| Author |
Message |
Andrew K. Sloane
Registered User
Username: Claimsranger
Post Number: 5
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 8:16 am: | |
In the 2000 version you can apportion a loss by creating in the loss category a new item such as APS, and assign a % of the loss to it, or you can manually do it in the admin screen by using a calculator, I did the latter last summer in Killeen working a largeand I mean largeTEXAS sized hail storm. There are about 5 different platforms tuned to each carrier per Mark at Exactware. Every one has a glitch somewhere because they havechanged the original platform. Still if you play around with it, you do alot more including contents with any of the platforms including thecontractor version. |
Dale Strain
Registered User
Username: Catmandale
Post Number: 4
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Monday, April 01, 2002 - 1:09 pm: | |
David,
I have both the contractor and the carrier profiles. The carrier profile will let you add an additional cause of loss in the setup of the claim. When you are doing your line items, you can apportion percentages to each cause of loss (in the quantity field), such as 50% of the drywall to flood and 50% to another cause of loss. On the regular final draft report, it shows you at the end the $ amounts by cause of loss. I haven't checked it yet, but I assume you can probably create a custom report (using the report editor feature) which would depict the separate causes of loss on each line item through the estimate print report as well.
(Message edited by catmandale on April 01, 2002) |
David P Bennett
Registered User
Username: Whitey
Post Number: 35
Registered: 1-2001
| | Posted on Monday, April 01, 2002 - 12:07 pm: | |
Andrew, don't follow. How does the program allow you to split an estimate between wind & flood with two different claim numbers? Does the program identify wind items and flood items or do you merely copy the claim file, fill in the second claim number and then write the flood or wind estimate |
Andrew K. Sloane
Registered User
Username: Claimsranger
Post Number: 4
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, April 01, 2002 - 6:32 am: | |
D wong, my contractor version is a rental also, although my lease period expired before I got here to Beaumont and started using Big Red's version. It was $600/yr to lease it. The full blown version will allow you to split a claim between wind/flood with 2 claim numbers, USAA's platform and Big Red;s will not. I'll check with a couple of the MOOF contractors here that use it also and se if they bought or lease it and repost what I have found out. Heah, you can even do boats with it if you know how to adjust a few areas in it. Closed over a 100 boat losses during Bertha/Fran with it. Anyway, I'll check today and get back. |
D Wong Whey
Registered User
Username: Dwongwhey
Post Number: 92
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 31, 2002 - 10:41 pm: | |
Andrew just out of curiousity, I wonder if "contractors" are still able to purchase Xactimate rather than lease or rent it?
Xactimate started out a long time ago primarily as a contractor program and I am aware of many contractors who both use it and have purchased it.
Surely Xactimate would not treat contractors any differently than they do cat adjusters????????
How about a word here from the folks at Xactimate to advise us of past and present purchase policies? |
Andrew K. Sloane
Registered User
Username: Claimsranger
Post Number: 4
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 31, 2002 - 11:59 am: | |
just an update, you cannot purchase Xactware as of this date as an IA. You can still rent it. Crawford has changed from DDS/Boechk to Exactware as their operating platform. Since I still have the original platfrom in DOS from '94 and an update on the contractor edition from last year I can updatede my price lists )Confidential) of course! from Big Red. Thanks to Sejkansky, I got the original free of charge in LA. It was $3200 at that time. |
Ghostbuster
Member
Username: Ghostbuster
Post Number: 232
Registered: 12-2000
| | Posted on Sunday, March 24, 2002 - 10:35 am: | |
If there is a "silver lining" to this tale, it is that the basic cost to join our lil' band of pirates has become so high that it takes deep pockets just to ante up. And you then spend what seems to be forever, trying to get a callout from a vendor.
This, and year round schooling, also serves to keep school teachers from working hail in the summer and going around saying that mansard roofs are a brand of shingles!
