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 Frequently Asked Questions
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What is a Public Insurance Adjuster?
Public Adjuster is an expert on
loss adjustment and the recovery process, and is
employed by the policyholder not the insurance
company. The Public Adjuster assists you, the
insured, with his intimate knowledge of
insurance policies and negotiation techniques,
in preparing, filing and managing the payment of
insurance claims regarding property loss. He
works on your behalf.
There are three classes of insurance
adjusters:
staff adjusters (employed by an insurance
company or self-insured entity), independent
adjusters (independent contractors hired by the
insurance company) and Public adjusters
(employed by the policyholder). "Company" or
"Independent" adjusters can only legally
represent the rights of an insurance company.
A public adjuster is an insurance
claims adjuster who is an advocate for and
paid by the
policyholder in appraising and negotiating
an
insurance
claim. Public Adjusters exist because of the
inherent
conflict of interest that exists when one
person or entity such as an insurance company attempts to represent two
opposing sides
of a
financial transaction. Public Adjusters are
the only type of claims adjuster that can
legally represent the rights of an insured
during an insurance claim process and only for
property damages.
Most states require every Public Adjuster to be
licensed and bonded in order to represent any policyholder in the
respective State. Public Adjuster are required to have taken classes and
be tested on the many aspects of handling claims, insurance companies
and policyholders.
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Who uses the services of Public Adjusters?
 ublic Adjusters are utilized by individuals
to assist them in obtaining a fair settlement of
their insurance claim and
they are also utilized by all types of businesses and
other professions
including banks, accountants, attorneys, and
on occasion, even insurance adjusters and agents
to perform professional services on their own
losses. Once understand the
benefits of our services, you will rarely
want to attempt to settle a claim without our
assistance.
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How is a Public Adjuster compensated?
 ou pay absolutely nothing out of pocket! A
Public Adjuster’s compensation is received from a small
percentage of the payment you receive from your
insurance claims payments
from the insurance company. The Public Adjuster's fees
are more than covered by the larger settlement
he has obtained for you. Remember, if there is
no settlement, the public adjuster receives no fee at all!
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How do I hire a Public Adjuster?
 irst off you will need a copy of your insurance policy
on hand. If you do not have it available, you
can usually obtain a copy from your insurance
agent with a simple phone call. We examine your
damage and we analyze your policy. We will then
advise you whether or not it is in your best
interest to hire a public adjuster. This is a free service. If
we ascertain that we can help you significantly
and maximize your settlement, then you retain our
services by signing a contract allowing us to
represent you and we take care of the rest! click
here and request a free review of your loss.
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Am I assured of a higher settlement if I use your
services?
here are no guarantees,
however on average a higher payout is achieved
for approximately 95% of the claims handled by
us. Our public adjusters produce the most
thorough and complete claims as is humanly
possible which in turn produces the likelihood
of a higher settlement than that offered by the
insurance company's adjuster.
When severe losses occur
where much of the damages are due to fire, out
of sight or blown away, we use a variety of
computer checklists to help us recap with you,
on a room-by-room basis, what property was
present at the time of the loss.
By using our highly refined
methodology, reconstruction of a total inventory
is surprisingly accurate. Studies have clearly
demonstrated that most inventories compiled by
the individual insured are very incomplete.
You don't have to wait for a calamity to strike
to use our services. We also offer
Video Inventory
Recording Services so there will never be a
question as to what property was present at the
time of the loss.
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Why should I employ a Public Adjuster to obtain
what is rightfully due me?
reparing an insurance claim can be a
complicated and extremely complex task for the
layman. First off, you have to read and
thoroughly understand all the coverage
your policy affords you for the damages in your
particular situation.
Substantiating and
documenting your loss is your job, not the job
of the insurance company’s adjuster. There are a
great many details and variables which arise
that can be easily overlooked by the untrained
individual. The decision to
use a Public Adjuster has very little to do with
whether or not you believe the insurance company
will or will not try to be fair.
Public Adjusters will almost always obtain
much greater settlements than individuals, not
only due to their knowledge of the wording in
insurance policies and skill in evaluating,
estimating, and appraising, but also because of
their experience with the “ins and outs” of the
insurance industry. As is true in any
profession, the more experience and training one
has, the better the final results.
