News & Blog

Public Adjuster Settles Church Tornado Claim

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The tornado damage claim has settled on Dr. Lawrence Kennedy's landmark North Church - http://www.northchurch.org. The tornado damage to their building housing their offices, classrooms, multi-media productions, and sanctuary was settled by Suncoast Claims Inc., a Texas public adjuster company and policyholder advocate.

Suncoast Claims Inc. inspected the damage within 24 hours of the loss. The tornado peeled back the end of the football field size roof, exposing the sanctuary to sky. Heavy rain with the high winds resulted in damage to the television studio, sanctuary, and entire roof.

“The air conditioners on the roof, almost as big as railway boxcars, had been rolled over or picked up and dropped back in place, damaging the curbs mounting them to the roof. Electrical and gas lines were plucked up and left in a tangled mess against the parapet walls,” said Don Wood, President of Suncoast Claims Inc. 

“We are licensed to step in for the insured, the policyholder, as their advocate,” Don said. “Many clients need expert help with their claim, to give them assistance to overcome the low estimates the insurance companies frequently produce. On complex or contested claims like this damage at Church on the Rock North, known as North Church, they needed a public adjuster with technical skills and experience,” said Don. “We understand the policy fine print, the rebuilding process, and the claim settlement requirements. We are truly on the policyholder's side in the damage settlement process.”

“Insurance companies typically use independent adjusters to handle their claims. But the only type of adjuster that works for the policyholder is a public adjuster. Their fees typically come out of the settlement. They are usually more experienced than the company’s representative. They work only for the insured, not the insurer.” 

“Dr. Kennedy faced an uphill battle with his insurance carrier. On this claim, due to the structural damage, we needed an engineer to inspect the curb and metal decking repairs. Heavy equipment and long-reach cranes had to remove and reset the large equipment. During all of this,” Don said, “the church continued operations, including a day-care that required safety and security for the children. Incredibly, the insurance carrier continued to resist replacing the entire roof and contested the costs of the necessary repairs.”

Church on the Rock International is a a worldwide mission-based network of over 5,000 affiliate churches, missionaries and itinerant ministers. North Church serves as its headquarters and Dr. Lawrence Kennedy is the president, overseeing thousands of fellowship churches throughout America and the world.

“Due to the insurer’s continued resistance to replacing the roof in spite of ongoing leaks,” Don said, “we brought in a forensic engineer who is also an architect and a building code specialist. He tested and mapped the entire roof, documenting what I was sure he would find – water trapped between the layers of roofing. Even the areas that did not appear damaged were water saturated. Water was migrating and leaking into the building in dozens of places. The high wind had stretched the membrane roofing.”

“With our guidance, the church began the process of appraisal, an insurance policy provision to settle damage amount disputes, as well as legal consultation with an attorney specializing in insurance litigation, to preserve their rights under their insurance contract.” Don said, “We guide our clients through the whole process, but at the stage of either litigating or demanding appraisal, we ask our client to consult with an attorney. We are not attorneys, and do not want them to surrender any of their legal rights at this point due to a misstep.”

“The appraisal process is generally unsuccessful when policyholders go it alone. Since appraisal awards are binding, experience is vital. We recommended a competent independent veteran adjuster and appraiser, who flew into Texas for three meetings with the insurance company’s designated appraiser and the umpire. The panel ultimately issued an award that was near our original estimate.”

“People are amazed at what it takes to resolve claims today.” Don added, “On claims like this, without a public adjusting company like Suncoast, it would be nearly impossible for policyholders to be made whole, because the estimate numbers provided by the insurer were so low. Policyholders must be vigilant to overcome a well-documented industry-wide trend toward low property claim settlements and rapidly get help to get whole.”

 

Fear or Faith

Insurance Claims - First Review Your Insurance Policy

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As Public Adjusters, Suncoast Claims assists policyholders in the proper settlement of their insured homes, offices, factories, stores, or condominiums. However, we can only help you with your claim according to the insurance policy you purchased. It is vitally important that your policy covers your potential damages, so you can make the fullest recovery possible form a catastrophic weather event, fire, collapse, flood, or other sudden and accidental loss.

