Do Ridgefielders want people going around knocking on doors, offering to do free evaluations of storm damage and then taking a look at homeowner’s insurance polices to see if it’s covered, all as a foot in the door to repair contracts?
The selectmen aren’t sure they do.
“I have an issue with you going door to door to fix a person’s home,” said Selectman Di Masters.
“I always have this issue: How many people do you want knocking door to door?” said Selectman Andy Bodner.
“We’re a contractor who represents the homeowner in the insurance process,” said Paul Kreutzer, a former school superintendent who now has a local affiliate of Storm Guard Restoration, a national franchise company that does what its website describes as “exterior insurance restoration.”
The Board of Selectmen delayed a vote Wednesday night, March 4, on a vendor permit application from Mr. Kreutzer, asking him to provide more information — a list of other towns that Storm Guard franchises operate in, as well as contacts and references.
First Selectman Rudy Marconi said consideration of the vendor permit application would likely be taken up again at the board’s March 18 meeting.
Mr. Kreutzer was superintendent of the Katonah-Lewisboro school district in nearby New York state from April 26, 2011, to Jan. 28, 2014, resigning three years into a five-year contract. Supporters credited him with negotiating tougher new contracts and doing the difficult work of closing an elementary school, but by the end he’d been actively opposed by the teachers’ union there.
Before Katonah-Lewisboro, he’d been the school superintendent in New Berlin, Wis.
“I was an adviser to Gov. Walker in Wisconsin,” he told the selectmen.
He said he’d been a school superintendent for 14 years, altogether.
Franchise firm
Storm Guard Restoration is a franchise company that seeks repair job contracts by offering homeowners free inspections, and help with insurance claims for work that’s needed.
“We agree to do the work only for what the insurance company will pay,” Mr. Kreutzer told the selectmen.
He later explained that this didn’t mean homeowners wouldn’t have to pay a deductible, but that the price wouldn’t exceed the insurance coverage — the deductible should be all that homeowners would have to pay.
“If anyone ever tells you, ‘We can waive your deductible,’ that’s not appropriate,” Mr. Kreutzer told the selectmen.
Storm Guard has a focus on roof work, but also does other jobs.
A big part of the company’s appeal is the offer to deal with the insurance company on the homeowner’s behalf, if it gets a job.
But homeowners are, of course, free to use other contractors for the work that Storm Guard’s inspections discover.
“We’ll lose 10% of people who use our inspections,” Mr. Kreutzer said.
“Our No. 1 thing we’re going to do is look for storm damage,” Mr. Kreutzer said. “We feel we’re offering the consumer a service. We feel people are going to appreciate what we do.”
Storm Guard is distinguished in a number of ways from many other local roofers or repair contractors. In a way, the firm might be viewed as a kind of middleman for consumers.
“We’re a sales office,” Mr. Kreutzer said. “The work is mostly going to be subcontracted. Workers will wear Storm Guard gear. The cars are all fully wrapped.”
The mother company’s website offers this description:
“Since 2003, Storm Guard Restoration has specialized in exterior restoration, including roofing, siding, windows, gutters, painting, and emergency tarping services. Our team of professionals strive to provide our clients with the utmost in quality construction and insurance expertise.”
The website tells potential franchise buyers that Storm Guard is “a young, dynamic company on its way to dominating the exterior insurance and non-insurance restoration industry.”
To homeowners, the website says, “Storm Guard is your local, licensed general contractor specializing in residential and commercial exterior restoration. Even if you think your home or property is in perfect condition, problems invisible to your eye may be getting ready to hatch into larger, costly headaches. Our commitment to you is to provide honest, fair and accurate quotes for your restoration needs, with minimal impact to you and your wallet.”
Good corporate citizen
Mr. Kreutzer told the selectmen’s meeting that the firm intended to be a good corporate citizen of Ridgefield. Storm Guard had an office on Route 7, he said, and had just spent $125,000 at Pamby’s on automobiles.
Still, the selectmen didn’t seem entirely comfortable with the door-to-door approach.
First Selectman Marconi wondered if granting a permit to Storm Guard would encourage other contractors — chimney sweeps, say — to start going door to door to offer services.
“Before you know it, we have people knocking on doors all day long,” he said.
Selectman Bodner wondered if the town should look into creating a “do not knock” list for Ridgefield, and provide it to vendors of all kinds that seek permits for door-to-door sales.
He also worried Storm Guard’s operations could drive up insurance costs in the area.
“The basic business model is to knock on 10,000 doors in Ridgefield, and find 500 of them who didn’t know they were entitled to a free roof,” Mr. Bodner said.
“You’re ultimately going to drive up the cost of insurance in the communities you’re in.”
Mr. Kreutzer replied that there were legal protections against insurance companies selectively raising rates in a locality in response to claims.
“They cannot raise your rates,” he said.
Mr. Kreutzer also argued against any implication there was something questionable about the company’s free-inspection approach to finding work.
“If there’s a claim to be filed and damages to be awarded, it’s appropriate,” Mr. Kreutzer said. “There’s a damaged roof, it needs to be fixed.”