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What is the difference between a Public Adjuster
and the insurance company's adjuster?
Public Adjuster is employed by you,
the policy holder and
by law, their fiduciary responsibility and duty
is
to you. The insurance company’s adjuster is
employed by the insurance company, and their
responsibility and duty is to their
employer.
It’s not possible for any insurance
company's adjuster to protect both your
interests and the interests of his or her
employer at the
same time. After all, their instructions come
from their employer, not from you.
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If I employ a Public Adjuster, will it cause
problems or delays?
 he vast majority of our claims are conducted
and concluded in the spirit of professionalism
and mutual respect with the insurance company’s representative(s). However, if the company does
not want to be reasonable, we will under no
circumstances capitulate to any unreasonable
demands or positions they take. If there are any
problems or delays in your claim, they are the
same problems which would exist whether or not
we are involved.
We, however, because of our experience would
know the best way to minimize certain problems
or delays, and often, just by our involvement,
many problems are avoided before they develop.
While some unethical adjusters may discourage
you from employing a Public Adjuster (who is
licensed and certified by the Department of
Insurance), statistics are quite clear that
Public Adjusters, almost without exception,
assist in obtaining extremely higher settlements
for the Insured, not to mention the time and
turmoil the Insured is saved. It is beyond
dispute that if any adjuster or agent prefers
that you do not hire a Public Adjuster, it
cannot possibly be your interest they have in
mind.
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Will I be canceled if I hire a Public Adjuster?
 o! Insurance companies are regulated by the
Department of Insurance and it would be a serious
violation of law if any Insurance Company would
discriminate against you in any way for
exercising a right afforded to you by the laws
of you state.
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Shouldn't I wait until the insurance company
makes an offer to determine whether I need your
services?
he decision is one you will
have to make as a Public Adjuster is forbidden
by law to give legal advice.
If you are substantially underinsured and it is
quite obvious that you will obtain a payment
representing the limits of
your policy, then it would make sense for you to wait. However, many people make a
serious error by delaying to retain
professional assistance. The earlier we are
involved in a claim, the smoother the adjusting
process generally proceeds.
Insurance companies are less
likely to use arbitrary tactics to slow or
browbeat an insured when a Public Adjuster is
involved that they may try to take when we are
not. In addition, it takes a great amount of
reading and understand of you insurance policy
for you to determine exactly what is fair, and
most people simply do not have the necessary
expertise to determine whether or not a
company’s offer is fair and accurate.
We have also found quite often that the
longer a person waits, the more stress they are under
sometimes putting them into a position of
settling for far less than they should receive
for their loss just to get it over with. It is a
common occurrence to see many people
accept substandard offers just to get the bad
experience over with. This is not the best
position to be in when you try to negotiate your
claim. Unfair settlements need not happen.
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Why can't my agent make sure I get a fair
settlement?
ou probably bought your insurance from
an
agent or broker because of his friendship and/or
salesmanship. While the agent’s expertise is in
the marketing of insurance
policies, they do not have the experience
nor the obligation to render adjusting services. When everything is said
and done, agents cannot do much to help, and
they are very wrong if they suggest otherwise.
Many people are shocked when they learn that
most agents are paid an annual bonus if their
claims are kept below a certain percent, known
in the industry as the profit and loss ratio bonus.
This naturally creates an undisclosed conflict
of interest. With the agent having a personal
financial interest in your claim, the more they help you, the more
they hurt their chances of making that bonus.
However, an agent should never, in good faith
toward their insured, discourage them from employing
a Public Adjuster. Beware of anyone who
advises you not to seek assistance from a Public
Adjuster as they may have their own interest at
heart, not yours. Just make sure you
choose you Public Adjuster from a reputable
firm.
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Do I really need help with my claim?
