Rival company wants quote for insurance purposes

[PDXMicro]

So... I received an e-mail today from a competing company asking to have a custom server quote performed. I thought that was kind of odd, until I read the request. After reading it, it was pretty apparent - without physically saying it - that he was looking to cash-in. Let me know if you guys think I handled this good?

E-mail Received (minus personal/location related info)
Full Name: XXXXXXX XXXX
Email Address: XXXXX
Comments: I'm the owner of XXXXXX XXXXX Computer in XXXXX.

Our custom server died a horrible death last week and I need a written quote for resolving the problem so that I can turn it into the insurance company. I could generate a quote myself but that would be a conflict of interest.

Last Tuesday, the server was working properly. On Wednesday, the server would POST but was otherwise dead. The computer had Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard installed on it, (3) 2TB WD Black hard drives, 8GB of DDR3-1600 RAM with a 3GHz i5 socket 1150 socket processor. The server was a domain controller and file server.

The server had mirrored drives…1 is clicking, the other is not seen by the server. The 3rd hard drive was a backup made by Windows 2012 Server Backup yet the backup is not able to be read. The drives have all been sent out to a data recovery facility.

What I need on an estimate is the following:
1) Description of the problem: 2 failed 2TB hard drives and 1 questionable 2TB hard drive. 2-3 drives failing in the same computer at the same time brings into question what other damage may have been done to the other components including motherboard, RAM, and CPU. Since putting new equipment into a computer where you’re not sure what caused the damage in the 1st place risks damaging the testing equipment and/or a recurrence of the original problem a later date.
2) Your recommendations, which I would assume would be to replace the entire server, the only way you could be fairly sure the new parts weren’t going to be damaged as well.
3) The price you would charge to implement your recommendations including similar hardware and returning a server with the Windows Server 2012 R2 essentials software installed, the drives mirrored, and the server configured as a domain controller, DNS server, DHCP server, 8 file shares, 6 users configured and, with luck, 1.6TB of data coming back from the data recovery company.
4) An invoice for generating the quote.

What would you charge for generating a quote for me and how long would it take for you to have it ready for me? When generating a quote, please remember that I am looking for your reasonable estimate, not the cheapest one.

Thank you.


My Reply
Mr. X,

I'm sorry to hear about your server. Unfortunately, most of your request is not something I am able to provide. I can provide you with a quote on a comparable system built by me, but that is all. I can not specify that hard drives are bad, and that your current server is no longer functional - when I have not even been provided the chance to test them. I also can not quote the cost of data recovery when the data recovery is not even going through my company. It very much seems like you have an idea of how you want your insurance claim to be - and I will not be taking part in that idea.

If you would like me to make my own assessment of your server's health, status, data recovery, etc. and then report back with an estimate/quote on any repairs or replacements of the entire system, I can do that - but on my terms and in my own words. I will not be able to list anything untruthful or unrelated to the services I or my company performs.

Thank you and let me know if there is anything I can help you with.



Anything else I should do or say - or do you guys think it was handled pretty well? Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Kitten Kong]

Hi Jeff,

It sounds to me, like the client, is wanting a new server to be quoted for by you, with no reference to testing any said pieces of the jigsaw.

I think your current with your reply. Unless you can physically check what is actually wrong with said machine yourself, I wouldn't get into it at all.

It's almost akin to having a car accident, with a fender bender, and saying to the insurance assessor, I want the entire car wrote off, oh any by the way it had a 100cd changer in the boots, and my sat nav came off the mounting holder, and has broke into pieces.

I wouldn't have any part to play in this scenario.

I've had a similar experience in the past. Check out a thread I started back in 2010, called "major customer issue, any help appreciated".

I'm on my phone right now, so can't link you to it.. Sorry.

 

[dombooth]

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15311 - Nige's old thread.

Dom

 

[Kitten Kong]

Cheers for that Dom

 

[coastcomputer]

a few years ago we were getting alot of insurance quotes, yet never getting any jobs of them, I walked away from most feeling dirty what we do now is charge $50 for an insurance quote to be deducted from the job when we get it, actually we charge for research, the quote is free

edit: btw, no one has ever paid the $50, but then, 10 years of free quotes, we had never gotten a job, so I view it a wash.

 

[zimtech]

Any word since then?

Nige,

Did you have any things you had to do after your 2010 event regarding this customer? Did the story end there? Did you have to be a witness in any prosecutions? Or did it just end there?

 

[Kitten Kong]

Nige,

Did you have any things you had to do after your 2010 event regarding this customer? Did the story end there? Did you have to be a witness in any prosecutions? Or did it just end there?

Last I remember, one of the insurance investigators came to the workshop. I gave her every scrap of 'evidence' I had pertaining to the claim. She took a full statement form me, and that was it.

Haven't heard a thing from anyone since then.

