Owner-ops have some agency in speeding damage appraisals

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Updated Jan 8, 2021
Property Damage Appraisers’ booth at GATS two weeks back featured these stress-relief, squeezable tractor-trailer units, representing the sizable amount of appraisal work done by the company, with well more than 200 franchise damage-appraisal locations throughout the states.Property Damage Appraisers’ booth at GATS two weeks back featured these stress-relief, squeezable tractor-trailer units, representing the sizable amount of appraisal work done by the company, with well more than 200 franchise damage-appraisal locations throughout the states.

If you wondered just why the Property Damage Appraisers company was exhibiting at the 2019 Great American Trucking Show two weeks back, Doug Mountain, company Vice President of Sales and Marketing, had the answer. Settling a damage claim with your insurance company can well mean your ability to continue to earn.

“Time is a big differentiator” for PDA, Mountain says, urging owner-operators experiencing damage-appraisal delays to ask just why “my truck is not getting looked at.”

PDA has heavy-equipment specialists in each of its 250 franchise offices through the 50 United States, says Sales and Marketing AVP Brandon Bryant, and internal optimizing software allows reps in those offices to quickly match its appraisers’ skills to any need, in any area of the country.

National industry average cycle time on a appraisal is 10 days in the heavy-duty arena, Bryant notes. “Nationally, our cycle time average is just four days. … Time is money for anyone working behind the wheel.”

Stressing the need for speed is something customers ought to do more of, PDA believes. “If you get that phone call” from your insurance company saying it could be some time before an appraiser can get to you, Bryant says, truckers can always recommend checking in with PDA, who might be able to “get someone out more quickly.”

The company, meanwhile, continues to invest in in-company training courses for those among its 650-plus appraisers who don’t have heavy-equipment and heavy-truck appraisal experience, a definite area of focus in recent times.