What is a Public Adjuster?
A Public Adjuster acts as an advocate for the policy holder in the insurance claim process.
A Public Adjuster represents the policyholder exclusively in an insurance claim. Usually, this is a home owner's or business owner's property damage loss, involving structural damage, damage to personal or business contents, additional living expenses, loss of rents, business interruption, etc.
Your insurance company employs paid, highly trained, professional adjusters to represent their interests and negotiate their claims. When handling and adjusting your claim, your insurance company never considers your interests or how their adjustment will affect you. That is not their job. Their job is to settle your claim for the greatest bemefit for their shareholders. The less money they pay on your claim, the higher their profits for their shareholders.
It is the Public Adjuster's responsibility to:
1. investigate all coverages available to the policyholder,
2. document all covered damages by visual inspection, photographs, etc.
3. negotiate with the insurance company for the best possible settlement for the policyholder.
More often than not, we recover between two (2) and five (5) times the amount originally offered or paid by the insurance company.
Sometimes the additional recovery is many times more.
Could I prepare and submit my own claim?
Insurance policies generally are very complex for the average person. It is not enough to simply read an insurance policy and expect that you have the knowledge and expertise to handle your claim yourself. Our licensed and bonded public adjusters are experts on recognizing the scope (what is damaged, and the level of that damage), and the amount of a loss, the preparation and presentation of your claim, the preparation of necessary documentation required by your policy, and the complicated negotiations involved to reach a fair and final settlement of your claim, as promised by your insurance company's policy.
To fully understand your insurance policy and the coverages it provides, our adjusters detailed and in depth knowledge of local and current contractors' prices, Florida insurance statute law, Florida insurance case law, the decisions of the Florida courts as to how your policy coverages are to be interpreted and paid for, and how your claim is to be handled. Finally, you must have a knowledge of the applicable rules and regulations of the Florida Department of Financial Services as to the handling of claims generally, and your particular type of claim.
Our licensed and bonded public adjusters are experts in all these fields, with unique qualifications and experience.
Why do I need a Public Adjuster? My insurance company already sent their adjuster and offered me a settlement.
The adjuster sent by your insurance company is an employee of your insurance company. He represents your insurance company, and his job is to settle your claim for the least amount of money he can negotiate with you.
The majority of policyholders are unaware that Public Adjusters even exist to represent their interests, as an option to dealing directly with their insurance company's adjusters. Our professional adjusters can make a very real difference in the dollar amount of the final settlement paid by your insurance company.
What is the role of an Independent Adjuster? Does an Independent Adjuster look out for my best interests?
There is a lot of misunderstanding among the general public about the role of Independent Adjusters and whether they are truly "independent”. An adjuster licensed as an Independent Adjuster, in Florida, is not "independent" in the normally accepted meaning of the word.
Under Florida law, an "Independent Adjuster" can only be employed by an insurance company, either on a case-by-case basis, or under contract. His fees are paid by your insurance company, to whom he owes allegiance. He is subject to their instructions, directions and control as to how your insurance policy is to be interpreted (always in your insurance company's favor, and often with a total disregard for decisions by Florida courts, and even the Florida Supreme Court), and how your claim is to be investigated, adjusted and settled. An Independent Adjuster is the agent of your insurance company, just like a company staff adjuster. Often, he uses the same computer software, which is used by your insurance company's staff adjusters, which is often supplied by your insurance company, which may reflect obsolete contractors' prices, which result in "low-balled" estimates.
Your insurance company may then use these "low-balled" estimates to try to settle your claim. Our adjusters refuse to accept these unethical practises, and argue on your behalf on the basis of current comtractors' prices.
By the same Florida law, an Independent Adjuster is prohibited from representing a policyholder. He has no duty to protect or consider your interests in the investigation, scope and adjustment of your claim. This is why you should retain a public adjuster to represent your interests, and your interests only.
Remember This:
An insurance company is in business to make money for it's shareholders. The more it pays out in claims, the lower the profits to distribute to shareholders.
It is a fact that in spite of the hurricanes which struck Florida in 2004 and 2005, the major insurance company still made record profits, and they continue to do so, year after year, after year.
AND IN RECENT YEARS, YOUR PREMIUMS HAVE PROBABLY DOUBLED! OR TRIPLED, OR EVEN MORE!!
|