But it was a major insurance scam. So I'd be very surprised if the insurance company paid out on it.

Be interesting to know the outcome of it tbh. It was only this thread which brought back the memory.

 

[JustInspired]

We do the odd one from time to time but never would dream of producing an engineers report for insurance purposes without actually assessing the equipment ourselves!

 

[Eagle21]

a few years ago we were getting alot of insurance quotes, yet never getting any jobs of them, I walked away from most feeling dirty what we do now is charge $50 for an insurance quote to be deducted from the job when we get it, actually we charge for research, the quote is free

edit: btw, no one has ever paid the $50, but then, 10 years of free quotes, we had never gotten a job, so I view it a wash.

Don't think of the insurance quote as being a chance to get the job. The insurance quote is the job. So make sure you charge for it. For the majority of quotes I do the customer does even want the computer fixed, they want the insurance company to give them the money to buy a new computer, and getting the insurance quote is just part of the procedure they need to go through.

 

[colonydata]

I'd be kind of interested to see what the insurance will say on the Data Recovery Line item, for a server using none server hardware.

 

[Eagle21]

My Reply
Mr. X,

I'm sorry to hear about your server. Unfortunately, most of your request is not something I am able to provide. I can provide you with a quote on a comparable system built by me, but that is all. I can not specify that hard drives are bad, and that your current server is no longer functional - when I have not even been provided the chance to test them. I also can not quote the cost of data recovery when the data recovery is not even going through my company. It very much seems like you have an idea of how you want your insurance claim to be - and I will not be taking part in that idea.

If you would like me to make my own assessment of your server's health, status, data recovery, etc. and then report back with an estimate/quote on any repairs or replacements of the entire system, I can do that - but on my terms and in my own words. I will not be able to list anything untruthful or unrelated to the services I or my company performs.

Thank you and let me know if there is anything I can help you with.

Anything else I should do or say - or do you guys think it was handled pretty well? Thanks for any feedback!

What "insurance event" has taken place?
Usually you insure property against events such as fire, theft, water damage, etc. I didn't realise that "my server is not working and I'd like a new one" is something you could insure for.

I agree that the server quote request sounds very suspect.
To be honest, I think your reply sounds very unprofessional. Especially the part "It very much seems like you have an idea of how you want your insurance claim to be".

If you don't want to do the quote then just turn it down saying "We are not able to provide that service".
If you are willing to do the quote then explain that you need access to the server to test the hardware, and I would also insist on (a large) payment for the quote up front.

There seems to be little point in quoting for server configuration and data restore since presumably the company is able to, and intends to do that part themselves. So you could just test hardware and quote for hardware replacement - it sounds like it may just be a couple of failed hard disk drives.

 

[PDXMicro]

What "insurance event" has taken place?
Usually you insure property against events such as fire, theft, water damage, etc. I didn't realise that "my server is not working and I'd like a new one" is something you could insure for.

I agree that the server quote request sounds very suspect.
To be honest, I think your reply sounds very unprofessional. Especially the part "It very much seems like you have an idea of how you want your insurance claim to be".

If you don't want to do the quote then just turn it down saying "We are not able to provide that service".
If you are willing to do the quote then explain that you need access to the server to test the hardware, and I would also insist on (a large) payment for the quote up front.

There seems to be little point in quoting for server configuration and data restore since presumably the company is able to, and intends to do that part themselves. So you could just test hardware and quote for hardware replacement - it sounds like it may just be a couple of failed hard disk drives.

Well, I just received a reply back from them - and he is without a doubt trying to scam the insurance company. He's bribing me now. The offer has gone up from $500 to $1k in 24 hours. I reiterated to him that I won't be taking part in his schemes, yet he continues to try. I wonder how many local computer repair companies he's e-mailed...

 

[Blues]

I am wondering if his company has been accused of fraud and he is looking for another party to quote so that he can defend his quote that was originally used by the client.

 

[Markverhyden]

Well, I just received a reply back from them - and he is without a doubt trying to scam the insurance company. He's bribing me now. The offer has gone up from $500 to $1k in 24 hours. I reiterated to him that I won't be taking part in his schemes, yet he continues to try. I wonder how many local computer repair companies he's e-mailed...

You should call around to see if that is the case.

While what that guy is doing does sound suspicious remember that underwriters will cover all kinds of things. If they think they can make a buck they will. http://www.businessinsider.com/20-celebrities-who-insured-their-bodies-for-millions-2012-3?op=1

That all being said it reeks of fraud. I've done a number of insurance claim inspections, for a fee of course, and every single one required an onsite visit. If I had something happen I'd have told you. Water heater busted or whatever.

 

[twincountycomputers]

If it was any of my local competitors, I wouldn't touch it for any amount, it could be fraud, it could also be a set-up...

 

[Digital Sage]

Well done sir!