Is big brother watching?

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Author Message rw morris Registered User Username: Rmorris Post Number: 3 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 12:11 pm:    Here is a copy of an email I received from Xactware: Hi RVMorris, Thanks for your post and your questions regarding Xactimate and the solutions we offer for independent adjusting. I would be happy to give you a personal explanantion of the system and answer anything you'd like about how data is compiled and sent to the carriers. Please give me a call at 1-800-932-9228 ext. 509 when you get time... Thanks, JGT What if tech support was this friendly and free? I know what the xactware does, it does what I am told to do with it. I don't think we will see the Independent Adjuster Version 2002 rolling out soon. PS: If you poke your head up in the forum be prepared to get some response Chuck Deaton Member Username: Chuckdeaton Post Number: 27 Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 8:45 am:    Once again, big brother can be expected to watch and act on what he sees. As watching becomes less difficult we can expect more watching and more premanent record keeping. And more comparision of current viewing with stored views. Also, there are consequences for coloring outside the lines. Have we not determined, in this forum, that $10 million first dollar in E & O would be prudent. Ghostbuster Registered User Username: Ghostbuster Post Number: 287 Registered: 12-2000 Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 9:09 pm:    !!!Fairness thru Openess??? What kind of communistic '1984' drivel is that? It reminds me of the quotes of Chairman Mao in his little Red Book back in the 1960's. Thank you for exposing your scheme for the Orem, Utah Cultural Revolution. Okay Gale, here is your new sales pitch angle. Here is where David can sling the rock at Goliath. Just do a simulation of Xact 5.8 under your flag and let it fly. We will then flock to you like turkeys to the feed trough. rw morris Registered User Username: Rmorris Post Number: 2 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 4:25 pm:    Xactware: Thanks for responding in the forum regarding this subject of "is big brother watching". Most of the adjusters that participate in CADO usually are independent contractors. 1. We are islands to ourselves, and are usually told we will have to use Xactware or not work. 2. We usually have to bear the cost of Xactware depending on which vender we are working for. The Xactware pricing varies from vendor to vendor. We sometimes (have to) jump from vendor to vendor or company. 3. Given the politics of supposed independent sub contracting we only control ourselves and usually are forced to use your products or not work. My questions are: Why doesn't xactware have an independent adjuster version? Do you advise vendors and carriers how to be able and check our productivity stats? (I can't seem to find it in my 2001 version) Are there "time stamps" on every estimate? Thanks for your response to the forum in advance. Jason Taylor Registered User Username: Jason_taylor Post Number: 1 Registered: 6-2002 Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 3:40 pm:    This response is in regard to previous posts that have suggested Xactware may be collecting unauthorized data from users’ machines without their knowledge and without telling them what information is being gathered. The short answer to this assertion is “absolutely not”, but let us give you some more detailed information… To properly address this question we should take a step back. Just as with any other industry, insurance carriers have gathered both auto and property data from their workflow processes for years. This is no different than a manufacturing plant measuring how many shoes or aluminum cans they can produce day to day. The desire to measure productivity and monitor effectiveness is important in any well run business. As the old adage goes, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure!” With increasing severity costs, the economic slow down, and severe revenue losses on the property side, Insurance carriers are more than ever recognizing the importance of accurately managing their property losses. As such, these carriers are turning to more accurate tools and real-time solutions such as Xactimate and XactNet to not only streamline their claims processes but also to do the same thing they have always done – measure success. It’s no surprise that the carriers will take advantage of better technology for their measurement processes, but it also increases the ability of the contractor and independent adjuster to communicate effectively with the carrier. Here’s the key – Xactware provides automated tools to give contractors, independent adjusters, staff adjusters, etc. alike access to the exactly the same information as the carriers in real-time. All of the information (digital images, Sketch, line items, estimate reports, etc.) in every estimate that is uploaded to the carrier is viewable in Xactimate before the user completes the assignment and always in XactNet (via XactAnalysis or XactNetPro) after it is uploaded to the carrier. In fact, XactNet’s motto is “Fairness through Openness.” We go to great lengths to make sure all parties with vested interest in a project have appropriate access to the project’s data. This