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I for one would choose SIMSOL over XM8 any day. Nevertheless Scotty, I think your angst is simply in you were trained on and became quite adept at XM8. Now that you are working with an unfamiliar system, it seems more difficult than it really is.

Side by side, SIMSOL is much more user friendly than XM8 and the lay person could create an clear concise estimate on day one (albeit take a few hours in the beginning) Without significant and expensive training, not many folks could crank out an XM8 estimate on day one 

It seems to me that XM8 is dominating the market to the point of having a stranglehold on the industry. Just my opinion, but I wouldn't be surprised if XM8 someday gets locked up in an Anti-Trust lawsuit.

Regardless, that you are familiar and comfortable with XM8 is going to make anything other than XM8 less than productive in the beginning.

I for one find SIMSOL very capable (especially with regard to flood claims) Yet at the same time I have used XM8 and was never really solid with it.

I look at it like apples and oranges.

With regard to SIMSOL pricing being low, I have long heard from many that XM8 pricing is far too low as well. I think that both will have a lower cost in the immediate aftermath of a significant event, but that being the result of the inflation of pricing for material and labor due to the increase in demand 

I have to say I echo your thoughts on Simsol being subpar to Xactimate. The sketch feature in Simsol is like using a toy Etch- A- Sketch and takes much longer than Xactimate. Also Xactimate has so many more line items to choose from, I constantly have to  open up Xactimate so I can find a price code and item to submit in my estimate because Simsol doesn't list it. I know it's easy to add line item in Simsol but that only helps once you already know how much it costs. The fact Simsol is easy to use out of the box on day one isn't a selling feature so is an Etch-A-Sketch. I will say Simsol gets a nod for customer service over X they are really good at that. I feel your pain as I'm forced to use Simsol for the day claims I'm working it is frustrating knowing I could be done in half the time per estimate. I have taken classes for Simsol to improve my ability but a Model A is never going to beat a Ferrari.    

John makes some great points.

I personally avoided sketch for years as it was poorly executed. Finally biting the bullet and spending countless hours and significant dollars becoming proficient and certified, I can use it effectively. I have modified my scoping style to suit it as well.

How many claims could I have worked in the time I spent becoming an Xactimate draftsman? A ton, not to mention the dollars I spent out of profit.

Databases are inherently outdated, being historic data. And they will always vary. There are simply too many moving parts in that picture. The cost of completed work is analyzed and dissected differently by the various data vendors. Some use a ground up approach and soft costs; others “parse” the project data they receive. Since contractors and projects vary widely, the absolute correctness of this data is an elusive target. Projects vary in profitability… not every project produces 10% profit. We simply do the best we can, and adjust.

I first met John at a California Claims Conference in the mid to late 90’s while I worked for State Farm (and was forced to use Xactimate.) I was and continue to be impressed by him. Several years later I got the opportunity to use Simsol and found it a great adjusters tool. It still is, and I just wish they had more market share. The current program, aside from the CAD module produces what I consider a more end user friendly product. It is simply easier to explain, and I really like the ability to inset photos right into an area rather than as an addendum.  A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

I can’t make the NACA conference but hope to attend the Simsol conference in March.

Dale

Okay now that I have calmed down after a complicated claim, I guess I owe John and Simsol an apology of sorts. For starters before I handled my first claim in X I was already Level 2 certified. When I was getting started adjusting I studied and practiced X. When I started with Simsol 8 months ago I got a call out of the blue to handle claims using Simsol so the very same day I was dropped claims I installed Simsol on my computer. There was no home office to help just get the job done. If had tried that with X I would have never gotten another batch of claims and now 8 months later I'm still busy. I haven't even had the time for true instructions just figure it out on my own and a few you-tube clips. I will be taking the time to attend Simsol March conference (assuming John will let me in after my earlier remarks) to learn how to better use it. I hope after that to be a fan of Simsol it's just a lot different then what I knew how to use.  

William,

I hope to meet you at the March Simsol conference.

When I started with State Farm in 1986, we were handwriting everything on 3 part forms. The first computer assisted estimating program we used was CompuClaim. It was straightforward and simple. It had a tic sheet like a scantron form that we filled out and passed to a support person(yes, I remember when we had those) for input. The system ran on 5 ¼ “ floppies.

I did experience some initial difficulty when I first used Simsol, and that was regarding where to find scope item codes.

Here are some of the things I experienced with Xactimate, but not Simsol:
• Hours on end with tech support to install Xactimate on various computers.
• Modify, delete, load and unload software, drivers and settings on my computers in order to allow Xactimate to work (SQL server versions, etc…)
• Need to relearn the program regularly as Xactware adds (and removes) “features” and changes work flows every year or two.
• Difficulty dealing with a myriad of custom profiles and settings.
• Higher cost.

No computer program can replace estimating knowledge, but having a program that works out of the box, reliably, is the key to efficiency and profitability. It is a real shame that so many clients insist upon Xactimate.

Dale