Your U.S. Public Adjuster
Questions Answered: FAQ
Hiring a public adjuster doesn’t have to be difficult or confusing. Below are some of frequently asked questions to help you understand more about the process and what to expect.
- What is a public adjuster
- What damage gets overlooked by insurance company adjusters?
- Why have I never heard of hiring a public adjuster before?
- How long does the process take?
- Mitigation companies
- Personal Property Damage
- What if I already cashed an insurance claim check?
What is a public adjuster?
A public adjuster, or public insurance adjuster, is an independent professional that works directly for the policyholder to advocate on their behalf to the insurance company.
Public adjusters are trained insurance professionals that works to ensure the policyholder receives everything they are entitled to under the claim.
What damage gets overlooked by insurance company adjusters?
No claim is the same. It could be anything from cracks in the driveway caused by tree removal equipment, to discovering asbestos siding after a loss, or even damages missed completely.
We spend an average of 3-4x the amount of time the adjuster from the insurance company spends on our inspection and documenting process. We work diligently to make sure no damages are unaccounted for.
Why have I never heard of hiring a public adjuster before?
Most people haven’t heard of public adjusters before. Public adjusters are independent, and represent the policyholder. These individuals are different than insurance adjusters.
Policyholders are largely unaware of this distinction, but the difference between claims of a public adjuster and an insurance adjuster can be night and day.
In fact, the insurance company sends an adjuster who is employed by them. These insurance adjusters are paid a salary by the insurance company, whereas public adjusters and hired by policyholders and only usually only receive compensation once a claim is approved.
In the northeast United States, Public Adjusters are prevalent. The industry has expanded to other regions of the country in recent years.
I’m here to help families in Georgia, Florida, and beyond get the most out of their insurance claim. I live in Atlanta but frequently travel between these states to help families with claims adjustment.
How long does the process take?
We can be on site inspecting your property within 24-48 hours, sometimes even sooner. Most claims reach a settlement in about 3 weeks.
However, if there’s a widespread catastrophic disaster and FEMA gets involved, claims can take a minimum of 90 days. The reason these disaster claims take so long is because there’s many more professionals working on the case, and therefore a lot more paperwork and lag time.
The mitigation company wants me to sign a form saying they will handle my claim with my insurance company directly, what do I do?
A roofer, contractor or mediation company may offer to handle your insurance claim. This can lead to many issues.
You don’t want to sign over your claim to the mitigation company. We find that when policyholders sign over their claim they become overlooked in the rebuilding process.
The policyholder does not know how much the mitigation company is charging for the work, and since they are paid by the insurance company directly managing the quality control of the work can become difficult.
I had personal property items damaged in the loss. The insurance company says I have to price and catalog all of the items. How do I handle that?
I can handle the personal property of the claim as well. I’ll categorize, price, photograph and document all the items and submit that information to the insurance company for you.
I already received a check. Does that mean my claim is settled? What if I cash the check?
Yes, you can cash the check and it doesn’t mean the claim is settled. You have two years to make adjustments to your insurance claim.
We can issue supplements to the insurance company that were left off their estimate.