We have helped churches, shopping centers, municipal utilities, as well as homeowners. As a result, we are often in the position of referring clients to knowledgeable attorneys for assistance in the legal aspects of their claim settlement process. One of those we frequently recommend is the Merlin Law Group. 

Led by Attorney Chip Merlin, they are an advocate of policyholder rights in multiple states. 

As the annual hurricane season is underway, every property owner in potentially affected areas should review their property insurance policy for full coverage. If you have not done so, do not wait. To help you review your policy, we have posted a guide from the Merlin Law Group written by Attorney Chip Merlin on things you should consider in your policy.

The Merlin Law Group has successfully represented policyholders across the country and their attorneys are true advocates for policyholders.

Hurricane Ivan                                               Photograph courtesy NASA/GSFC

If you need further advice, call us at Suncoast Claims. Click the link below to download the full article:

 A Guide to Property Insurance by Attorney Chip Merlin

Public Adjuster Don Wood greets Jim Cantore at Windstorm conference

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Jim Cantore at Windstorm Conference

Don Wood greets Jim Cantore, who was the keynote speaker at a recent Windstorm Network conference. Suncoast Claims handled the loss called the “Last House Standing” that the Weather Channel highlighted on the Texas coast, bringing it to a successful conclusion for the owners, Pam and Warren Adams.

The Windstorm Network is a unique body of insurance company and public adjusting professionals who convene annually to address issues and obtain continuing education certifications.

As a member of the Windstorm Network, Suncoast Claims keeps abreast of wind damage and flood damage claim help tips for policy holders - especially those in hurricane prone areas.

We are here to help the insured - the policy holder with an insurance claim. We have assisted policyholders with residential, commercial, and industrial claims. It takes a lot of expertise to understand the fine print and state guidelines that surround the claim settlement process.

In addition, Suncoast has professional estimators, former builders, and former insurance staff claim adjusters who know how to put your claim in the best positon for the best settlement and recovery.

If you have an insured property loss, call us to see what Suncoast Claims can do for you. 

Hurricane wind claim settlement reached for “Last House Standing”

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Warren and Pam Adams used to be three rows back from the beach. Now their house is beachfront. Ike swept the others away!

Beautiful Bolivar Peninsula is recovering
from Hurricane Ike

I first met Warren by a phone call. His engineer had recommended us to him. His carrier had denied his flood claim and his wind carrier had underpaid the wind claim. 

Their beautiful home at Rollover Pass on Bolivar Peninsula on the south Texas coast is now totally rebuilt, after suffering major wind and flood damage. It looked mostly intact from the air, and was named "The Last House Standing" by an AP photographer flying over the beach by helicopter after the hurricane winds subsided.

The Adams are Texas tough - they rebuilt and overcame the obstacles and delays by the carriers with the help of Suncoast Claims. 

Hurricanes strike Florida, Texas, and North Carolina - our public adjusters are licensed in all these states.

“…we went with Don Wood with Suncoast Claims, we are very, very pleased with him and Suncoast..they went above and beyond what we thought they would do….Also by hiring them we have Chip Merlin Law Firm on our side and will fight for us…It’s worth a try, don’t settle for just what TWIA (their insurer) throws at you…Give Don a chance, I highly recommend Suncoast Claims to any of my neighbors…We are totally satisfied…although we were not slabbers ("slabbers" were the 4000 policyholders who had NOTHING but slabs or pilings left after Ike!), he got us every penny we had coming to us with TWIA…highly, highly recommended I might add. We are hoping to settle the rest of the flood claim soon…If you have any questions, feel free to email me…” – Pamela Adams, owner, “The Last House Standing.”

Ground shot of client's house after
Hurricane Ike

Gulf Coast Recovery Event – Building Bolivar

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You may want to attend if:

• Your Insurance Claim from Ike did not fairly compensate your loss.
• You have Insurance questions – pre-Ike, post-Ike, or future storms.
• You want to discuss the real estate outlook for Bolivar property.
• You are thinking on building or buying a Bolivar beach house.
• You are considering a mortgage – new or refinance.
• You are considering a home security system.

