Why the questions matter
Remote estimating providers work in different ways. Some are staffing companies with a rotating group of writers. Some are software companies with an estimating desk added on. Some are one experienced estimator taking on work from several shops. Each can be the right fit for a different shop, and the differences are hard to see from a homepage.
These twelve questions show the differences. Ask all twelve of every provider you are considering and compare the answers before you send anyone a file. If you want the full description of what Storm Rider does first, read remote auto estimating services.
The twelve questions
What to listen for, and Storm Rider's answer to each.
Question 1Who actually writes my file?
Ask for a name and a background, not just a company name. Some vendors use a bench of contractors or an offshore team, and the writer changes from file to file. That can work at low volume. At high volume it costs you, because an appraiser who sees uneven quality across a batch of files starts checking all of them more closely.
At Storm Rider Solutions, Christopher Johnson writes every file himself: 17 years writing estimates, in collision repair since 2008, writing hail since 2021. He was lead estimator at United Hail Pros and Metal Majic, director of hail and collision operations at Metal Majic, director of estimatics at Westway Collision, and co-founder of Extreme Hail & Collision in Plano, Texas.
Question 2What do I have to commit to up front?
Hail storms cannot be scheduled. A provider that needs volume committed weeks ahead is asking you to forecast something you cannot forecast.
Storm Rider Solutions asks for no commitment: no block booking, no minimum and no contract. You can send one car or a full deployment, starting whenever the storm starts.
If your volume is more than can be written inside your timeline, you are told before you send the cars, not after.
Question 3Do you write in my estimating platform, under my name?
The file should be written in your CCC ONE or your Mitchell, under your login, so it matches your profiles, rates and carrier agreements and belongs to you. A vendor that writes only in its own system hands you a document that is theirs, and it will not match the agreements you already have.
Storm Rider Solutions writes CCC ONE estimates and Mitchell estimates in your own account, under your shop name, by default. Storm Rider's own CCC ONE is used only when a shop has no estimating software at all.
Question 4Are you paid a flat fee or a percentage of the estimate?
A percentage gives the estimator a financial stake in how large the number gets, which is the wrong incentive on a document the carrier will review. It also costs you the most on the files that go well.
Storm Rider Solutions charges a flat price per file and never a percentage of the estimate. The first file is free. Estimates and supplements are $150 à la carte, $140 per file at 10 credits, $132 at 25, $125 at 50 and $115 at 100. Estimate audits are $120 per file. Credits never expire and there are no monthly minimums.
Question 5Is every operation line noted?
An operation with no note is easy for an appraiser to remove. Ask to see a sample file and read the notes, not just the line count.
Every operation Storm Rider Solutions writes carries a line note with the manufacturer procedure or labor premise behind it, written when the line is written, so the reasoning is in the file before anyone asks for it.
Question 6What happens when an appraiser rejects a line?
Ask what the provider does after the file is written. Some deliver the document and stop there. Some explain their lines to the appraiser. Some send the file and follow up on it. Know which one you are buying.
Storm Rider Solutions explains non-standard operations to the appraiser when the appraiser does not understand a line. Examples are adjacent panel repair, such as a roof rail that will be damaged when the roof is removed and replaced, and why the doors come off for proper paint and clear coat coverage. A line that is not supportable is withdrawn instead of argued.
Storm Rider Solutions does not send estimates or supplements to the carrier. The shop sends them, because it is better for the shop to be seen sending them. It does not follow up on or chase the file, and it does not manage the shop's admin.
Question 7What is your turnaround, and what happens at catastrophe volume?
These are two different numbers. Ask for both, because a 24-hour turnaround at normal volume does not tell you what happens the week a storm hits.
Storm Rider Solutions turns files around in 24 hours from receipt of a complete set of photographs and documentation. At catastrophe (CAT) volume it is 24 to 72 hours, and you are told before you send the cars if a week will land on the long end.
Question 8What can I send you to work from?
A provider that requires one specific scoping tool limits what you can send and what your techs can use in the field.
Storm Rider Solutions works from Mobile Tech RX exports and other scoping exports, printed or handwritten hail matrices and scope sheets, CCC ONE or Mitchell files, photographs with nothing written yet, and carrier estimates you believe are short, with the denial or short-pay paperwork.
