The short version
- Insurance jobs run on the same four hand-offs as retail. There's no fifth column.
- An insurance job is the same file with extra steps where the carrier gets involved.
- A supplement runs next to the job and can stall it. It isn't a stage.
- You don't bolt on a second CRM for claims.
No separate board
Most storm contractors have a board that looks like this: Lead, Inspect, Insurance, Build, Paid. Insurance sits in the middle as if it were a department. It isn't. The same reps sell the job and the same people build it. What insurance changes is the steps, not the team. So an insurance job is the same file as a retail job, on the same four hand-offs, with extra steps added where the carrier gets involved. Bench calls that the insurance path.
What insurance adds
During the sale: the adjuster meeting, the first supplement, approval, and the second call. During the build: the post-build supplement. At close: the money still has to come in. Most of those steps are paperwork and follow-up an agent can run. The adjuster meeting still needs a person on the roof.
Supplements, denials, permits
A supplement isn't a stage. It runs next to the job and it can stall the job, the same way a permit or a financing approval can. Bench calls those tracks. They show on the file so you can see what's holding it, without a new column for every one of them. A denial you're fighting is the same kind of thing.
Why it matters
You don't bolt on a second CRM for claims. One board, one file, your people, and the extra steps get handled.
Questions
Should insurance be its own board?
No. It's the same board and the same file. Insurance adds steps where the carrier gets involved. Bench calls that the insurance path.
Is a supplement a stage?
No. A supplement runs next to the job and can hold it up, like a permit or financing. Bench calls those tracks. It shows on the file without adding a column.
Where does the adjuster meeting go?
In the sale. It's part of getting to yes, and it still needs a person on the roof.
Keep going
- Call it a job, a claim, or a deal. The board uses your word.
- A person runs the inspection. Agents run the paperwork.
Every Bench word above is on Glossary / FAQs, in plain English.