November Newsletter 2023

Many people describe their experience with an insurance claim after a large loss as a full- time job. But insurance is big business, and you are not on a level playing field with a big insurance company. You may find that learning the lingo, doing the math and making sure your claim is being fully investigated and fairly paid is too much for you to handle on your own.

A public adjuster is a claim help professional you can hire to represent you in documenting and negotiating your insurance claim. A public adjuster works only for policyholders, not insurers.

There are two other types of adjusters: Company, or “staff” adjusters who are employed by your insurance company, and so-called “independent” adjusters who work only for insurance companies on a contract hiring basis. Company/staff and independent adjusters are hired and paid by and report only to insurance companies, not policyholders. They will be assigned by your insurance company to work on your claim, but they are there as the insurance company’s representative… not yours.

Things to consider before hiring your insurance adjuster:

1. Is the adjuster a good fit? You may be working closely with this person for many months, and they will be representing you with your insurer, so you should be comfortable with their communication style and personality.
2. Do they have good references?
3. Are they genuine?
4. 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.
   

Recap:

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.

The above tip sheet was prepared by Amy Bach, co-founder of United Policyholders and Robert Crown. Robert is a UP volunteer and a licensed public adjuster based in the San Francisco Bay Area with Crown Adjusting, LLC