Scott Davidson

"Chipper, Chippy and Chippeeee" was the way most phone calls started. The next few words usually went – “got a few minutes to discuss a problem I have that may need your involvement?" 35 minutes later, and after leaving his focused problem to explore 35 topics of other claims, business, and life, I would suggest a couple actions and Scott was back into the battle and life.

You are at a loss if you did not meet Scott Davidson in this life. Like many public adjusters, Scott was fun and creative. He was just a little more so.

The above photo was taken within two weeks of his passing. It was a fun mockery of a true Scott Davidson story. Knowing he was going to make money following Hurricane Andrew, Scott decided that Adjusters International owed him an aquarium as an undisclosed advance. His friend and fellow public adjuster, Jim Beneke, bought Scott a baby shark. Scott took the aquarium and shark back to Denver when Andrew claims receded – again at the Company’s expense. But just as in the classic "Fish Out of Water" many of us read as small children, Scott’s baby shark grew and grew. He was still fighting off sharks to the end.

Scott fought for full recovery. An example was a couple years ago when he had me traveling throughout Dallas looking at school sports bleachers. The bleachers had hundreds of thousands of small dents from hail. Scott Davidson claimed they were physically damaged and were unsightly. The insurer claimed that our butts prevented the dents from seeing the light of day and had "no functional" damage. This debate rages on.

Scott introduced me to his brother, Hil Davidson, regarding an avalanche case to Hil’s mountain ski chalet. Not too many attorneys based in Florida get to litigate an avalanche case in Taos, New Mexico. The garage of Hil Davidson’s ski chalet was wiped out in the avalanche. While I learned a lot about rivers of snow and how avalanches occur, the insurer learned a lot about avalanche law and ordinance coverage. Scott had a way of finding unique issues and cases. His creativity was great, and I loved listening to his ideas.

All adjusters, whether public, independent, or company, should be honestly and creatively seeking to provide the policyholder with full indemnity, just as Scott did. It is the only ethical way to adjust a claim.

Scott was a positive person. I suggest that we should all learn to live our lives in this manner. It takes work and a mindset to do so. But the reward is greater happiness. While he was very sick, I sent Scott a text at New Year’s and he said, "Chip, let’s make it the best one yet." Lord knows I am trying.

Phone calls with Scott usually ended this way:

"Love you, brother."

"Love ya, Scott."

"See ya!" Then click. He was gone.

I can hardly wait to "see ya" again, Scott.

How about Sir Elton John’s Funeral For a Friend:

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