There are several reasons why you may want
to consider obtaining help with your claim:
o file an insurance claim,
you are require to create a written,
itemized statement of your losses. You may not
realize what the extent of your damage is as
most insureds get a sort of tunnel vision when
making their list and virtually miss damages and
losses that could amount to tens of thousands of
dollars. You can't ask
the insurance company for help with this chore
as it is not their obligation to help
you. The burden of proof is on "your shoulders".
A Public Adjuster has the experience and
training to identify
and catalog everything to which you’re entitled.
Filing a claim is a tedious,
time-consuming and aggravating process. The
Public Adjuster can take this burden off your
shoulders and free you to get your business or
home affairs back on track. During this
emotionally charged time, you just don't have
the presence of mind to spend hours upon hours
pouring
over inventory itemizations and to argue with
your insurance company whether something should
"just be repaired" rather than replaced.
You are at the mercy of the insurance
company. Keep it in mind that you will be dealing
with insurance "professionals" who are
trained to protect their employer's interest. They may low-ball you
on a settlement and you won't even
know it - until it's too late.
Our Public
Adjusters use up to date specialty software with
price list for materials and labor to enable
them to know exactly what it costs to repair
your damage. He will find damage that the
untrained eye will otherwise not see. He takes
the entire picture into account and fights for
you - down to the last penny. He is well versed
with what the insurance company wants to hear
and what they don't want to hear and he knows
how to present your claim for maximum success.
Think about it, in a court case, would you allow
the opposing side to hire THEIR attorney to
represent YOU? I don't think so. Then why would
you allow the insurance company to hire THEIR
adjuster to represent YOU?
The typical fire policy contains hundreds
of provisions and stipulations - various forms
and riders that are constantly changing and many
complex details about your requirements in case
of loss. Most people do not know or understand
these policy provisions - and most do not
realize that the burden of proof is on them, the
policyholder. Most insurance company
representatives actually prefer to work with an
experienced accredited public insurance adjuster
rather than an inexperienced insured.
An All Lines Certified Public
Insurance Adjuster not
only has your confidence, but also that of
company adjusters who recognize that they are
dealing with a professional.
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Can I prepare my own claim?
 ure, but it stands to reason that the
An All Lines Certified Public Insurance Adjuster who has
years of experience and training can do so with
more competence than the policyholder.
More specifically, a public insurance
adjuster will assist you in the preparation of
inventories, estimates and other factual proofs
of loss. He or she will handle all the necessary
details for compiling and filing claims, as
required by the terms of your insurance
policies. Your public insurance adjuster will
also confer, on your behalf, with insurance
company representatives and handle all matters
essential to a proper and satisfactory
adjustment.
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I have already received a payment for my claim
from the insurance company and I think it's too
low. Is it too late to reopen my file?
o. A Public Adjuster can re-open your file and
start renegotiating with your insurance company
toward a higher settlement. However, once you
have been paid, it does become a bit more
difficult. This is why it is wise to hire a
public adjuster from the very beginning of the
claim.
For instance, Florida generally allows up to
five years to file a supplemental claim from the
date of loss. If you do not believe you were
paid the right amount and would like us to
review your claim, just let us know.
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If I work directly with the insurance company’s
adjuster, won't I get the same results?
 ost likely not.
Insurance companies hire and train their
adjusters to MINIMIZE your loss. Their adjusters
work for the insurance company NOT for the
homeowner. How likely is it that a person will
get the maximum settlement to which he is
entitled by using the insurance company's own
adjusters? Do not be misled.
The insurance company will
try to minimize your loss utilizing several
misleading tactics. They can try to convince you
to repair the damage rather than replace it.
They can "overlook" some damage knowing that the
burden of proof is on the insured not
themselves. They can estimate the repair cost at
a much lower rate than it will actually cost. It
is simply too easy to underestimate the true
cost of the repair by yourself. They can agree
to replace only the damaged portion although it
won't quite match the rest of the house. You are
entitled to repair or replace the damage to a
pre-damaged condition - you don't pay those
premiums for a patch up job. They can deny
coverage because of an inadvertent slip of the
tongue. Most people won't argue with their
insurance company.
Most people don't even know
that they are being misled. That is why you need
a public adjuster.
We Can Maximize The Return On Your Insurance Claim...
CONTACT US NOW...!
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