whole approach of giving all interested parties immediate access to their estimate data and reports completely streamlines and improves the whole claims process. It also makes it so that carriers can recognize and reward those high quality individuals and companies who provide services to the company. As far as “stealth programs” running in the background watching your every move – we simply don’t have them. There is very exciting functionality in Xactimate 2002 and other versions that will assist you in creating an estimate and double check your estimates for accidental scoping and dimensioning mistakes much like a spell-check does in an MS Word document. This audit of estimate information takes place when an estimate is either marked completed or printed and is always presented back to the user for validation or action. With regards to Xactimate’s data transfer process to XactNet, when we transfer data, it is always done in a user request mode. The Xactimate user has to accept an electronic assignment from a carrier, request a price list, or mark an estimate complete and ready for upload to XactNet. Once these requests have been made they are all then immediately available to view in Xactimate’s XactCentral communication’s module. We simply don’t “scan” the system to pull out information. For the benefit of “The End” and others who have posted concerns on this bulletin board, we re-iterate that we are not scanning your systems to send unauthorized data to XactNet. For those of you trying to open data files ready for transmission to XactNet, you should be aware that you will not have success in doing so since all data transmitted to XactNet is done so in a very secure fashion. A portion of this security includes encrypting all data files that are sent to/from XactNet. This security helps protect both yourselves and your carrier customers so that no unauthorized parties gain access to your client data. If you’d like to call or email us to get a copy of your raw estimate data file ready for transmission to XactNet we’d be happy to provide you with a copy. In short, any estimate data that is distributed to carriers will also be made available to the user via products like XactNetPro or within the end product itself, as is the case with Xactimate. If you have additional questions and concerns please feel free to send an e-mail directly to feedback@xactware.com. We will also try and monitor these posts more often as well so that can increase our participation in such lively discussions as this one. Thanks, Jason Taylor Strategic Marketing Manager Xactware, Inc. Cecil Kraft Registered User Username: Cecil Post Number: 21 Registered: 12-2000 Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 3:30 pm:    When you work for "Big Red" which I have for the past 5 years you are acting as an employee. They give you a computer and printer. The computer is loaded with Xactimate and does audit you to some extent. Access to any auditing is not available until the storm ends and you give them back their computer. When prices are not on the database or the particular circumstance calls for more $ I add what is needed and indeed it is marked. I usually add a comment in the estimate or on the activity sheet explaining why I did it. So long as I have a good reason I am never questioned. Occasionally I am questioned and then I follow the instruction of my "employer". Regarding the new 2002 thing mentioned previously, I would be concerned, but don't let this distract you from employment or making money. Ranking soley from what I perceive is being questioned is a legitimate concern since it evaluates one from a narrow angle and doesn't reveal what is really the correct reality. Face to face, one on one contact with an intelligent, rational boss is a much better situation than to contend with internet evaluation of person to person adjusting. Ditto to Chuck's comments and to the one who said "control" is probably the most important ingredient of being an employee. Ric Shaw Member Username: Ricshaw Post Number: 1 Registered: 1-2002 Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 7:23 am:    Black's Law Dictionary, page 543: employee. A person who works in the service of another person [the employer] under an express or implied contract of hire, under which the employer has the right to control the details of work performance. Note the key word "control" The End Registered User Username: Next_2_the_end Post Number: 9 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2002 - 10:22 am:    I have been trying to download this program. Perhaps their site is having troubles. I even went through www.download.com on CNET and still can't seem to get it. I will keep trying. Thanks again! Jim Flynt Registered User Username: Jimflynt Post Number: 311 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2002 - 10:15 am:    Thanks for your kind comments. You can email Russ directly at RLott48@aol.com if you have any questions or need any help with the programs. Russ is a computer whiz kid! Glad to have helped and let us know how well it works. The End Registered User Username: Next_2_the_end Post Number: 8 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2002 - 10:04 am:    Jim and your friend Russ Lott... THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR! I am downloading these programs and hopefully will be able to see what