Quick answerRun CAT season in batches, not single files. Triage the loss list by peril, structure type, and estimate complexity as soon as it lands, order roof reports in batches against a daily cutoff, standardize file names and a claim-file template so any adjuster on the desk can pick up any file, and sample a fixed percentage of completed files by volume band before closing. This guide works through each stage and uses a sponsor storm-damage order page as the worked ordering example.

Intake triage: sort before you assign

A loss list that lands unsorted gets worked in whatever order it was received, which means easy roofs and total losses sit in the same queue. Triage happens before assignment, not during it. Pull the list, tag each line by peril (wind, hail, wind-driven rain), by structure type (single-family, multi-family, commercial low-slope), and by a rough complexity flag based on prior claim history or a desk-level photo review.

The goal of triage is to route work to the right lane: straightforward single-story residential roofs to a high-volume Xactimate® lane, cut-up or multi-building parcels to a senior adjuster or IA firm lane, and anything with a coverage question flagged for a supervisor before it is ordered against at all.

  • Peril and date of loss confirmed against the policy period

    Wrong date of loss on a CAT list is the single most common rework driver once claims start reaching the file.

  • Structure type and roof complexity flagged

    Determines whether the file gets a Standard ESX order or a Complex-roof order, and which adjuster lane it lands in.

  • Coverage or occupancy questions escalated before ordering

    Ordering a roof report on a claim that will be denied for coverage wastes the batch slot and the spend.

  • Duplicate address check run against the active claim list

    CAT lists frequently arrive from more than one source; duplicate orders on the same address are avoidable cost and confusion.

Batch ordering roof reports

Once a batch of addresses has cleared triage, order roof reports as a batch rather than one at a time throughout the day. This keeps the desk's order history clean, keeps claim numbers attached to the right file from the start, and lets the batch land in delivery inboxes together instead of trickling in.

Sketch My Roof publishes a flat per-report rate with no subscription and no minimum, which is what makes address-by-address batch ordering practical during a surge: the desk is not committed to a plan sized for peak volume, it just orders what the day's triaged list requires.

  1. Set the batch window

    Pick a fixed time each day (for example, mid-morning and mid-afternoon) to submit that cycle's cleared addresses as one batch rather than ordering continuously.

  2. Confirm format per file

    Standard ESX ($19) for typical residential roofs going into Xactimate®, Complex-roof ESX ($25) for heavily cut-up roofs, PDF-only ($25) for file exhibits or homeowner copies, ESX + PDF ($29) when the estimate and exhibit are both needed from one order, or Symbility® XML for XactAnalysis®-adjacent Symbility® desks.

  3. Enter the claim number on every order

    The delivered file should be named for the claim from the start; entering the claim number at order time avoids a rename step later in the batch.

  4. Submit before the daily cutoff

    Orders placed before the 6 PM Eastern cutoff deliver the same calendar day, so a desk running two batch windows a day can still get both back before end of shift.

  5. Log the batch and reconcile on delivery

    Keep a simple batch log (address, claim number, format ordered, time submitted) and check it against the delivery inbox at day's end so nothing from the batch is missed.

File template and naming convention

During CAT season, files move between adjusters, IA firms, and desk reviewers more than in a normal season. A consistent file name and folder structure means the next person to open the claim does not have to hunt for the roof report, the photos, or the estimate.

ElementConventionExample
Claim folderClaim number, loss address (short)CL-88213_412Oak
Roof report fileClaim number, report type, date orderedCL-88213_ESX_0815
Estimate fileClaim number, estimator initials, versionCL-88213_JR_v2
Photo setClaim number, inspection dateCL-88213_Photos_0814

The convention itself matters less than every file on the desk using the same one; pick one before the batch volume arrives, not after.

