Carriers don't pay for the work you did. They pay for the work your file proves.
You did the work. Mitora makes sure your file proves it.
▶ Watch: why lines get cut (4 min)The reviewer never saw your job.
- Tear out wet drywall, up to 2 ft48 LF$172.80
- Apply antimicrobial agent410 SF$151.70Not supported
- Equipment decontamination5 EA$241.10Not warranted
- HEPA vacuuming, detailed410 SF$393.60No photos in the file
- Dehumidifier, 5 days5 EA$255.00
- Air scrubber, 5 days5 DA$291.95Not needed on this loss
Ever wonder why lines still get cut, even on a conservative estimate?
It’s because the estimate was written for you, not for the reviewer. You were in the house. They weren’t. All they have is the file.
A line that got paid last time can get cut next time. The rules didn’t change. The last adjuster may have let it through. This one didn’t. A file that proves itself holds up no matter who reads it.
Your crew cleaned the whole affected area. But the file only lists a cleaning line; it doesn’t show why the whole area needed cleaning.
From the reviewer’s chair, that looks excessive. So the line gets cut.
If the file doesn’t prove it, it doesn’t get paid.
Most owners try one of two fixes. They fight the cut on the phone. Or they take the lower number to keep a good name with the adjuster. Either way, it feels like working for free.
Both fixes come after the file is already lost. The real fix comes before it’s sent:
Write every file for the reviewer.
How long did one file take?
One file after the dry-out. Count the hours.
- Day 1Write the estimate.
- Day 1Build the photo report.
- Day 2Bundle the mitigation packet and send it.
- Day 6Call the adjuster. Did they get it?
- Day 12The reviewer calls with questions. You don’t have the answers.
- Day 12Text the techs. Wait for answers.
- Day 14Call the adjuster back. Then call again.
- Day 15Hunt for the S500 section that backs the line.
- Day 16Revise the estimate and send it again.
- Day 17Sent back. The labor minimums are still on it.
- Day 19Send it again. The adjuster goes silent.
- Day 30Was it approved? Did the check go out?
- Day 34Is the insured on the check? Who gets it in the mail?
- Day 47A new adjuster has the file. The check never went out.
That file should have closed a month ago.
Instead, it kept pulling someone in to answer questions, resend support, and chase the check. Those are admin hours you already pay for—spent because the file couldn’t stand on its own.
I’ve sat in the reviewer’s chair.
I remember a file that landed on my desk. Before I even got into it, I could tell the contractor had been careful. They’d capped the equipment days they billed. They’d trimmed their own labor hours. They were trying to make it easy to approve.
Have you ever done that? Billed a little low, hoping the estimate would just go through?
I still had to cut it. Billing low on some lines didn’t prove the rest.
That’s when it hit me.
Being conservative isn’t a free pass. Every line has to stand on its own.
I spent 15+ years on the carrier side. For the last 5+, I reviewed water mitigation files. More than 5,000 of them. Now I’m on your side of the desk.
Brandon Hill, founder
The Mitora Billing Method
We bill what the file proves—and stand behind every line until you’re paid.
Capture.
We set your crew up to capture the documentation each file needs.
Prove.
We write every estimate for the reviewer, so every line is supported by the file.
Defend.
Questions from reviewers and adjusters come to us—not your office.
Follow up.
We stay on the file until the check is issued.
How to start
Send your last 3 files.
We review them the way a carrier reviewer would.
Go over the results together.
A short video call. You’ll see how much each file could have billed, and which lines are at risk of being cut.
Hand us the billing.
We run the Mitora Billing Method on every file.
Does it pay for itself?
When a homeowner’s pipe bursts at 2 a.m., do they choose the cheapest company—or the one they trust to get it right the first time?
Billing works the same way. When the file doesn’t support the work, the cuts can cost more than the fee to get it right.
Our fee should pay for itself in lines you stop losing. A 3-file audit shows whether the numbers work on your own jobs.
If the audit says it won’t pay for itself, we won’t take your files.
If nothing changes
- More cuts to work your crew already completed
- More admin hours answering questions and chasing checks
- More cuts accepted just to close the file
With Mitora
- Every file goes out written for the reviewer.
- Reviewer questions come to us. Your office books the next job.
- We push back with proof and stand behind every supported line.
- You keep the adjuster relationship without taking less than the file supports.
- Good work, backed by a file that proves it.