is going on. I have been extremely busy with claims so it may take me a while to update you on what I find out. THANKS!!! Chuck, The legal definition in most states of an employer is an entity that hires you to do a job, pays you or provides some form of compensation, and provides the tools for you to perform the tasks to which you were hired. (My mother was an administrative law judge in Texas) John A. Postava Registered User Username: Johnp Post Number: 30 Registered: 12-2000 Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 1:26 pm:    This has been a very interesting thread. Has anyone read the Xact 2002 user's license agreement? By agreeing to it, you may be giving them the rights to the data captured by their system. I am not an attorney but if the carriers adjusters are working for are paying a fee to Xact to store files in xactnet, once the claims are uploaded to the network, they are the property of the carrier (after the adjuster has been properly compensated for his/her work of course) - Just my spin on the issue. Jim Flynt Registered User Username: Jimflynt Post Number: 310 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 8:13 am:    Here is the second email from Russ Lott which contains a tool that may also be of benefit for those wanting to monitor their computer systems while using Xactimate (or any other program). ************************************************* You can use this tool to see what files are being accessed when running any application. Click here: http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/source/filemon.shtml Russ Jim Flynt Registered User Username: Jimflynt Post Number: 309 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 8:08 am:    Here is an email which I received from Russ Lott, a top notch adjuster and great computer guru which might be helpful to those wanting to know what is going on in the background of your computer while you are running Xactimate. There is an additional email with another similar link for additional features which you may also find helpful which I will also post. ************************************************ Jim I was particularly interested in the XACTWARE thread on CADO. If anyone wants to veiw the file contents of any file here is a link of probably the best hex editor out there. http://www.handshake.de/user/chmaas/delphi/download/xvi32.zip Chuck Deaton Member Username: Chuckdeaton Post Number: 18 Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 11:40 pm:    Whether you are an employee or not depends. Right now I am an employee. When I work for some other vendor I may or may not be an employee. On some jobs I am clearly an employee and on others I am clearly a contractor. But your question, "The End" was whether I know the definition of "employer." I give you my definition and you said you knew the definition of "employer." Please take a minute and grace us with your definition of "employer." 500 hundred words or less will do. The End Registered User Username: Next_2_the_end Post Number: 7 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 7:38 pm:    I have found some custom files that were created when I went into xactanalysis. It then sent them to someone at AMFAM the next time I logged into the system. What does this mean? They know when I look into exactly what the program is doing. I can't alter any of the programs because I am locked out of it. So, why do they need to know if I looked at it? What are they afraid of? An independent contractor is defined as someone that provides their own tools to do the job. My computer, my leased software, my ladder, my car, my gas, my tape measure, my paper, etc.... You get the point. One good thing is, if anything happens to me while working this CAT.. they are definitely legally liable as "My employer." This time. rw morris Registered User Username: Rmorris Post Number: 1 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 1:03 pm:    Xactimate was the first software package to cater to the insurance industry with alot of success. They are currently trying to make themselves "file handlers" for the insurance companies. The only way they can survive is to "inovate" what does this mean? "Well big 3 insurance company middle management guy in charge of wasting money, we'll fix it so you can look over the shoulders of those god awful necesarry evil cat adjusters" Just another easy piece of code to insert in a program. If you load up a windows xp program it forces you to register online. Microsoft then takes a "snapshot" of your hard drive, this is so they can curb software piracy. The software we use will be changing soon. I have used just about all of them at one time or another, but to survive they have to become internet based and integrate themselves with the insurance company networks. The days of the good ol 1.4 floppy beokch dos discs are over. This is just the begining. The insurance companies are going to wise up and develop their own estimating programs. They will hire a networking company to develop a platform at a fraction of what they spend getting the happy deal from xactware. It is a good thing that xactware no longer sells its program out right, because in the near future it will all be done on the web. The software companies that are out there now, xactware, simsol, dds, powerclaim. Have set the table for alot of changes. Time will tell. As for employer