How To Get Free E&O

[John McKenna]

My E&O cost $1000 p/yr.
(I added liability and coverage for the inspector under me, plus tail coverage).
So I pay $1350 p/yr for everyone.

BRINKS pays me $15 per inspection.
http://www.nachi.org/brinksnachi.htm

So my actual cost of E&O at the end of the year is FREE.

CONTACT FOR E&O INSURANCE
(this is for inspectors with at least 3 yrs exp.
and meet stringent qualifications)

Wally Glaser
International Placement Services,Inc
101 South Hanley Road,Suite 700
St.Louis,MO63105
Telephone 314-725-8394 Ext.278
Fax 314-725-4317
Cell 314-761-8480
Email wglaser@ipsico.com
Website www.ipsico.com

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

I tried the Brinks program several years ago, and it was a bust. I would not recommend it to anyone. Proceed with caution if you intend to "align" with them.

E&O is a necessary expense for most inspectors. I make enough each year from draw inspections to pay for it two times over.

[Ben L. Garrison]

Originally Posted by jpope

I tried the Brinks program several years ago, and it was a bust. I would not recommend it to anyone. Proceed with caution if you intend to "align" with them.

E&O is a necessary expense for most inspectors. I make enough each year from draw inspections to pay for it two times over.

Good to know, Jeff. Your rates just doubled for May 1st! Just kidding.

Hey John, are you on Wally's payroll somehow?

[Bob Elliott]

I feel loss of a clients trust in selling off their information.
That is worth more than 15 dollars per.

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

Originally Posted by bgarrison

Good to know, Jeff. Your rates just doubled for May 1st! Just kidding.

As much as I promote you guys, I should get a free year! Don't you think?

Maybe?

[Ben L. Garrison]

Originally Posted by jpope

As much as I promote you guys, I should get a free year! Don't you think?

Maybe?

Because of your continued loyalty, I will set you up with a FREE GL policy this year. $450 in value!

[Michael R. Boyett]

John, I understand your logic and I've looked into the Brinks program several times. They sponsor the Central Texas TAREI meetings each month and pick up the food tab for everyone. Like you say, they do have the $15 referral fee or they offer a free 90 day limited warranty to the client. Since we are obligated to get the client's written acknowledgment that they are aware we are receiving the referral fee then I have decided that is not something I want to do. More paperwork and such....oh well.

[John McKenna]

I include the Brinks required statement in my inspectors agreement. The client
initials it along with the rest of the paragraphs. BRINKS has been given permission
by TREC because they offer a valuable service and you must be licensed to
do a security inspection. BRINKS contacts the client in such a way as to not
influence the sale of the home one way or another.

BRINKS has ALWAYS paid me. I have not had any complaints from my
clients. BRINKS seems to be treating my clients with respect.

You can allow BRINKS to pay for your clients warranty (though AHW)
or choose the $15 cash program. I take the cash and apply it to my
E&O cost. (thus providing me with free E&O coverage).

It pays for my E&O and supplies a needed service, with NO customer
complaints. Sounds good to me. It take me about 30 seconds per inspection
to email BRINKS the contact information. No paper work.

[Michael R. Boyett]

If TREC no longer requires a special form to be presented to the client to disclose the inspector's receipt of a referral fee and now allows that as a line item to be in our Inspection Agreement then I'll have to re-visit my thinking. As much time as I spend watching and listening to what goes on at TREC I'm surprised I wasn't aware of that. Dang....I'm losing it....

[John McKenna]

Originally Posted by mboyett

If TREC no longer requires a special form to be presented to the client to disclose the inspector's receipt of a referral fee and now allows that as a line item to be in our Inspection Agreement then I'll have to re-visit my thinking. As much time as I spend watching and listening to what goes on at TREC I'm surprised I wasn't aware of that. Dang....I'm losing it....

Brinks will send you some text to insert into your inspectors agreement.
They said TREC approves, as long as the client is informed properly.
A lot of inspectors in Texas use this program all the time.

Brinks Security
email - brinksinspections@brinks.com
phone - 1-800-294-4055

[Michael R. Boyett]

John...I asked TREC to clarify this for me. Here is the question I posed to them:

It is my understanding that "An inspector shall not receive a fee or other valuable consideration, directly or indirectly, for referring services that are not settlement services or other products to the inspector's client without the client's consent." In the case of say, Brinks Security, they will pay a referral fee to an inspector for the contact information of an inspectors client for purposes of soliciting security alarm business from that client. It has been my understanding that the referral fee must be disclosed by the inspector to the client prior to the conveyance of the client's contact information. I also thought there was a Disclosure Form for just that scenario but I am unable to locate it on the TREC website any longer. Has that been abolished? Additionally, I have been told that Brinks has TREC approved wording that can be inserted into an inspector's Service Agreement that satisfies the disclosure requirement, assuming there still is that requirement. Can you please clarify this for me?

Here is their response:

You cited Section 535.220(e)(4) of the Rules of the Texas Real Estate Commission, which requires client consent to receive a referral fee from a non-settlement service provider. While it is possible to craft general language to include in a pre-inspection agreement, to my knowledge TREC has not "approved" any specific language that Brinks (or any other service provider) may be recommending to inspectors. The disclosure form that TREC promulgated a few years back is no longer in use because it conflicts with Section 535.220(e)(3) and with the federal RESPA, both of which prohibit most kinds of referral fees in real estate transactions.

An additional rule at issue in the scenario you have presented is Section 535.220(e)(7), which prohibits inspectors from disclosing client information without prior client approval. It has been my understanding of the Brinks program that inspectors would refer Brinks to the client, who may or may not choose to contact Brinks, but the inspector would not give any client information to Brinks. I do not believe that general boilerplate language in the pre-inspection agreement would suffice to obtain client consent to sell the client's personal information or inspection results.

[David P. Valley]

We were advertising Brinks here in Massachusetts several years ago for $15.00 a pop.

They no longer service our State. We broke the bank.

[John McKenna]

BRINKS has addressed this issue with TREC several times.
I will get BRINKS to respond.