How to Estimate Restoration Work Quickly During CAT Events

When a catastrophic (CAT) event strikes — whether it’s a hurricane, flood, wildfire or tornado — you are suddenly thrust into a high-pressure environment. The volume of claims skyrockets, homeowners are desperate for help, and insurers demand rapid, accurate estimates to get the recovery process underway. Estimating during CAT events is fundamentally different from routine restoration work, and mastering this fast-paced process is essential for your restoration company’s success and your customers’ peace of mind. Here’s how you can prepare, adapt, and work smartly to estimate quickly and compliantly during CAT events.

Understanding the Difference: CAT Estimating vs. Routine Estimating

Estimating for CAT losses is a world apart from the detailed, methodical approach you might use for a single water damage cleanup or fire restoration job. In a CAT scenario, speed and compliance take precedence over exhaustive detail. You’re often dealing with:

• Massive claim volumes: Dozens or hundreds of properties to assess in a short window.
• Compressed timelines: Insurers and policyholders expect same-day or next-day estimates.
• Standardized scopes: Many properties require similar tear-out work, such as removing drywall four feet up throughout the home during flood restoration, or replacing all flooring instead of performing unique, room-by-room customizations.

Due to these factors, CAT estimates are typically less granular. You’ll rely on broad, guideline-driven coding rather than itemizing every minor detail. (Remember: Coding must align with FEMA or insurer standards, which often means using specific line items and descriptions that may differ from your day-to-day estimating. The focus is on rapid, compliant documentation, not exhaustive scoping.)

What You Can Prepare in Advance

Preparation is your greatest ally when CAT season looms. The more you can standardize and template your estimating process before the next CAT disaster strikes, the faster and more accurately you’ll be able to respond. Here’s what you can set up ahead of time:

• Sketch Templates: Pre-made digital floor plan templates for common home layouts (ranch, two-story, split-level, etc.) allow you to quickly assess each property.
• Checklists & Forms: Standardized checklists and digital forms ensure you capture all critical data points (affected areas, materials, measurements, photos) in a consistent manner, minimizing omissions and rework.
• Coding Guides: Reference sheets for CAT-specific coding, including FEMA or insurer-preferred line items. This helps you code estimates correctly the first time, reducing back-and-forth with reviewers.
• Photo and Visual Documentation Protocols: Guidelines for what sketches, photos and panoramas to capture, so you don’t miss essential documentation even when working quickly.

By having these resources ready, you can hit the ground running, regardless of the scale or chaos of the event.

The Case for Compliant Estimates — While Still On-Site

In a CAT event, turnaround time is everything. The insurer, catastrophic insurance adjuster and property owner connected to each job site are all waiting on your estimate to move forward with approvals, payments and repairs. The longer it takes to generate and submit a compliant estimate, the greater the risk of delays, disputes or even lost work.

That’s why it’s crucial to produce estimates that meet insurer or FEMA requirements before you leave the job site. This means:

- Capturing all required visuals and documentation in one visit.

- Coding the estimate according to the latest CAT and FEMA guidelines.

- Generating and sharing the estimate digitally, on the spot, so there’s no lag between fieldwork and office processing.

Not only does this streamline your workflow, it also reduces errors, omissions, and the need for costly revisits. With the right digital tool, you can complete the entire process quickly at each damaged property.

How a Digital App Makes Fast, Accurate CAT Estimating Possible

You can estimate quickly and accurately during CAT events if you have a professional restoration field app. For example, the magicplan app offers all of the following benefits:

• Instant Digital Sketching: magicplan automatic sketch capabilities allow you to create detailed, accurate floor plans in minutes using just your mobile device. The app uses your camera and LiDAR (if available) to scan rooms and auto-detect doors, windows and other features, eliminating the need for manual measurements and paper sketches. And you can use it to develop scopes for all sorts of CAT projects. For example, do this after a flood occurs to speed up your water damage inspection and assessment process.

• Integrated Forms and Checklists: magicplan lets you build and use custom CAT forms and checklists directly within the app, to help you capture job-site-information in a structured, repeatable way.
• Visual Documentation: magicplan enables you to capture photos, 360-degree panoramas and videos, all linked to specific rooms or areas within each sketched floor plan. This visual evidence is critical for coding estimates correctly and defending your scope to insurers or FEMA.
• On-the-Spot Estimating: Once your scope is complete, you can generate material and labor estimates right on your device. The app uses your price lists and templates to produce branded, compliant estimates that can be sent to clients or insurers instantly.
• Offline Mode: CAT jobs often mean no Wi-Fi and barely any cellular signal. That’s why magicplan even works offline, so you can sketch, snap photos, and document everything without needing an internet connection.
• Cloud Sync and Collaboration: All data-rich sketches and estimates are automatically synced to the cloud, ensuring nothing is lost.
• Integrations: magicplan integrates with Cotality and Xactimate estimate software, allowing you to export your sketches and estimates directly into insurer-preferred formats, further speeding up the CAT claims process.

What Estimators Really Need: Simplicity Over Exhaustive Detail

One of the biggest misconceptions about CAT estimating is that you need to capture every detail of the property. In reality, what matters most is:

• Basic scope information: For example, “4 feet tear out throughout,” “flooring only,” or “all drywall and insulation removed.”
• Accurate measurements: So you can calculate material and labor quantities correctly.
• Clear visuals: To support your coding and scope.

You don’t need to conduct a full, room-by-room scope walk or itemize every minor repair. Focus on the essentials, document them clearly, and code your estimate according to CAT guidelines. This approach is not only faster, but also aligns with what insurers and FEMA expect during high-volume events.

It All Comes Down to This:

Estimating during CAT events is about working smarter, not harder.

By understanding the unique demands of CAT estimating, preparing in advance, and leveraging a digital tool like magicplan, you can deliver fast, compliant, and visually documented estimates. This approach meets the urgent needs of insurers and property owners, while also positioning you as a reliable, efficient partner in the recovery process. With the right preparation and technology, you can turn the chaos of CAT events into an opportunity to shine as a disaster restoration professional.

No Trained Estimator on Your Team? Here’s What to Do…

Use the magicplan Pro Estimate+ powered by Epic Estimates. You can send any scope to magicplan and get a ready-to-go, carrier-compliant estimate built by an expert using Xactimate or Cotality (formerly CoreLogic/Symbility) software. Schedule a call with our sales team today to learn more about this unique service.