ClaimIntercept

The Story of Joe Ferry’s ClaimIntercept and How to Receive It

When I first began presenting my home inspector training at the Law and Disorder Seminar back in 2007, many of the inspectors in attendance would approach me afterward and ask if they could retain my claim squashing services on a pre-paid basis – a pre-paid legal of sorts.  While I appreciated the sentiment, I was very wary of providing such a service for a number of reasons.  For one, I did not have any idea of how to price such a service or, indeed, what services to provide.  Or what the inspectors’ expectations might be.  So I simply said that it was not something that I had ever considered doing but would give the matter some thought.

Three years later, after having defeated over 150 claims aborning, I really did begin to give it some very serious thought.  I thought about how truly ridiculous the overwhelming majority of claims against home inspectors are.
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You Don’t Need A Weatherman To See Which Way The Wind Is Blowing

A couple of home inspectors in West Virginia recently alerted me to a hot-off-the-presses West Virginia Supreme Court decision that invalidates Limitation of Liability clauses in home inspection pre-inspection agreements. The case, Finch v. Inspectech, LLC, No. 11-0276 (W.Va 2012) can be found here.

The Court’s reasoning, which I found quite compelling, was that the State licenses home inspectors and prescribes a Standard of Practice for the precise purpose of protecting lay consumers from incompetent providers. Thus, contractual provisions that purport to limit that protection thwart the legislation’s intent and are, thus, contrary to the public policy of the state and unenforceable.
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Clarifications

When I was studying calculus in college, I thought that the text book that we used belabored a lot of points that seemed obvious to me. The book would take three or four steps to illustrate some mathematical operations that the professor would illustrate in one or two. I found this disconnect a bit annoying until a classmate explained that the author of the text could not know in advance how versed a potential reader might be in mathematical arcana so, of necessity, he would have to over-explain concepts so as not to shortchange or frustrate large segments of his readership.

I recently had occasion to recall that episode when I received an email from a home inspector that read as follows:

“I have a client making a claim and am not currently covered by an E&O policy. Are you able to assist? Does one already have to be a member of ClaimIntercept™ to use your services?”

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The Irish Patient

The vast majority of my friends firmly believe that I am “lucky”. Not just lucky, but unusually so. I believe it, myself.

How many kids grow up with six older brothers to guide them along life’s journey and to straighten out wannabe tough guys? Have loving parents possessed of moral compasses that unerringly pointed True North and core beliefs in an immigrant ethos that valued hard work and resolute tenacity?

In adolescence, when we were not playing ball, my friends and I passed the time playing cards – pinochle, hearts, poker. To my friends, it seemed as though I was always shooting the moon – taking every point – which is locally known as “pulling a schnitzer”, or filling inside straights. It seemed that way to me, too.

Then I got drafted into the Army during war time, went to OCS and got commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery. Half of my class went to Vietnam, the other half went to Korea. I went to Korea. We had a month’s leave before reporting for duty but I decided to report early and ended up with a relatively cushy assignment as Executive Officer of a Headquarters Company in a Support Command. There wasn’t an artillery piece within ten thousand meters. My CO and I were the only two combat arms officers in the entire command.
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Job Security

If you want job security, it would be hard to beat being an exterminator in New York City. Got roaches? Call the exterminator. Your problem is solved but now your next door neighbor has it. And the cycle continues.

Lately, I have come to the realization that I have pretty solid job security myself. Here’s a small sampling of the vermin that I have recently had to exterminate with extreme prejudice.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my ClaimIntercept™ subscribers consulted me about a claim that one of his clients was bringing after having discovered a bat infestation in his attic, some ten months after the inspection. And of course, the client is shocked, shocked that the home inspector did not manage to notice this when he inspected the attic.
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When Claimants Simply Make Allegations Up

Dear Joe – I am a Home Inspector of 5, very busy and successful years, here in [New England], despite the down housing economy.

I have just learned of you and have visited your website. I am very interested in learning more of your ClaimIntercept[™] Program.  Also I would like to know if your seminar titled “ Law & Disorder Seminar” is available as a DVD that I could purchase. I reside quite far away from the areas where you do any public speaking on a regular basis. I am a member of InterNACHI, and watch on their website for any further info about your Seminars maybe coming to [this] area.

Can you send me to any further information about ClaimIntercept?

My other reason for writing is that I am, for the first time, going to have a lawsuit filed against me for a “claimed omission” on a job, which is a false claim by a seller.  I do not feel I am responsible for the situation and that I did nothing wrong; it is the seller’s word against my word, basically. And that the seller is using this situation for his own gain, at my expense – to the tune of $15,000.
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Destiny and Second Acts

Years ago, when I was a member of a boutique litigation firm in Philadelphia, my partners and I would often ponder the question “How did we get this case?” What led this client to choose this law firm for this legal matter? Not infrequently that inquiry would lead to a surprising answer. The true origin would often turn out to be several degrees removed. The prospect had been referred by an existing client who had, in turn, been referred by another client and so on. It was truly remarkable how frequently a huge and lucrative legal engagement could be traced back to a minor favor performed for a person in need.

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Tremendous Marketing Opportunity For The Confident Home Inspector

A friend forwarded to me an article, entitled Why home inspections have become more important, that ran May 10, 2012 in the Washington Post’s Real Estate section. The author is a Washington area attorney specializing in real estate law who wrote the article for the benefit of potential home buyers.

You can read the article for yourself but what struck me square in the eyes was its closing sentence: “Virtually all inspection reports limit the inspector’s liability to the return of his inspection fee.”

If I were an enterprising home inspector practicing my profession in the D. C. Metro Area, I would be contacting this attorney and advising him that, “Unlike ‘virtually all inspectors’, I do not limit my liability. I stand behind my findings and report. So Mr. Jacobs, if that’s what your clients are looking for in a home inspector, here’s my contact information.”
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