Public Adjuster Firm Opens New Offices in Dallas/Ft-Worth

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Suncoast Claims Inc, a licensed public adjusting company, has opened new offices in Bedford, Texas, within 10 minutes of DFW Airport. You have heard me say Texas is the center of the world! Well, we are located where the Texas spirit is exhibited everywhere. Just crossing the state line makes you feel there is no problem too big to handle! That’s how we feel at Suncoast. We are here for you with the finest staff and resources available!

Whether wind, water, tornado, hail, or hurricane, we are ready to help.

New Office Phone: 817-545-9466 or 409-539-3272

New Fax: 817-977-0195

Our new physical location:  1903 Central Drive #315, Bedford, TX 76021.

Our mailing address remains the same:  PO 1201, Bedford, TX 76095.

We are usually on site - at your loss location, where we investigate your claim, document the damages to your covered property, and analyze your policy. We understand the fine print, the claim process, and how to present your loss in the best manner for your carrier to understand the estimate of damages. The goal is for you to get whole - to make a full recovery!

Call Suncoast Claims to see if we can help with your property loss.

The Insurance Hoax By David Dietz and Darrell Preston -BLOOMBERG

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Julie Tunnell remembers standing in her debris-strewn driveway when the tall man in blue jeans approached. Her northern San Diego tudor-style home had been incinerated a week earlier in the largest wildfire in California history. The blaze in October and November 2003 swept across an area 19 times the size of Manhattan, destroying 2,232 homes and killing 15 people. Now came another blow. -MORE ON PDF-

You are surprised by the storm, the fire, the theft. You may be even more surprised by how the loss is treated by your policy.

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There are always surprises! Your claim is the sudden and accidental covered loss you experience. Covered loss means your insurance policy applies. Examination of your policy and the circumstances of your loss is essential to determine if a loss is covered. You are surprised by the storm, the fire, the theft. You may be even more surprised by how the loss is treated by your policy. The application of your policy to your loss requires reading your entire policy. Someone will always need to read your policy. It has to be the policy that was in place at the time the loss occurred. That means your declaration page, which summarizes your policy and amounts of coverage, your policy itself with all its conditions, and any supplements to your policy that are listed on your declaration page. I have asked 30-year veterans if they know what is in the policies. They answer, “I have to read it each time. There are too many policies and too many conditions.” You can’t keep them all straight. It’s better to read the one the customer purchased and know what actually applies to that particular claim. So you need your policy. If it was lost in the flood or fire, ask your agent for a complete policy as soon as you can. Again, that means the declaration page, the policy itself, and the supplements and addendums named on the declaration page. It may also include notices required by the state insurance department regarding changes in the insurance code. Read it yourself. It will be difficult, because things covered in one part may be denied in another. Dollar limits may apply to certain items or categories of items. When your company’s insurance adjuster arrives to inspect your loss, ask him to explain your policy to you and how he will handle your loss. He or she will look at your property. It is more than an examination of your damage. They are also looking at the value of your property compared to the amount of coverage you purchased. If anything seems out of line, it will be reported back to the underwriting department. Too much or too little insurance, or circumstances not being what was initally reported, can mean your policy could be rated, dropped, non-renewed, or even your claim denied. That usually doesn’t happen. Most of this is routine.

