The question we are asked the most is how do I maximize my insurance claim? One of the most under appreciated aspects of retaining a public adjuster to assist with your insurance claim is how having an estimate of the repairs that your home will need to restore it to pre-loss condition, prepared by someone other than an adjuster affiliated with your insurer, can help you recover more for your insurance claim. A public adjuster’s estimate typically is more comprehensive and thorough than an estimate prepared by the adjusters that are utilized by insurance companies. Compared to insurance company adjusters, public adjusters typically take more time and a closer look at the damage your home suffered and what is truly necessary for repairs, so a public adjuster’s estimate often can withstand scrutiny better than those prepared by an insurer’s adjuster.
In addition, having a public adjuster’s estimate can also put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to negotiations with the insurer over your claim. Therefore, retaining a public adjuster results in you dictating the parameters of any negotiations with the insurer rather than the other way around. Having a public adjuster’s estimate enables you, rather than the insurer, to be able to play offense rather than defense. With David Flaks of PubAdjuster, David’s estimates are so much more detailed and thorough than those of the insurance company that the insurance company always needs to pay much more than it wants to on your insurance claim.
How Estimates Work in the Homeowner’s/Property Insurance Context
If you file a claim with your insurer, then the insurer is required to investigate your claim and then issue a decision as to your claim within 90 days unless certain factors make it impossible for the insurer to do so in 90 days. If the insurer determines that your home suffered a loss because of something covered under your insurance policy, then the insurer is required to provide its insured with a payment known as the undisputed amount. This is the amount that the insurer believes your home will require in repairs. The insurer bases this amount from an estimate prepared by its own adjuster. This is how the insurer determines what it believes the value of your claim to be.
The estimates prepared by the insurers’ adjusters are typically based upon a single visit to the insurer’s home to examine the damage that is rarely very thorough given the number of claims than an insurer’s adjuster often has to work on at any one time. This is one of the reasons it is so important that you retain a public adjuster to help represent you in connection with your insurance claim. One of the key parts of any public adjuster’s function is to prepare his or her own estimate based upon multiple inspections of your home and conversations with the insured.
Why a Public Adjuster’s Estimate Puts the Insurer in a Difficult Position
Insurers hate when a public adjuster is involved because they know it means they will have to pay more on the claim. One of the reasons for this is that the public adjuster’s estimate will force the insurer to acknowledge its own adjuster’s estimate may have low-balled the value of the claim by understating the amount of damage caused by a loss, by leaving certain key repairs out of the estimate completely, or by underpricing the amount those repairs will cost.
Any negotiation begins with parties agreeing on the parameters of what is being negotiated. When it comes to the property damage that an insured homeowner has suffered, what is being negotiated first requires the insurer and the insured/public adjuster reaching an agreement as to damages were incurred. The insured may believe that an entire roof replacement is necessary after a hurricane or tropical storm, whereas the insurer believes that only a few tiles were damaged and that those tiles can be repaired and/or replaced. Once that has been agreed upon, then both sides must agree on the repairs necessary; this is referred to as the scope of the repairs. Finally, the parties will then need to work out any difference between the estimates around pricing, or how much a particular repair will cost. Insurers’ adjusters will often use artificially low estimates that a public adjuster can quickly dispense with.
The problem for an insurer when there is a competing estimate is that the insurer must then specifically account for the fact that its own adjuster’s estimate did not include all the areas that were damaged, the proper scope of repairs, or the proper pricing for the necessary repairs. This leaves the insurer vulnerable on several fronts and results in a public adjuster being able to easily call the insurer’s estimate into question in any of these three areas. This makes it much easier for you as the insured to recover the full value of your losses.
Contact David Flaks of PubAdjuster if You Are Asking How Do I Maximize My Insurance Claim
If you are asking, how do I maximize my insurance claim, regardless of what type of loss you have suffered to your home, whether storm damage, a burst pipe, a fire or otherwise, David Flaks of PubAdjuster is here to assist in maximizing your recovery from your insurer. David Flaks of PubAdjuster is meticulous in preparing estimates that are nearly impossible for the insurer and its adjuster to challenge and ensure you recover what is owed to you under your insurance policy. From our offices in Boca Raton, we serve clients in Broward and Palm Beach Counties and throughout Florida with a wide variety of different types of insurance claims. We will work with you to ensure that you maximize your recovery from any type of damage or loss. Call (561) 212-0239 or email us at david@pubadjuster.com for a free claim review today.