My billing philosophy is...
different than most independent adjusting firms. When I reviewed the work of independent adjusters as a staff adjuster, I was always surprised how the actual bill rarely reflected the approved fee schedule. The difference was the additional fees charged on top of the fee schedule amount for administrative costs, fax fees, phone fees, photos, etc. My goal is for the client to know the approximate cost of my invoice once they know the size of the claim. Most of my invoices are one line invoices for the fee schedule amount.
Most of the expenses are built into my fee schedule. I do not charge mileage when the claim is in Marion County (IN) or any contiguous county regardless of how many times I inspect the claim. When the claim is outside of this area, I waive the mileage for the first 50 miles. During periods of storms, I will also waive the mileage if I am assigned more than 10 storm claims at one time in any county in Indiana and more than 20 claims in one county in Illinois and Ohio.
Other expenses that I do charge when applicable are ITEL shipping fees, ITEL invoices and police reports. These expenses are billed at the actual cost and are not marked up. I also charge $95.00 for MSB ITV Reports when requested. With the advent of digital photos there is no reason to charge for photos. I do charge $2.00 a photo only when 35mm photos are required. My fee schedule will explain the times when I will bill on a time and expense basis. Please contact me so that we can set a meeting to review my fee schedule.