status, I remeber an old cat adjuster telling me, "you are an employee when you are standing on the roof, but the minute you start to fall they fire you" Chuck Deaton Member Username: Chuckdeaton Post Number: 17 Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2002 - 10:42 pm:    OK, I'll bite. My rather wide definition of an "employer" covers any entity I do anything for. If I provide a service, the entity I provide the service to fits my defintion of an "employer." However, I understand that there are numerous other definitions and I use them when filing my taxes and after I am injured on the job. Take some time and give us 500 words explaining your definiton of an "employer." The End Registered User Username: Next_2_the_end Post Number: 6 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2002 - 9:02 am:    Chuck, Your operative word there is "EMPLOYER." I understand the meaning of the term. Do you? Chuck Deaton Member Username: Chuckdeaton Post Number: 16 Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2002 - 12:51 am:    Lord, are we paranoid! Of course your employer is watching what you are doing. When you hire something done don't you pay attention? Of course you do. All employers, including me and you, have the right to specify and to provide the tools to do any job and to supervise to be certain the job is done to published standards. Duh! Did you expect to handle millions of dollars of company money without anybody auditing. This ain't Enron, folks. All professionals are expected to conduct themselves as professionals, dress neat, pay attention, know what you are doing and get the job done. That ain't nothing new. Several of us are handling large losses for State Farm that resulted from the Happy, TX tornado and I can tell you that I am treated like what I am. That is an experienced multi-line adjuster with heavy property experience. My input is expected and the authority is amazing. The proper way to handle any property loss is an accurate scope, measurments with a steel tape or a Disto, complete diagrams, legible notes and treat the insured like you would like to be treated. Messing around with the estimating system is a no no. Write a straight up sheet and if you need to change prices do it and note why you changed it. Negotiate with the contractor, suggest alternate ways to make repairs and communicate with your storm supervisor. Got a thin skin, get your feeling hurt, get over it. This is the real world. Your momma loves you but she is at home. Every adjuster I know does things this way and works. Jump in here Linda, Tom T., Janice, Jim, Ron D., Ron C, Jerry M., Jerry A., Kim, Cecil, Elliot, Larry, Pelman, Garliss, Louise, Wally, Tom J., Billy, Grady, Slim. These people know who they are and are working. If companies treat adjusters so bad why do independents work for them, sometimes for years at a stretch. Two of the adjusters working here worked for State Farm for 4 years in Minnesota. You would think that they would have sense enough to leave if they were being mistreated. The truth is that some of the stuff you read on this page just ain't generally true. Roy Cupps Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 132 Registered: 1-1997 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 9:27 pm:    For those that do not have or do not use Xactimate this link may provide a little more information on one of the programs associated with Xactimate that carriers use, XactAnalysis. CatAdjuster.org An Adjuster to Adjuster Community The End Registered User Username: Next_2_the_end Post Number: 5 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 8:38 pm:    American Family has been excellent with me. I know that not everyone shares my opinion. They have always kept me busy, and loaded with as many files as I can handle. I have always been paid timely and in full. I have had less than 5 files kicked back, EVER, and they were simple format issues. (I understand that a lot of this is due to the Storm managers and I praise them.) American Family has recently changed their fee schedule and pay very very well. Until now, they have always trusted my judgement and backed me on everything. Everyone that I have met with AmFam proper, has been wonderful, except this new "CAT Team." I know that there is more to this than meets the eye. This goes beyond diagnostic tools used for efficiency. I can go into the files through explorer and view by date the last changes made to these files. I have a complete understanding of the use of Temp storage files. However, there are other "data" files and "Lock" files that are being altered during any operation of the program. I have viewed some of the content with Notepad, but, some of this is unreadable. I am not an expert in ASCII nor do I have the program necessary to view the total contents of these files. I can read my user name and some of the screen names that I enter into with the projects I am working on. If I could read these, perhaps my fears would be laid to rest. Or perhaps my fears would be confirmed. I can tell you that it mailed an error log to someone with AMFAM, not xactimate. If it was a system error, it would go to Xactimate for correction not someone at AMFAM. This was done prior to my completing my first file in Xactimate 2002. What pertinent violations could have been sent at this time? I was still learning the system and