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Claims
Adjusters
vs.
Public Adjusters
vs.
Independent Adjusters
Claims adjusters connected to your insurance company will
usually offer around 80% to 85% of your insurance claim sometimes even
less. What you, and most people don’t know can be harmful. The claim
representative is required to minimize claims as much as possible.
Remember that this is nothing personal, you just need to educate yourself
on the claims process. You can do this by consulting experienced local
vendors. If you have elected to use approved vendors and feel that you
have not been adequately compensated for your loss you may need to contact
a Public Adjuster.
Public Adjusters, also known as private claims adjusters, working
on your behalf can negotiate with your insurance company. They will make
sure that contents has been depreciated properly based on item specifics
such as age, brand, make or model as well as review the scope of repairs
to make sure nothing was missed etc.
If you decide that you are in need of a Public Adjuster it is important to
understand their fees and contract. Most public adjusters prefer to be
retained before the Insurance carrier has touched or moved any contents.
This allows the Public Adjuster to argue value and items before they are
removed from the home. Items that are badly burned may get lost in the
cleanup process or destroyed beyond further recognition resulting in money
loss therefore your Public Adjust will want to see the items as they were
following the fire.
There is normally a fee that is imposed when hiring a Public Adjuster.
This fee may vary on a case-by-case basis. Make sure that you understand
the fee and how your Public Adjuster is paid before hiring him or her. Ask
for references from other clients that may have engaged their services
with a loss similar to yours.
Independent Adjusters are not the same as a Public Adjuster. It is
easy to get confused on what each adjuster does. If your insurance carrier
is out of state they may elect to hire a local Independent Adjuster to act
as their eyes on the loss. These are insurance approved adjusters. They
are representing and working for the carrier NOT you. They are there to
report their finding to your claims adjuster. It is up to YOU to decide if
you want to hire your own vendors to make sure that you receive the
maximum benefits you are entitled to.
Contact us for a list of vendors we trust. We have worked with these
vendors in the past and trust you will have a good experience with them.
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