Then comes the loss or damage inspection. The adjuster looks at the damaged home, contents, or both. You will be interviewed for information and observations. Always answer accurately. He or she will have to make a common-sense determination of the cause of the loss. Some causes are not covered by the policy. This means that not all damage is covered damage. No one can settle a loss without knowing the policy. What should you furnish the adjuster to help with the loss inspection and the settlement process? Here’s what every adjuster wishes you had – an inventory of the damaged items, bids or quotes on the repairs, and photos taken immediately after the damage if you had to clean up or remove items before the adjuster was able to get to your loss site. He will always have to verify costs – either by doing his own estimate or by having another contractor whom he knows provide an additional estimate. He will verify costs of damaged contents as well. He will take his own photos and measurements. His file should be a common-sense documentation of your loss that speaks for itself, so that anyone picking up the file of your loss later has no problem understanding what happened, why it was covered, and seeing the justification for the amount that was paid. It’s usually a simple process for a trained adjuster. Complications can occur. If it’s a total loss – fire or flood or tornado – there may be few remains to inspect. Your policy, your purchase receipts, your photo albums showing what was in each room – they could all be gone. You may be trying to reconstruct your home and contents from memory. Your adjuster may have trouble inspecting your property due to unsafe conditions in the structure itself, or roads may be closed due to flooding or downed power lines. You and he or she may be unable to connect due to phone problems and mail delivery problems. Your file may be repeatedly assigned to different adjusters due to the catastrophic nature of the loss and the sheer volume of claims. You may not be able to keep track of who is handling your claim. Each different adjuster may handle your claim differently, due to unique training and experience. It is not an automated process. Adjusters have some flexibility in their decisions within their company’s guidelines. Something started by one adjuster may be handled differently by another. This can be good or bad for your claim experience. Gather all your information together. Make a folder and keep these items together for your use. You may also need to furnish some of these items to your adjuster, whether he is a company adjuster or an independent adjuster hired by your insurance company. If you reach a point where you need to hire a public adjuster, he will need a copy of everything in this file. Don’t mail these documents to anybody. Do not give your only set of photographs to an adjuster. I have seen original documents lost in the mail due the confusion surrounding a catastrophe. I have clients who gave their only photographs and inventory to an independent adjuster, who later had a heart attack and died. No one could find the documents, and a year later they retained me to attempt to reconstruct the loss information. Make a duplicate set of documents and copy the photos to a cd. Only send
them by certified return receipt or use a package shipper like Fedex, UPS, DHL or some similar service that tracks the items. Here’s what you need in that folder: 1. Your policy documents – declaration page, policy, and addendums for the time period of the loss. 2. Your contact information – cell numbers, work and home phone numbers, and temporary mailing address, and your insurance company adjuster’s contact information – cell phone, fax number, and mailing address. If it is an independent adjuster brought in to handle the volume of claims, you will need the contact information for him as well as for your regional insurance office. 3. Copies of all correspondence to and from your insurance company. 4. Copies of all estimates produced by your insurance company adjuster. Include copies of checks if possible. 5. Copies of bids, estimates, and proposals prepared by your contractors or suppiers. 6. Copies of all receipts for emergency repairs, replacement, or work done due to the loss. 7. A separate envelope of receipts for each month that you have to have a rental hotel, house, and restaurant receipts, etc., of additional living expenses due to your home or kitchen, laundry area, etc. not being usable due to the loss. These are usually reimbursed only on the basis of actual receipts, and it is usually on a monthly basis. 8. An inventory of damaged contents, preferably in Microsoft Excel format. If available, you may also need receipts or cover pages of owner’s manuals of the items, as well as model and serial numbers of major appliances. This inventory should be simply a description of the item, the date purchased or age of the item, and the cost to replace it if you had to purchase it today. It is very helpful to list these items by the room they were in for purposes of organization. As substantiation of this list, if you have any owner’s manuals of the items, rip off the cover page and put it in this folder, or if you have original receipts, put them with the list. If you have neither of these, keep some photos of the items with the list. 9. Make copies of the photos of the loss. Both before and after pictures are helpful if it was a large loss. If you have taken photos of the loss damage, copy them to a cd and make several copies of the cd for the file. 10. If you have hired a public adjuster, engineer or attorney, keep a copy of their contracts and invoices for services in the folder. Copy any building permits for the file. This amount of organization will help you have less frustration dealing with your insurance company as you move toward settlement of your claim, and it will provide the documentation your public adjuster will need to pick up your claim as your representative. Smooth Sailing!

There were no sounds of TVs or radios or traffic in the streets. It was too soon for anyone to return.