Cutoffs: build the day around the delivery cutoff

The single most useful scheduling fact on a volume desk is the vendor's daily cutoff, because everything upstream of it (triage, batch assembly, order entry) has to finish before that time to land same-day delivery. Sketch My Roof's published cutoff is 6 PM Eastern, with no expedite fee for orders placed ahead of it.

Build the desk's own internal cutoffs backward from that time. If the vendor cutoff is 6 PM Eastern, the desk's batch-submission cutoff should sit at least an hour earlier, and the triage cutoff for that day's list earlier still, so a late-arriving loss list does not force a rushed, error-prone order entry right at the deadline.

Desk milestoneTarget timeWhy
Loss list triage completeBy 2 PM localLeaves time to flag complex files before ordering
Afternoon batch submittedBy 4:30 PM localBuffer ahead of the 6 PM Eastern vendor cutoff
Vendor order cutoff6 PM EasternPublished same-day delivery cutoff, no expedite fee
Delivery reconciliationEnd of shiftBatch log checked against delivery inbox before close

QA sampling during volume periods

Full peer review of every file is not realistic once a desk is running dozens of files a day per adjuster. Sampling is the practical substitute: pull a fixed percentage of completed files for review, weighted toward the higher-value or higher-complexity band, and use the same short checklist every time so review time stays predictable.

  • Roof report matches the estimate's roof area and pitch inputs

    Catches an ESX import that landed with the wrong facet count or an estimate built before the report arrived.

  • Claim number, address, and date of loss match across file, report, and estimate

    The most common CAT-season error is a mismatch introduced during batch entry, not a measurement error.

  • Scope matches documented damage in photos

    Sampling exists to catch scope drift, not just clerical mismatches.

  • Revision requests logged, not re-ordered from scratch

    A correction on a delivered report should go back to the vendor from the delivery email rather than duplicating the order and the spend.

  • Low complexity, low value: sample 1 in 10 files.
  • Standard residential, mid value: sample 1 in 5 files.
  • Complex roof or high value: sample every file.

Worked example: staging a storm batch

As a worked example of how a batch order maps onto a single storm event, Sketch My Roof's storm damage roof reports page lists the same published formats and prices as the standard residential order page, so a desk does not need a separate account or a separate rate sheet to run a storm batch through it. Enter each address, pick Standard ESX, Complex-roof ESX, PDF-only, or ESX + PDF per the file's complexity flag from triage, and attach the claim number at order time.

For desks ordering through Verisk™-connected workflows, the same reports are available through Xactimate® Integration ordering, which keeps the report inside the same platform the estimate is being built in rather than requiring a separate import step. Once the ESX arrives, importing it into Xactimate® is done via the Sketch import option in the estimate; menus vary by version, so verify the exact path in your build against the vendor's own documentation before training a batch of adjusters on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the single highest-leverage change a desk can make for CAT season?
Moving from continuous single-address ordering to two or three fixed batch windows a day. It does not change the per-report price or the vendor's cutoff, but it makes the desk's own workload predictable enough to schedule QA sampling and reconciliation around it.
How much of the completed file volume should get QA review during a surge?
A tiered rate works better than a flat one: roughly 1 in 10 for low-complexity, low-value files, 1 in 5 for standard residential mid-value files, and full review for anything flagged complex or high value at triage.
Does batch ordering roof reports cost more than ordering one at a time?
No. Sketch My Roof's published rates are the same per-report price whether one report or a full day's batch is ordered: Standard ESX $19, Complex-roof ESX $25, PDF-only $25, ESX + PDF $29, with no subscription and no minimum.
What happens if an address is entered wrong during batch entry?
Request a correction from the delivery email rather than placing a new order. The desk's batch log should flag the discrepancy at reconciliation so the corrected file is re-checked before it moves forward in the queue.
Should Symbility® desks run the same batch process?
Yes. The triage, batch window, and file-naming steps are format-agnostic; the only change is ordering XML instead of ESX and importing through the Symbility® or XactAnalysis®-connected workflow instead of Xactimate®.

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