experimenting. I KNOW what I was told. There are certain "violations" that are being monitored inside the system. (Such as time lines. ) This is going beyond regular management tools. Every violation, even if it is corrected before it is uploaded to them, will be recorded in a master file. I will be judged and ranked by computers and someone behind a computer. So, you think... Okay, as long as I handle all this exactly as they would like, what is the problem? Well, there are quirks inside xactimate that record violations that are not there. ie, room measurement errors popping up, that don't exist. Xactimate is not perfect. They have lots of bugs and work with massive files. It has crashed numerous adjuster's systems. Creating a file in Sketch is massive. Most computers can not handle these files and crash in RAM. Others are so slow that they just freeze. They have already had to send out new program disks, because it would crash the systems of those that had uploaded ANY photos into 2001. Add to all this, the fact that there are parameters that I have been locked out of.. on my own system. If this is just a management tool.. and not meant to "Black list" adjusters, then what do they have to hide? Why report violations on a project in progress instead of the final product? Why not let me see the report being sent? Why deny me access to what is being reported about me? Why did the CAT guy tell us all that they are going to "Rank" us by these hidden programs? Thank you to those that have e-mailed me regarding this and their experiences with Xactimates vagueness on this issue. I don't feel as paranoid anymore knowing that others were concerned about this as well. Wray Decker Registered User Username: Wraydecker Post Number: 5 Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 7:51 pm:    Invading a computer is a "Hacking" issue.That is a major criminal act. Roy Cupps Registered User Username: Roy Post Number: 26 Registered: 2-2001 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 3:55 pm:    Some of the posts appear to be going off-topic. Last week some of you requested that I move off-topic post from another thread. So I believe that you feel that it is important to stay on topic. To "The End" in your question you indicated that the memo stated that the adjuster should have an understanding of Xactimate and the evaluation and inspection tools that are "running in the background" behind this estimate. Is it possible that the inspection tools running in the background are the same ones that are in Xactimate 2001 i.e. the “Waste Expert” and other built-in "experts". These programs run in the background in 2001. But you can turn them off. Xactimate 2002 does have built-in tools, like the "Assembly and Inspection Xperts" which are designed to walk adjusters through the most difficult estimating tasks and check their work for them to find common errors." A little like the spellchecker in your favorite word processor. I think would it be important for the adjuster to have an understanding of what the experts do because it may make the job a little easier. I do not believe that the programs are intended to invade your privacy. Based on the information I have it only would report on details (errors, price changes and so on) about the estimate and nothing from outside of the estimate. Internet Explorer, MS Outlook and other similar programs can release more private information then any estimating program that I know of each time you connect to the net. Ghostbuster Registered User Username: Ghostbuster Post Number: 278 Registered: 12-2000 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 3:55 pm:    Oh! Well, now it all makes sense! Isn't this the same bunch that doles about 15 files to each of 100 adjusters instead of the industry standard of 150 files to 10 adjusters? Then they insult you with the empty promise of getting more files when these are completed? And, isn't this the same bunch that is so concerned over the Insured staying happy that the adjuster can do nothing right? Or do I have them confused with another bunch? The End Registered User Username: Next_2_the_end Post Number: 4 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 12:57 pm:    I have been told that State Farm started this sort of thinking. However, they are not the insurance company. American Family is the guilty party here. They have recently demanded that all adjusters use Xactimate. Period. Better yet, they want everyone to upgrade immediately to 2002. The document with the statement about being aware of this program "running in the background" is on their letterhead and given from one of their "CAT Team" personnel. Had I known before I upgraded, I would have stayed with 2001. Does anyone have any ideas about editing the data being sent? Or perhaps a program that will monitor their program? Ghostbuster Registered User Username: Ghostbuster Post Number: 277 Registered: 12-2000 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 11:43 am:    Here's some more helpful things to clog up the drain and scare the living dung out of the carrier clods. Let's all be sure to include websites for the various hate groups such as the; White Knights,(KKK), Black Panthers, Brown Aztecs, Red Eagles, Yellow Dragons, Aboriginal Cannibals, Eskimo Frostbites, and, lest we forget, Femin-Nazis, Jewish Anti-Defamation League, various Islamic groups, all of the