Should I use a public adjuster to handle my insurance claim for storm damage ?

When you file a claim…

Your insurance company is going to send out an adjuster to inspect your damages and write an estimate of repair cost. Your insurance company wants to pay exactly what it cost to repair your home; within the limits of the contract. They don't want to pay a penny more. And, believe it or not, they also don't want to pay less. It is a competitive market out there and they want to retain satisfied customers.

If the natural disaster that damaged your home is very big, your adjuster is probably an independent adjuster. If you ask them, they should tell you. What does this mean to you? It means that adjuster's pay is directly tied to your claim. The adjuster has a financial interest in finding the most money for you that he/she can justify with photos for the insurance company.

If you do not agree with the adjuster on ‘what the damages are’, you may need a public adjuster.

I don't mean you think the estimate is not enough; that is a pricing issue. Pricing issues are not a reason to use a public adjuster. If the estimated amount is not enough to cover the repairs, your contractor will work with your insurance company for a supplement.

· Supplements are a normal part of the claims process

They can occur for a variety of reasons, from material pricing changes, due to supply and demand or due to hidden damages that were not visible at the time of inspection.

If you do not agree with the adjuster, what should you do?

First, discuss your concerns with the adjuster. They are human and capable of overlooking something. If that does not work….

You want to get another adjuster to look at your claim. Why?

Just like at your job, not everyone has the same level of training, skill, dedication and or experience. The same is true of adjusters.

OK, so I want to get another adjuster. How?

• You can hire a Public Adjuster to represent you, but it is going to cost you something to do that (more on that later).
• You could call the claims line and ask for a new adjuster. This won’t cost you anything, but it could be slow. The insurance company is going to reassign the claim to someone who already has claims scheduled so they will have to fit you in.

I’m going to tell you a little secret here.

· Call your local agent. They know you and have a financial interest in keeping you happy. The insurance company has a financial interest in keeping the agents happy (happy agents sell more policies). The insurance company is going to reassign the claim to someone who already has claims scheduled so they will have to fit you in, but this route is going to get you the quickest response.

So far I have tried to tell you that you don’t need a Public Adjuster; Now I want to tell you why you might need one.

1. You cannot take the time to meet with the adjuster. Your either out of town or too busy and don’t have another adult that could meet the adjuster.

2. You are not emotionally ‘up to it’. Your scope of your loss has emotionally drained you.

3. You did not agree with the insurance scope of damages. And were not able to come to an agreement with them utilizing the above methods. This may mean having a professional to represent you may make sense.

The down side: It will cost you to hire a Public Adjuster.

You probably don’t work for free, they won’t either. The rules vary from State to State, but in general they are going to work for a percentage of your claim. See the example below.

Let's assume you have a home worth $200,000 and a 2% deductible for hurricane claims. Along comes Hurricane OMG to cause damage to your home.

The insurance company sent an independent adjuster out and their estimate was for partial roof repair and some interior damaged drywall. The total claim was $8,000 minus your $2,000 deductible leaves you an insurance check for $6,000 or $2,000 out of your pocket.

Now you hire a Public Adjuster for 10% and he locates some additional damages and these are submitted to the insurance company and an agreement is made that those damages are covered.

1. Let's say your PA found and additional $800 worth of damages.

• Now your Total Claim is $8,800 minus your deductible of $2,000 minus the PA's contingency (10% of $8,800) $880 leaves you with an insurance check for $5,920 or $2,080 out of your pocket.

Let’s say your PA found a big mistake and found an additional $2,000 worth of damages.

• Now your Total Claim is $10,000 minus your deductible of $2,000 minus the PA's contingency (10% of $10,000) $1000 leaves you with an insurance check for $7,000 or $3,000 out of your pocket.