A public adjuster is a licensed insurance claims adjuster who is an advocate for and paid by the policyholder in appraising and negotiating a property insurance claim.
Aside from attorneys, public adjusters who are licensed by the Department of Financial Services, are the only type of claims adjuster that can legally represent the rights of an insured during the insurance claim process. It is the public adjuster that will offer the most benefit in valuation of the loss. Most public adjusters charge a percentage of the settlement, usually 10%.
Primarily, the public adjuster's responsibilities include the following:
- Evaluate the policyholder’s existing insurance policy in order to determine what coverage may be applicable to a claim;
- Research, detail, and substantiate damage to Buildings, Personal Property and any Additional Expenses such as Loss of Use, Loss of Rents and Business Interruption;
- Determine values for settling covered damages; Negotiate a settlement with the insurance company on behalf of an insured;
- Make recommendations to improve the insured's policy in the case of future losses although any changes to the policy are made by the policyholder's insurance agent.
- Re-open a claim and negotiate for more money if a discrepancy is found after the claim has been settled.
There are three classes of insurance claims adjusters:
- Staff adjusters (employed by an insurance company and can legally only represent the rights of the insurance company NOT policyholders);
- Independent Adjusters (independent contractors hired by the insurance company and can legally only represent the rights of the insurance company NOT policyholders);
- Public Adjusters (employed by the policyholder).
You have to level the playing field. The insurance companies hire and train their adjusters to minimize claims. Their adjusters work for the insurance company NOT you. Common ways the insurance company could minimize your loss is by using the following strategies:
- Convince you to repair the damage rather than replace it;
- May "overlook" damage knowing that the burden of proof is on you, the policyholder, not themselves;
- May estimate the repair cost at a much lower rate than what the true cost of repairs will be;
Doing it alone, you could inadvertently under cut the true cost of the repairs. Think about this: the insurance company may mislead you into believing that only the damaged portion needs to be replaced – in fact, in doing so, the repair won’t match the rest of the property – it’ll look like a patch job.
Did you know you are entitled to have the damaged area restored to its pre-loss condition?
Premiums are paid to indemnify you, not suffer through a patch job. The average policyholder doesn’t know they are being taken advantage of and further, some policyholders won’t argue with the big bad insurance company out of fear – that’s why an expert Public Adjuster should be employed each and every time