Built From Necessity
Ward & Oakes Forensic Group was not born in a boardroom; it was built out of sheer frustration with a broken system.
After years of watching the property loss industry from the inside, we saw the same scenario play out on repeat: a storm hits, and the property owner is immediately trapped in a financial crossfire. On one side, insurance carriers writing estimates from a desk 500 miles away that barely cover half the cost of a code-compliant repair. On the other side, contractors submitting estimates the carrier has no reason to trust.
The homeowner or commercial property manager is left in the middle, holding a check that doesn't fix the building, trying to decode a dense insurance policy, and wondering who is actually telling the truth.
We realized that the industry didn't need another advocate with a financial position on the outcome. It needed an independent authority. It needed an objective baseline of facts.
So, we built one.
We combined 15 years of field-level construction experience and precision estimating with 14 years of emergency operations and crisis coordination, backed by specialized insurance consulting licensing. We created a firm that operates entirely outside the traditional financial incentives of the claims industry. We don't perform construction, so our findings are independent of any repair bid. We don't work for the carriers, so we don't need to protect their reserves. And we don't take a percentage of your settlement, so our data is never tied to a contingency fee.
We built Ward & Oakes to bring the rigorous, data-driven documentation of a commercial litigation file right to your kitchen table. We are here to decode the policy, document the physical reality, and prove the math—so that you can rebuild your property from a position of clarity and control.
How We Work
1. We Learn Your Situation. Every engagement begins with a conversation. We learn about your property, your coverage, and what brought you to us — whether it's a denied claim, a confusing estimate, or a decision you need better data to make.
2. We Inspect. Our field assessment follows established forensic protocols including HAAG residential and commercial roof methodology, IICRC water damage standards, and current adopted building codes. Every finding is documented with photography, precise field measurements, and code compliance analysis. We document the property as it exists — not as anyone wants it to exist.
3. We Decode the Policy. Our Licensed Insurance Consultant reviews your policy provisions and translates the contract language into plain terms. What's covered. What isn't. What the carrier is required to do under Arkansas regulatory standards. You understand your position before anyone else enters the conversation.
4. We Prove the Math. We build an independent damage scope using multiple industry estimating platforms, direct supplier and contractor pricing surveys, and localized market data — verified against our own field experience in central Arkansas construction. We don't rely on a single database. We cross-reference published rates against what materials and labor actually cost in your market, so the final number reflects reality, not a national average.
5. You Operate From Fact. You receive a complete forensic report — independent inspection findings, policy coverage analysis, and a verified financial scope. Your documentation. Your data. Your decision.
Structural Independence
Ward & Oakes maintains no carrier appointments, no contractor ownership, and no contingency-based fee structures.
We don't perform construction, so our findings are independent of any repair bid. We don't work for carriers, so we have no incentive to protect their reserves. We don't take a percentage of your settlement, so our data is never shaped by a financial outcome.
Our Licensed Insurance Consultant operates under specialized state licensing and holds no agency relationship with any insurer. Our forensic inspector brings over 15 years of field-level construction experience to every assessment — building the same structures he now documents.
Every engagement is billed on a flat fee or hourly basis. The fee is the same whether the findings favor the property owner, the carrier, or neither. That is the only way to guarantee that the report reflects the property instead of a financial position.
Get in Touch
If you're interested in working with us, complete the form with a few details about your project. We'll review your message and get back to you within 48 hours.