Now, how can we get the vendors to rid the rosters of bag boys, tire kickers, and their third cousins twice removed? |
D Wong Whey
Registered User
Username: Dwongwhey
Post Number: 89
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 24, 2002 - 10:08 am: | |
Dan: How could you consider "retiring" in 5 years from a job where you can travel so widely and have so much FUN? |
Dan Meler
Registered User
Username: Danmeler
Post Number: 6
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, March 24, 2002 - 12:59 am: | |
Jim,
I understand the economics of buying a program (or anything else) that pays for itself. The purpose of my posting was to share the recent info I got from Xactimate regarding my inquiry as to the options in obtaining the use of the software. They didn't mention the option to buy the program.
I may be the only one who has experienced this, but I swear I could make just as many dollars per day 10-15 years ago with a tape measure, clip board, and an adding machine. I love the high tech direction the business has taken (when it all works) but condsidering the thousands of dollars spent in "basic" gear these days, I don't think the bottom line all that much different - just a simple observation. STILL........the business has been extremely good to me and I'm grateful for that. I expect to do it for another 5 years or so and retire. |
Jim Flynt
Member
Username: Jimflynt
Post Number: 233
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 10:44 pm: | |
John, the cost to purchase Xactimate 7 years ago (as I recall) was $2,500.00 more or less. The annual update charges ran about $600.00 per year (again as I recall) although a user did not have to pay the annual maintenance charge as long as one was willing to pay a higher fee when upgrades came along. I recall paying approximately another $1,000.00 for Xactimate 2000 and 2001.
I do know at one time that several adjusters would go in together on the purchase and then divide up the number of "tokens" or "load keys" among 3 or 4 adjusters in order to reduce the costs.
I do not know whether Xactimate still allows the purchase or whether additional tokens are included or can be purchased, although they do seem to make "discount" tokens available to some of the State Farm vendors for redistribution at a charge to the vendors adjusters. In the old days, the cost for additional tokens was $250.00 each to those who were registered purchasers of the Xactimate software.
I hope this helps, but perhaps someone else has much more up to date information available regarding current Xactimate pricing and purchase options.
My cost to purchase SIMSOL in 1994 was also approximately $2,500.00 but I have not purchased any update packages since then. (Although I have and would give serious consideration to purchasing the latest SIMSOL package (if it is available for purchase) as SIMSOL is now the "leading edge" estimating software at the present time for tablet and handheld computers, and does an excellent job on laptops and desktops as well.
(Message edited by jIMFLYNT on March 23, 2002) |
John Durham
Registered User
Username: Johnd
Post Number: 44
Registered: 9-2000
| | Posted on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 7:23 pm: | |
Jim:
Will you be kind enough to share with the readers the cost to purchase Xactimate. Are there annual fees for updates? What has been your annual update costs?
Jim is right, if you are going to use a software program for many years, purchase outright makes sense. This is the way software was marketed for many years, only recently has the rent/lease option been the prevaling mode of acquisition.
|
Jim Flynt
Member
Username: Jimflynt
Post Number: 232
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 4:42 pm: | |
Dan, if you can afford to do it, you might consider purchasing the Xactimate program which is cheaper in the long run. I did a long time ago and it has paid for itself over and over many times.
It's not what a program costs you but how much money it makes you which should be the long term consideration in evaluating software costs.
(Message edited by Jimflynt on March 23, 2002) |
Dan Meler
Registered User
Username: Danmeler
Post Number: 4
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 12:45 pm: | |
Seems like the cat co's and ins co's are mostly all turning to Xmate now. I've been doing some checking and X wants a $250 "screw you" fee the first month, plus $115 EVERY month thereafter (whether you're working or not). That's less than a couple of years ago, but still expensive in a slow year. And forget about the training X offers...the prices are shocking. Some of the cat co's offer a MUCH better deal to the adjusters on their rosters. NCA (as an example) gives their adjusters the program at $500 per year, or $100 per mo on an as-needed basis.
Is anyone using that new Handheld based X system? How good is it? |