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I climbed up on the roof to inspect the damage from an aerial view. As far as I could see, there were missing roofs, debris piled against houses, and damaged walls and windows. Trees and power lines were down. There were no sounds of TVs or radios or traffic in the streets. It was too soon for anyone to return. And noticeably, there was no sound of hammering, sawing or other repair work. It was eerily quiet because the storm troopers had not arrived. The money was not flowing, so work had not yet begun. I was in the war zone – where the eye of the hurricane had passed over South Florida. It was the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. Most homeowners carry property insurance. I have met a few who did not. One was a man in Coral Gables, Florida, who paid cash for a home two days before Hurricane Andrew blew through. He hadn?t had time to purchase insurance coverage before Andrew hit the house like a giant tornado. Pieces of its roofing tile were embedded in the walls of adjoining houses. His home was not a total loss, but all the repairs were out of pocket. I had been retained by a national insurer to write an estimate on his neighbor’s home, the residence of an insurance agent who had coverage with his own company. They wanted an independent damage assessment. As a Licensed General Contractor and professional estimator, I prepared an estimate for the home. I still do that today, only my estimates are prepared in my role as a Licensed Public Adjuster. No one should be the contractor and adjuster on the same property. That ended in most states with the licensing of adjusters ? whether they are company, independent, and public adjusters. At this Coral Gables home, the insurance agent reported to me that he and his wife and kids hid in the master bedroom closet, the strongest interior room, to ride out the hurricane. Nearly everyone I have spoken to over the years who has done that has said they would never do it again. The noise was deafening. His children were terrified. The power went off. They huddled in darkness, listening to their neighborhood be destroyed. I inspected their home several weeks after the storm and found shards of Spanish tile embedded in their master bathroom wall. It had shot through the window like a bullet and stuck in the sheetrock. Of course, the homeowners could hear all the damage occurring but could not leave their “safe” room. The protocol I use is to start at the top and work down, opposite of when I built homes, starting at the foundation and working up to the roof. I trace the cause of damage which,
many times, is roof leaks. If there is a kitchen fire, I start in the kitchen and work out to the less damaged rooms. The tiles crunched under my feet as I climbed up to the ridge of the roof. Broken and missing tiles were evident everywhere, as well as whole bare patches where they had been stripped off the roof, leaving bare underlayment. Some slopes were missing the underlayment as well, exposing the plywood deck. But even the remaining tiles weren’t right – they moved when stepped on or touched. Their fasteners had been pulled loose. The whole roof was beyond repairable due to so many missing tiles and the additional breakage that would occur during the repair process. I declared the roof a total loss. I measured the roof with a long, flexible tape with a tennis ball attached to the end. More than one friend had stepped off a roof and hit the shrubbery when attempting to measure a roof. They?d hooked their tape to the ridge and backed down the slope, pulling their tape measure, and inadvertently stepped off the roof edge. So I straddled the ridge in the middle of the roof and let the tennis ball pull the end of the tape down to the bottom edge. The ridge is also the easiest place from which to sketch the roof since the entire roof is usually visible. It’s a little tricky – straddling a roof with a clipboard, camera, tape measure – drawing an outline of the slopes, ridges, and eaves without falling off in the process. So much for the roof. I measured each slope. The edge dimensions that were unreachable by foot could be determined from the ground, so I took pictures and climbed down my ladder. I used a folding ladder that fit in my trunk – another accessory to cart around in addition to my luggage. Now I know three ways to measure a roof. Only one of them requires actually climbing onto the roof. Then I measured the perimeter and height of the outside wall. It was stucco, and it had holes punched in it from the neighbors’ stuff that had become airborne. Hurricane winds change direction as the storm gradually passes by, depending on how close your property is to the eyewall. This home had damage on all four exterior walls. I noted overhangs, fascia, gutters, and downspouts. I took pictures as I walked and recorded dimensions. I also looked at the swimming pool and the now non-existent pool cage. An entire palm tree, roots included, lay at the bottom of the pool. The water was a reddish brown from the bark dissolving into the water – already staining the pool plaster near the tree a dark brown. My biggest surprise came upon entering the home through the double front doors. The entry was ceramic tile. There were two deep holes punched into the tile. Later the homeowner told me they had propped a large Castro convertible sofa-bed up against the two doors to help hold them closed. It didn’t work. When the doors blew in, the couch legs punched holes in the tile entryway. The couch was gone. The sunken living room was in front of the entry. Behind it was a row of sliding glass doors that opened onto a large covered patio. Beyond the covered area was the swimming
pool, then the backyard, and what remained of a fence. There was no Castro convertible sofa-bed to be seen. It had been blown across the sunken living room, through one of the sliding doors, across the patio, and over the top of the swimming pool, deposited in a neighbor’s yard several blocks away. To think, the family was in a closet at the end of the house during that event! I took measurements room by room. I started at the far end of the house, taking pictures and measurements, labeling my notes to enter into my computer estimating program later at the hotel. I worked my way back to the entrance, finishing with the living room. I noticed a strange band of white stuff on the living room wall. It was an inch or so thick and about six inches wide, going around the perimeter of the room on the walls at about eye level. I took pictures of it, and then studied the room to see what had happened. There was no texture on the ceiling. It had been scoured off the ceiling and deposited in a band on the walls by the whirling wind after the doors blew open. Mind-boggling! It was hard to believe the house was still standing. My estimate was turned into the temporary regional insurance office – an entire hotel taken over as an emergency claims center. Six hundred adjusters from the same company were staying in that hotel. I had to revise my numbers later to reflect local price adjustments. The agent getting bids on the repairs discovered they were way over my numbers. My computer pricing had to be adjusted to reflect current local conditions. I guess that’s why it’s called “adjusting.” I was dealing only with the value of the loss. The adjuster from the homeowner?s own company where he was an agent had hired me to perform the loss estimate. I was not dealing with his fine print, his additional coverages, his depreciation, his deductible, his contents, or his additional living expenses. I would learn that later. For now, I was doing the easy part. After a few years working as a staff property adjuster with a major national insurance company, I learned that most insurance company adjusters have zero construction experience. The companies send their adjusters to school for weeks to teach them construction terminology and estimating techniques. I was the exception. I was trained and retrained. I learned from the best. I went from being an estimator to being an adjuster. Later, I left my staff adjuster position and traveled as an independent adjuster. I had become, at least for a while, a “storm trooper.” It was part of my journey to become a public adjuster.

