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Meet the 2026 Emerging Leaders Award Winners

April 27, 2026 12:30 pm

The response was overwhelming. When we launched the Emerging Leaders in Restoration award last year, we hoped it would shine a light on the next generation of talent rising through the ranks of our industry. The response exceeded every expectation and this year, the nominations came in stronger than ever. After reading through this year’s submissions, we know the future of restoration is bright, driven, and deeply committed to serving others. These traits matter more than ever. The labor gap isn’t narrowing; the Associated Builders and Contractors projects the construction and restoration trades will

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Surviving the Slump

April 27, 2026 7:40 am

Coming out of one of the coldest winters in recent history, the restoration industry has benefited from the abundance of frozen pipe and ice-dam claims.  In the wake of this season’s wrath, it is hard to imagine there are still areas of the country where claims are down and contractors are struggling to get work.  Yet, in areas like Northern California, the Rocky Mountain Region, and Florida, lack of work is the reality for some.  This poses the question: is the shortage of work regional, seasonal, or just isolated to specific companies having a

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Why Volume is the Most Dangerous Drug in Restoration

April 27, 2026 7:00 am

In the restoration world, volume often feels like safety. When the phones are ringing and the schedule is full, it’s easy to believe things are going well. More claims usually means more trust from carriers. More referrals feels like validation. More work feels like momentum. But volume has a way of lying to you. I’ve watched good restoration companies grow fast, stay busy, and still struggle. From the outside, everything looked strong. Inside, teams were tired. Leaders were reactive. Margins weren’t what they appeared to be. The business was moving, but it wasn’t always

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C&R Roundtable: Restoration Leaders on Where We Stand in 2026

April 26, 2026 3:27 pm

Publisher’s Note: We asked some of the sharpest minds in the restoration and property claims industry to do what most of us rarely make time for: stop, look around, and tell us the truth. Within this article, these leaders share their unfiltered perspectives on where the industry has made real progress, where it continues to fall short, and what opportunities and threats lie ahead. Our hope is that their candor gives you not just a clearer picture of where we stand as an industry, but a sharper sense of where you stand — and

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Color by Numbers: The Margin Mirage

April 20, 2026 9:00 am

When coloring-by-numbers, the picture only comes together when each section is filled in correctly. From a distance, it looks complete, but up close, every section matters. Your business works the same way. Growth feels good. Bigger numbers, more jobs, more revenue. But here’s the truth most owners don’t see until it’s late in the game: Revenue can grow while profit quietly disappears. That’s the Margin Mirage. A restoration business can increase revenue by 20% year-over-year, yet see margins fall from 45% to 35%. On paper, it looks like progress. In reality, the business is

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The $10M Blind Spot: Why Most Restoration Companies Don’t Know Their True Close Rate

April 17, 2026 7:00 am

Most restoration companies believe they understand their close rate. It is one of the first numbers reviewed in leadership meetings and one of the most commonly referenced indicators of performance across estimating teams and offices. A strong close rate is generally taken as a sign that the business is converting demand effectively. A weaker number usually leads to questions about estimating, sales discipline, or lead quality. That reliance makes sense. The metric is easy to calculate, easy to compare across teams, and easy to track over time. It feels like a clean way to

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Tech Talk: Faster Isn’t Better If It Feels Fake

April 14, 2026 8:23 am

In restoration, we don’t just rebuild structures, we restore trust. We step into people’s lives on their worst days and guide them through uncertainty with clarity, communication, and care. That’s the business. Now enter artificial intelligence. AI can summarize, draft, analyze, and predict faster than any of us. It can help write scopes, compare estimates, generate emails, and suggest next steps. It’s powerful. It’s efficient. And it’s here. But it introduces a tension that our industry can’t afford to ignore: the more we automate communication, the greater the risk we lose the very thing

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Margins Aren’t What You Think: Hidden Costs Are Eating Your Profit

April 10, 2026 9:00 am

Mitigation margins look great on paper. With 50 to 80 percent gross margins, this work is highly attractive. But when contractors audit job profitability, those margins often shrink by 10 to 30 points. The problem is almost always overhead — but not because overhead is too high. Much of what sits in overhead isn’t overhead at all. It’s job costs that never made it into the file: equipment deployed but not billed, materials pulled from inventory but not allocated, labor hours that ran long. Those costs didn’t disappear. They migrated to overhead, compressing margins

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IICRC Announces Inaugural Legislative Fly-In

April 10, 2026 9:00 am

The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) has announced its inaugural Legislative Fly-In. The event takes place September 1–2, 2026, in Washington, D.C. It will be held at the Hyatt Capitol Hill. The Fly-In brings together IICRC-certified professionals, certified firms, industry leaders, and stakeholders from across the country. Together, they will engage directly in the legislative process. A New Chapter in IICRC Advocacy This event marks a major step forward for the IICRC. The organization has long championed advocacy, education, and industry representation. Now, it is taking that mission directly to Capitol

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Bridging People and Technology

April 7, 2026 7:00 am

The restoration industry has never had more technology. Dashboards. Mobile apps. AI. Automation. Reporting. Documentation tools. And yet, technology alone has never restored a home. The companies that win are not the ones with the most tools. They are the ones that successfully bridge their people and their technology. Because the real work does not happen behind a screen. It happens in crawlspaces thick with humidity. On ladders where balance matters. In attics where the air is still heavy with smoke. And at kitchen tables, sitting across from property owners whose lives have been

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