Democrat and Republican Action Committees, the PTA, NRA, the Society for Tranquility, and the Sierra Club. These are just for starters. Oh, and did someone out there mention something about computer viruses? SHHHH! Let's keep that one just our little secret. Yes, me buccos, there is a very good reason that State Farm makes you use only their computers. If the carrier clods want to track work product, then it had better be on their equipment and NOT ours. mark salmon Registered User Username: Olderthendirt Post Number: 183 Registered: 12-2000 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 11:13 am:    The National Construction Estimator program looks very tempting and it's only $59 to own. Why do I get the feeling that what mold is doing to the insurers is nothing as to what the software vendors are doing to us. Xacatimate your silence is deafining. Jim Flynt Registered User Username: Jimflynt Post Number: 308 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 11:02 am:    My God, whatever happened to A-D-J-U-S-T-I-N-G? Or isn't that what we as cat adjusters are supposed to be doing? A-D-J-U-S-T-I-N-G The Loss. So SF calls all the roof monkeys together, hands them the latest hi-tech computers loaded with the most up to date Snake Farm Brand Big Brother Is Spying On You Estimating and Surveillance Software, and then they ask you to go out and be consistent, flexible, prepared, and A-D-J-U-S-T a loss. An adjustment which is expected to be competent, fair, correct, and professional as well? Where I come from (both geographically and mentally) is each and every loss is uniquely different and sometimes the specific factors which create the nuances of uniqueness require a unique differentiation in line item pricing. (Now I have no problem pointing that out to the carrier but can, will and DO point that out in my claims reports as well as notes which I make within the estimate.) Each and every property risk is as uniquely different from every other risk and every other damaged loss as are each uniquely different insured. There simply is no one size fits all. Has cat adjusting really sunk so low that we are at a point where LOOK HERE STUPID is automatically inserted by software into an estimate when the adjuster elects a price change from carrier pricing? (A computer generated insertion no doubt made necessary so some carrier 'genius' file reviewer (a/k/a staff auto appraiser) will know a pricing change has been made, BUT who wouldn't know his gluteus maximus from an outhouse door? (Another example of the flaw of marrying the latest high technology with humans with menial vocational skills) Any experienced adjuster worth his weight in beans could easily navigate around this system of pricing change surveillance by merely adding additional repair items (necessary or unnecessary) so as to A-D-J-U-S-T each loss competently, fairly, correctly, and professionally which is a first required foundation to insure the satisfaction of all parties to an insurance contract. The real fallacy in this whole concept is carrier myopia in demanding high tech software and computers while relying on low tech cat examiners and adjusters with minimal insurance education and poor if any task training. Most better trained and experienced A-D-J-U-S-T-E-R-S are going to take a pass on this kind of adjusting; especially for these kinds of carriers. And that, my friends, means it is going to show up in: Inferior estimate/work product quality Unsatisfactory customer service surveys A continual merry-go-round of vendor turnover Continued upward trending of loss ratios Ongoing attention of State Insurance Commissioners Nineteen Eighty Four (1984). It's closer than we thought. D Wong Whey Registered User Username: Dwongwhey Post Number: 136 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 7:22 am:    "Thoughtcrime (thinking for one's self) was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you." - George Orwell, 1984 Ghostbuster Registered User Username: Ghostbuster Post Number: 276 Registered: 12-2000 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 9:59 pm:    Or...let's look at it from the angle of us LITTLE BROTHERS. We ogreous lil' cusses that need to be watched are also capable of buggering up the works. If the obnoxious tattletales at Xactimate want to tell on us, let's play both ends against the middle. Let's ALL fill up their reports with nothing but the porno and Racial Supremests websites. It's not hard to bog down and constipate any system. Remember the old adage from one of the Star Trek movies where Chief Engineer Scott says, " The fancier the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain." Always realize that we are a rare commodity in the marketplace. When the carriers are overloaded with stacks of files, it does not matter how many times we have been sent to detention hall or made to write lines on the blackboard for being 'bad lil' boys, they're a gonna call for us to save their pudgy backsides. Linda Asberry Moderator Username: Linda Post Number: 21 Registered: 12-2000 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 11:48 am:    Xactware will not "sell" you the software like they used to. You now have a year contract with $250 set up + $115 per mo for 1 year. You are allowed 2 loads for this price. But the days of buying it and paying the $30-40 a month when you need the price lists are gone