6 Signs You Should Hire A Public Adjuster

1. You’re Being Asked to Provide Documentation to File Your Claim
 When you have a significant claim as a result of catastrophic damage to your home, your insurance company will ask you to document your claim with reports, receipts, and pictures. Make no mistake. This is a crucial step in the claims process, and the insurance company won’t be helping you to prepare your claim. The entire process will be up to you unless you hire a public adjuster. Documenting your catastrophic losses is an enormous task that really only seasoned experts can do correctly. Otherwise, you risk missing out on a portion of the amount you are due; either through omission or undervaluing your losses.

​2. The Insurance Policy Language or Claims Process is Confusing to You
 Insurance policies are often written in legalese that is challenging for the average person to fully understand. Even the supposed “user-friendly” versions may contain confusing language like Period of Restoration, Business Interruption Coverage, Actual Cash Value, and Replacement Costs. These industry terms can be hard to fully grasp. Not only that, but you may have received a significant amount of information about the actual claims process over the phone, where it’s impossible to accurately write everything down that the insurance representative told you. If you are feeling overwhelmed with the complexity of the policy or the claims process, this is a clear sign you should hire a public adjuster to handle the claim on your behalf.

3. You Lack The Time To Handle The Insurance Claims Process Yourself
 When you suffer a major loss to your business or home, there’s a big challenge ahead. Not only are you expected to carry on your family life and work responsibilities; now you are tasked with the full-time job of handling the monumental claims process. Frankly, this can feel like a second full-time job, and there are only so many hours in a day. The stress of dealing with the emotional crisis following a major loss combined with the stress of trying to submit an accurate claim can feel like its own catastrophe. If you’re in this position, you can immediately alleviate the burden simply by picking up the phone and hiring a public adjuster.

4. You Feel Like You’re Getting the Runaround From Your Insurance Company
 Many home insurance companies strive to give the best customer service they can. Unfortunately, things don’t always happen as they should. What sometimes happens is that the homeowner’s phone calls aren’t returned in a timely manner, or there’s a “disconnect” in communications. If you suspect that you aren’t getting the right attention from your insurance company, it’s definitely time to call in the services of a public adjuster. 

5. The Insurance Company is undervaluing you claim
 If your insurance company has underpaid your claim or they are taking far too long to assess your claim, then this could be a sign that it is time to call in a public adjuster. An insurance claim can be a lengthy process. If you feel you are being neglected by your insurance company, or they are not responding to your calls in a timely manner, it would be wise to expand your team to include a public adjuster. ​

6. Knowledge and Professional Standards
 Claim adjusting is art, not science. If you rely completely on your insurance company to calculate the amount of damage and what you’re owed, you’re unlikely to recover a full or fair settlement. The insurance company sends out their own staff adjuster or “independent” adjuster, and their handpicked contractor, whose job it is to define a scope of the damage and estimate the costs to repair or rebuild your home. They measure the loss for the insurance company, not for you. This matters because big dollars are at stake and your financial goals and the insurers’ financial goals are not the same. You want your loss to be accurately measured, you want to maximize your insurance coverage and recover every dime you’re owed. Many people hire their own experts/contractors to measure and value damage independently from the insurance company.

In Closing
 Documenting and navigating a catastrophic property loss is time-consuming and burdensome to even the most sophisticated insured. It is hard for you, the insured, to know whether you are getting all that is owed under your insurance policy. Your policy may actually give you extended coverages beyond the stated dollar limits on the policy and way more than the insurer offers you. An experienced claim advocate on your side can be a strong voice for you in the process and give you much more input and negotiating leverage on your final insurance settlement than you’d have on your own. Instead of relying on the insurance company to decide how much you get to rebuild your home, hiring a good public adjuster can help you receive the best possible settlement.