year for the first three years, and by our fourth year in business, we were an Inc. 500 company and one of the top 500 fastest-growing businesses in the U.S.” A solid reason to be proud. “By year five, we were a $5 million
restoration firm, not only meeting, but surpassing our goals. In year six, we began franchising. And now, we’re aligned with the top insurance carriers in the country.” Because of this type of fast growth — coupled with how Mike built the business “the right way” — he quickly caught the attention of the HRI Holdings acquisition team.
Unique partnerships Although Mike has been solidly involved with the development of Delta Disaster Services since its inception, his vision to eventually franchise wasn’t based on a mere dream. “Believe it or not, I started out as a franchise development director with Chem-Dry many years ago,” he recalled. “In this position, I witnessed a number of Chem-Dry franchises expand into the restoration business. It was clear to me then that this was an emerging industry, and there was a consumer need and a market opportunity that I could build on. To date, I’ve been in the restoration industry over 33 years.” Now his company is part of a global community with more than 3,500 locations, including the HRI Holdings’ other residential and commercial services portfolio companies, Chem-Dry and NHance. Delta Disaster Services already has locations in Colorado, California, Utah, and eastern Gulf states but has plans to grow as any franchise model envisions. And growth should happen since with Chem-Dry alone the company is in 55 countries, serving 11,000 homes and businesses each day. The franchise model should play out well for Delta Disaster Services. Some of that growth will come from within the HRI family of businesses. In fact, HRI reports they have already sold three Delta Disaster Services franchises to existing Chem-Dry franchisees within 30 days from offering the opportunity under the HRI umbrella.
Core values Dan Tarantin is the president and chief executive officer of HRI Holdings. When his team was performing the due diligence common to acquisitions, they noticed a common belief in company values.
“As we began talking to Mike and learning more about Delta Disaster Services, we found the same kind of commitment to quality and innovation that we have with Chem-Dry and N-Hance,” Dan said. “Their very successful company-owned operation in Denver was the foundation for the unique Delta Disaster Services franchise model. Their innovation in areas including systems where they’ve built a customized, integrated, cloud-based communication and project management platform sets them apart in the industry.” Mike saw the same thing. “I also wholeheartedly agree with Dan that all three brands have a strong commitment to quality and innovation that make them a good fit within the HRI portfolio,” he observed. “One additional point worth mentioning is that, in our discovery process, we also found that the companies were well aligned in our mission and values. Both cultures are very customer-focused and built around the principle of helping our franchisees to be successful in running and growing their businesses. To me, that’s also a critical part of a successful integration of businesses and why I have so much confidence in this partnership and in the future growth of Delta Disaster Services.” And everyone benefits from this business model. Delta Disaster Services can achieve its goal of growing to a national scale because of it being part of the HRI Holdings team. And Chem-Dry and N-Hance franchisees can now look at expanding into the property restoration market. “The acquisition of Delta Disaster Services was a monumental step for HRI,” Dan said. “Existing Chem-Dry and N-Hance operators now have an opportunity to expand into the restoration industry with the strong, established franchise model that Delta Disaster Services has built and be a part of growing the brand on a national scale. Many of our Chem-Dry franchisees, similar to independents, have been offering restoration services but have hit a ceiling on their growth. The Delta Disaster Services system will help them break through that ceiling. It’s exciting to see this already beginning to come to fruition, with some existing Chem-Dry owners seeing the value and buying a Delta Disaster Services franchise. And we expect to see a lot more of that growth soon, not only from within our existing networks, but also from outside them.”
Optimistic outlook Although right now a very successful property restoration company, more must be done, especially with the franchise business model. “We are excited to see Delta Disaster Services achieve national scale and prominence in the restoration category in the coming years,” Mike said. “HRI has developed Chem-Dry and NHance into internationally acclaimed, award-winning brands. By leveraging their expertise and the same growth model, we have the opportunity to experience that same type of exponential growth.”
Hail StrikeS again‌
Aggressive hail continues to hit the front range of Colorado. This is an example of one of the summer storms that we had. Yes! It was softball size hail and it did penetrate shingles, felt and roof decking.
And we will leave you with this…