“Insurance Told Me to Get 3 Estimates” – Squash This Roofing Sales Objection on the Spot!

What do you do if the insurance agent or insurance company says you should get three estimates?

Now, we hear this A LOT, and I’ve covered this before. So, I want to update it and make it even better because I learned even more after coaching tens of thousands of people.

In fact, after speaking at 50 events all across the country over the last six months, I’ve had the opportunity to:

• Refine the practices that I teach.
• Test these different philosophies in markets all across the U.S.

So, I want to share my latest learnings on how to overcome the objection, “I need to get three estimates because my insurance company told me to.”

When we use this technique:

• It is bold.
• It is powerful.
• It works INCREDIBLY
• It can help you serve customers in the best way possible.

So, we’re going to tackle this in a couple of ways.

First, I want to say welcome or welcome back. Adam Bensman, The Roof Strategist. Everything we do here — and on my YouTube channel, my podcast (on Apple and Spotify), and in my roofing sales training programs — is designed to help you and your team smash your income goals and give every customer an amazing experience.

And unfortunately, so many customers do NOT have amazing experiences because they think:

• They know how it works.
• They are going to shop around and find someone to do it cheaper.

At the end of the day, though, they’re doing themselves a disservice.

So, I want to teach you a really simple framework to overcome this insurance objection.

Now, let’s get started.

Roofing Sales Strategy #1: Explain the Deductible.

When homeowners tell us that they need three estimates (because that’s what their insurance company told them to do), we first need to talk about the deductible.

To do that, we’re going to associate that roof deductible with the deductible they’d pay for medical copay. We’re going to do this because many people think that:

1. They may not need to pay their deductible.
2. A contractor just “eats it” because one contractor said they could do that.

The reality is, however, that many insurance companies:

• Require contractors to provide indisputable proof that the homeowner has paid their deductible before the insurance company will release the depreciation.
• Need proof that the deductible check was actually deposited.

So, let’s look at an example with a homeowner who has a $2,000 deductible. Here’s how I’d explain the deductible to a homeowner, comparing it to medical copay:

Now, Mr. Homeowner, may I ask, what’s your deductible?

It’s $2,000. Alright. Now, your deductible is very similar to a medical copay.

Let’s say, for example, that you go in for knee surgery that’s going to be $20,000. What would your contribution be?

It’s your deductible, which is $2,000.

Well, let’s say that the knee surgeon gets in there, and they’re like, “Wait — this is WAY worse than we anticipated. Not only does the ACL need to be repaired, but the MCL needs to be addressed too. So, it’s now it’s going to be $27,000.”

In that case, what’s your contribution, Mr. Homeowner?

It’s still just $2,000.

Now, let’s say they go in, and the surgery doesn’t require as much as they thought it would. Instead of doing both the MCL and the ACL, let’s say they go in and see that they just need to repair the ACL — and that meant the surgery would only cost $19,000.

If that happened, would they cut you a check for $1,000?

No, they would not do that. You still owe that same $2,000 deductible, whether the cost of surgery goes up or down.

So, the point is that your deductible for this roof claim is virtually identical to a medical copay. That means that your contribution does NOT change, regardless of whether the claim ends up being higher or lower.

In fact, I’m going to read you the language that’s on one of the major insurance carriers’ scopes. Here’s what it says:

“If you select a contractor whose estimate is the same as or lower than our estimate, based on the same scope of damages, we will pay based upon their estimate.”

That simply means that if your roof is $20,000 and you have a $2,000 deductible, your contribution is $2,000. If you find someone whose estimate is the same or lower, then the insurance company will pay the lower amount.

So, if you find a contractor to do your $20,000 roof for $15,000, you still pay $2,000 to cover your deductible.

Now, whose best interest does it serve for you to get three deductibles?

Now, I ask that as a question because:

• I do NOT want to throw an insurance company or an agent under the bus.
• Homeowners can put two and two together here, connecting the dots to see that multiple estimates don’t save them money or reduce their deductible at all.

Roofing Sales Strategy #2: Highlight the Potential for Fraud.

If a homeowner still doesn’t believe you at this point, you can get really BOLD, and here’s what you can say next:

Mr. Homeowner, what I’d like you to do is contact your insurance company or your agent and say:

“Hey, listen, I know you had shared that I should get three estimates or people have told me to. If I can find someone to do it cheaper, does that mean I don’t have to pay my deductible?”

Now, you and I both know that the insurance carrier, by law, that’s their contribution to the claim. If an agent or a carrier says, “No, you don’t have to,” now:

• • You can be even bolder.
  • You can report them to the State Department of Insurance because the carrier or the agent is now participating in insurance fraud and sharing unethical, illegal information.

So, next time you get this objection — “I need to get three estimates because my insurance agent or insurance company told me to” — here’s what you need to do:

• Re-explain the deductible, describing it like a medical copay. Whether the claim is $20,000 or $200,000, their contribution is the same. It’s their deductible.
• Highlight the fact that if they find someone to do it cheaper, that doesn’t mean that they get money back.
• Point out how “eating the deductible” can be false and misleading information that warrants reporting to the State Department of Insurance

Now, there is a little nuance here related to actual cash value (ACV) policies and/or a percentage of home value deductibles. Of course, if someone gets an estimate that’s cheaper and their home is a percentage of home value, that opens up a different can of worms that I’m going to address in another video.

For now, though, this particular technique is going to apply to about 80% to 90% of the homes we deal with.

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Thanks for joining me, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the next blog.