There is no software integration with Mobile Tech RX. You export the file, and the insurance estimate is written from the export in CCC ONE or Mitchell. Mobile Tech RX is a trademark of its owner. Storm Rider Solutions is not affiliated with it. The PDR estimate translation page explains the process.
Question 9What does it cost per file at my volume?
Get the per-file price at the volume you actually run, not just the list price, and ask whether unused files expire.
Storm Rider Solutions: first file free, $150 for one credit, $1,400 for 10 credits ($140 per file), $3,300 for 25 ($132), $6,250 for 50 ($125) and $11,500 for 100 ($115). One credit is one estimate or supplement. Estimate audits are $120 per file, and a shop that wants a pack for audits only can contact Storm Rider Solutions to have a package built. Credits never expire, so an off-season pack carries into the next storm season.
Question 10Can I test you before committing?
A provider should let you judge a file before you spend money on a pack.
Storm Rider Solutions writes the first file free: one vehicle, no card required, no contract. You can send it through the uploads page.
Question 11How long have you been writing, and what have you written recently?
Years in the industry and years writing estimates are different numbers. So are lifetime totals and this year's production. Ask for both, and ask what the number counts.
Christopher Johnson has 17 years writing estimates. He has been in collision repair since 2008 and has written hail since 2021.
So far in 2026 he has written $6,997,188 in estimates and supplements on 663 vehicles, an average of $10,554 written and $9,735 added per vehicle, as of the week of Oct 12, 2026. Written is the full value of every estimate and supplement. Added is the money added on top of the starting estimate. A $1,400 initial estimate that ends at $10,400 counts as $10,400 written and $9,000 added.
Question 12What happens to my customer and shop data?
Ask who gets access, for how long, and whether your information is used for anything other than writing your file.
Storm Rider Solutions uses vehicle owner information only as far as the estimate needs it. Platform access is limited to the users the shop authorizes and can be revoked at any time. Information is never sold, shared with other shops, or used for marketing.
Storm Rider's answers on one page
Print this and put it beside the answers you get from other providers.
| Who writes the file | Christopher Johnson, personally, every file. Any writer added later is trained by him, and every file is reviewed before it goes out. |
|---|---|
| Experience | 17 years writing estimates · in collision repair since 2008 · writing hail since 2021 · USMC veteran |
| Commitment | None. No block booking, no minimum and no contract. One car or a full deployment. |
| Estimating platform | Your CCC ONE or your Mitchell, under your shop name. Storm Rider's own CCC ONE only when a shop has no estimating software. |
| Fee structure | Flat per file. Never a percentage of the estimate. |
| Price per file | First file free · $150 à la carte · $140 at 10 · $132 at 25 · $125 at 50 · $115 at 100. Credits never expire. Full table on the pricing section. |
| Estimate audits | $120 per file. Audit-only packs are built on request. |
| Line notes | Every operation, with the manufacturer procedure or labor premise written on the line |
| Appraiser defense | For non-standard operations, the reasoning is explained to the appraiser. Lines that are not supportable are withdrawn, not argued. |
| Not included | Sending estimates or supplements to the carrier (the shop sends them) · following up on or chasing the file · managing the shop's admin |
| Turnaround | 24 hours from a complete set of photographs and documentation · 24 to 72 hours at catastrophe volume. You are told before you send if a week will land on the long end. |
| Accepted inputs | Mobile Tech RX exports and other scoping exports · printed or handwritten hail matrices and scope sheets · CCC ONE or Mitchell files · photographs only · carrier estimates believed to be short |
| Mobile Tech RX | Written from the export. No software integration. |
| Trial | First file free: one vehicle, no card required, no contract |
| Volume this year | 663 vehicles · $6,997,188 written in estimates and supplements · average $10,554 written and $9,735 added per vehicle · 2026 to date, week of Oct 12, 2026 |
| Area served | All 50 states · based in Plano, Texas |
| Data handling | Used only as far as the estimate needs it · access can be revoked · never sold, shared or used for marketing |
Related services
- Remote auto estimating services: estimates, supplements and audits for collision and hail repair shops.
- Collision supplements: written on your estimate or the carrier's.
- Estimate audits and scrubbing: a line-by-line review before you submit, $120 per file.
- PDR estimate writing: insurance estimates for PDR companies.
- Hail claim management: hail estimates and supplements with status updates on each file.
Read the estimate that comes back and compare it with what other providers send you. The first vehicle is free and no card is required.