Create insurance estimates in ServiceTitan

Overview

There are two ways to create an insurance estimate: manually, or by using a spec-based estimate template (SBET). Both methods produce an insurance estimate with a dedicated Insurance Financial section. Before creating an insurance estimate, ensure you have it set up properly. See Set up insurance estimates.

Before creating an estimate using either method, make sure the customer's insurance details are collected on the job record. For more, see Attach and detach Insurance Information from a job.

Things to know

• Insurance Estimates are different from standard estimates. You must select Insurance as the estimate type when creating one — standard estimates do not include the Insurance Financial section.

• Structures are required for organizing insurance estimate line items. Without structures, you cannot properly group items by damaged area or send items to Xactimate.

• The AI PDF parser is an optional tool. It reads adjuster PDFs to compare scopes side by side and highlight differences, but results may not be 100% accurate. Always review parsed results before applying changes to your estimate.

• If you also use the Xactimate integration, see how to set it up and use it to send estimates to Xactimate and receive carrier-approved pricing.

• Items from the Xactimate catalog do not have pricing until they are processed through the Xactimate integration or the AI PDF parser. It is expected to see $0 on Xactimate catalog line items before pricing is applied.

Best practices

• Set up your structures before creating your first insurance estimate. The structure list determines how line items are organized on the estimate and how they appear when sent to Xactimate.

• Order your structure list to match how you want structures to appear on estimates. The sequence in Settings is the order in which structures show on the estimate page.

• Use spec-based estimate templates (SBET) for a faster, more consistent estimating experience. To use SBET, create a proposal type that includes both an insurance estimate and a good faith estimate. The good faith also known as the retail estimate gives the customer an expected out-of-pocket cost if insurance doesn't cover the job.

• Use the AI PDF parser to save time during adjuster negotiations. Instead of manually comparing line items between your estimate and the adjuster's PDF, upload the PDF and let the parser highlight differences.

Create an insurance estimate manually

1. On the job screen, go to Job Actions > Add an Estimate.

2. On the Build Estimate(s) pop-up window, click Build Estimate.

3. In the Estimate Type dropdown, select Insurance. 

4. Enter a name and other estimate details, then click Create.
   On the estimate page, you can see the Insurance Financial section. This section is exclusive to the Insurance estimate type and shows financial fields such as ACV, RCV, O&P, Tax, NRD, and Supplement Totals. These fields populate after pricing is applied through the Xactimate integration or the AI PDF parser. After creating the estimate, add items to your estimate.

5. Click Add Item Group to add line items. 

6. In the Create Item Group, select a parent item from the Xactimate catalog or your regular Pricebook. Items from the Xactimate catalog are tagged with an Xactimate label for easy identification.

7. Select a structure from the dropdown to associate with this item group if you plan to send this estimate to Xactimate and enter other details as needed and click Save. For more, see Create item groups.         

   Note: You can include non-Xactimate items on your insurance estimate but these service items are not sent to Xactimate.

After creating item groups, if you want to send your estimate to Xactimate, see Create insurance estimates with the Xactimate integration.

Create an insurance estimate using spec-based estimate templates

Using SBET is the recommended approach for faster, more consistent estimates. With this method, salespeople fill out an inspection form, and the estimate line items are automatically generated based on the form answers. Before creating insurance estimates with SBET, ensure you have set it up properly. For more, see Set up insurance estimates.

1. On the job screen, go to Job Actions > Add an Estimate.

2. On the Build Estimate(s) pop-up window, click Spec Based Estimate, select the form and click Next. 

3. The form screen opens. Select the structures and fill out the rest of the form and click Save.
   The form generates both the retail and insurance estimates with the correct item groups per structure. To have this properly set up, see Set up insurance estimates.

Note: It is expected that the insurance estimate shows $0 pricing on Xactimate catalog items at this stage. Pricing is applied after the estimate is processed through the Xactimate integration or the AI PDF parser.