forever. Some of the carriers have special arrangements and pricing from Xactware so they can have their own versions like State Farm and USAA. Jim Flynt Registered User Username: Jimflynt Post Number: 306 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 11:34 am:    Memo To "The End": It's amazing how some of the carriers and vendors feel that they can treat cat adjusters like little children isn't it? It's even more disgusting that some want to consider us as "independent contractors" for tax, liability and worker's comp purposes, but then want to manage and dictate cat adjusters as employees. I am assuming the carrier you speak of is Snake Farm, and if you can possibly share, the gang here would appreciate knowing. Many years ago, I went out on an assignment for Snake Farm, and was advised that I would have to either use Xactimate or hand write to handle claims for that storm. No problem, except that SF wanted to control the "key" to my Xactimate program (which I purchased on my own from Xactware) so that they, SF, would be able to detect when I changed any of the prices which were provided by the SF local pricing guide. After a much protracted "conversation" I refused to allow SF personnel to "control" my computer by having the "sole access" to my Xactimate security key, and thus ended up hand writing for this storm. What never made any sense to me, was that the SF reviewer who inspected my hand written files, had to make a determination of whether or not I had changed any of the line item prices for repairs estimated. It always seemed to me that the same reviewer could just as easily have done the same had I submitted my estimates from an uncontrolled Xactimate. In any event, I personally would walk away from any vendor or any carrier who insisted on or attempted to "control" my own computer or estimating software program through any overt or covert scheme. (And I would immediately be in contact with the nearest US Attorney's Office to determine if this vendor or carrier's practices were not in fact in violation of Federal wiretapping statutes). I agree with you, that if what you are saying is correct, that it is an invasion of privacy and represents the nadir of ethical business and adjusting practices. By the way, have you ever thought about solving your problem by buying Xactimate instead of leasing? It would seem that would allow your compliance with the requirement to use the program while allowing you and only you to maintain security control. Shame on the guilty party or parties to such an invasive scheme! Amazing something like this reportedly could happen in this country: sounds more like something the Taliban might do! The End Registered User Username: Next_2_the_end Post Number: 3 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 9:14 am:    Xactimate 2002- Is anyone out there really familiar with this new program? How much is known about it's hidden internal monitoring program? (ie - "It is imperative that each independent property adjuster have a comprehensive understanding of Xactimate and the evaluation and inspection tools that are "running in the background" behind this estimate.) The quote is from a document that an Insurance Carrier gave to me. We were told we had to upgrade our program in order to work this storm. Then they told us that they are keeping track of us with this program. That they will be making "check marks" beside our names on a master file based on what we are doing inside the program, and not necessarily the final product of our work. Rating us adjusters in a master file at the carrier HQ. Xactimate 2001, would run auditing reports that would notify the employer of pricing changes to schedules and room dimension violations. I could also run these reports and see what was on them, correct them or make notes as to the special circumstances. However, from what I have been told (by the carrier) Xactimate 2002 has a "big brother" program running in the background that is MUCH MUCH more than this. Is this real or is this just a scare tactic by some carrier pr*ck? I question the legality of this, because I am an independent adjuster that is leasing the program from Xactimate, not the carrier. What right do they have to information about me other than my final product? Why can't I have a copy of these reports myself? (A file uploaded from my computer to the carrier, and it would not let me see the contents.) Why does it automatically upload to Xactimate, without letting me see what is being sent? Having a program that is analyzing everything I do, on MY computer, during the process of inputting the claim, with a program I paid to lease, appears to be an invasion of my personal privacy? So, knowing that there are only a few of us out there that have 2002... Knowing that most of the adjusters I am working with did not read the fine print on the handout.... I wonder how much anyone knows about these "special features." How is it limited and where does it end? Does it analyze other things than Xactimate? Does it copy my on-line preferences, while I am uploading these files? I would like to know if anyone has looked at the program closely to know for sure what is being reported and how far does this program reach? (I originally posted this in the Xactimate section. I don't believe that many people would have a chance to read this under software. Sorry for the double post.)