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Instant quoting and scope

Instant roof quotes from aerial imagery and LiDAR.

A quote that used to take a person 15 to 30 minutes now takes seconds, and homeowners, contractors and partners all see the same scope.

Role
Design direction, user testing and rollout
For
Homeowners, contractors, insurance and solar partners, and Remi's internal teams
Result
Quotes in seconds, at most minutes, down from 15–30 minutes by hand
The quoting tool: an aerial view of the house with each roof edge measured and color-coded, and a menu to switch to Google Earth, Street view or LiDAR
Every edge of the roof, measured

Why accuracy matters

Remi earns the difference between what a homeowner pays and what we pay the contractor. If the roof is measured wrong, we either lose margin or misprice the job.

Before this, quoters worked from aerial images, Google Maps and street views, and each quote took 15 to 30 minutes.

Measuring the roof

The tool combines photogrammetry, LiDAR and aerial imagery. It detects solar panels, removes trees and reconstructs the roof beneath them, and straightens the messy outlines of complex roofs into clean geometry.

When it isn't confident, it says so: low-confidence roofs go to a person to quote by hand.

A LiDAR model of the roof with its total area, pitch and line lengths
LiDAR rebuilds the roof in 3D
Tagging a measured line as an eave, with its pitch
Tagging each line
In the field: an inspector captures the 3D model on site
Capturing the 3D model on site

One scope for everyone

Most escalations and change orders started with people disagreeing about what was in scope. Contractors and insurance adjusters read Xactimate line items; homeowners don't. To solve this, we translated them into Remi line items that are easier for homeowners to understand.

The scope view shows the house like a blueprint, colors each piece of work, and makes clear what the homeowner pays and what their insurance carrier or solar partner covers. The same scope turns into a drawing set for the crew: one sheet per trade and side of the house, where blue is what gets replaced and every tag gives an ID and a quantity.

Homeowner and partner quotes built from the same line items, with totals for each
Homeowner and partner quotes, one scope
The contractor's work order: squares, pitch and Remi line items
The contractor's view: squares, pitch and line items
A work order cover sheet: the address, a key plan of the house with each elevation marked, and a sheet index listing what to replace for gutters, soffit and fascia, siding and roof
The work order drawing set: what to replace, by trade and elevation
A front elevation drawing with the gutters and downspouts to replace in blue, each tagged with an ID and length, and a repair callout
Front elevation: blue is what gets replaced, each tag reads ID and length

Change orders

If a crew finds something different on site, the contractor submits a change order. Small ones are approved automatically and larger ones go to a person. The quote updates, and the homeowner gets an addendum to sign and fund.

Screenshot to addChange order and homeowner addendum

My part

I worked alongside a designer on my team, who led the day-to-day design. Together we shaped the interactions and the initial page structure, since a lot has to happen on one screen, and found gaps in our operations that the new system could close. I ran user testing and led the rollout.

What happened

  • Quotes take seconds, at most minutes, instead of 15 to 30 minutes.
  • Add: quote accuracy vs. final measurements
  • Add: change in change-order or escalation rate
  • Add: volume of instant quotes, or conversion

What I'd do next

Keep refining LiDAR so more quotes come out accurate instantly, without a person stepping in.

Work through the edge cases that still send roofs to a quoter by hand.

Credits

  • Design lead: Josh Probst, product designer