The first storm has come and gone.

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The first storm has come and gone. The trauma, confusion, and stress of dealing with the debris, the cramped living conditions, and the loss of personal property remains. Your insurance company adjusters may have already inspected your loss, but you don’t know the outcome. What do you do? You’re running out of cash fast, the atms have no power. But the restaurants are all shut down anyway – any remaining food was ruined when the power went out. The traffic signals are down. Nails and debris are in the roads – everybody has flat tires – no compressors to fill them since gas stations have no electricity. Hundreds of street signs are missing, so you painted your house numbers and policy number on the front of your damaged home to help adjusters and contractors find you. You probably even painted your cell phone number on a wall inside the vacant home. Familiar landmarks are shambles. When you got to your home, there were no lights and no air conditioning. The missing shingles and shattered windows let in so much rain that everything is cooking in the humidity – mold will begin in a few days. Mold – probably excluded from your insurance policy, but there’s nothing you can do, since it will take weeks for the utility company to string power lines back to your neighborhood. But of course, you can’t turn on the power until your home is inspected and repaired. You’ve got to find rental property. The hotels that are still open are already full. Rents increase rapidly as displaced homeowners compete for housing. You now have a commute from a strange neighborhood. Your kids will be in a different school until yours is rebuilt. Churches, schools, neighbors ? all are shut down. Sporadic cell phone service is all there is ? there are no working land lines in your old neighborhood. You had never eaten a Red Cross-prepared meal before, but now it’s delicious. You join the line with the relief workers. You look for contractors in the line ? do they know what they are doing? Where are the qualified contractors? How do you obtain the materials? How do you get the insurance company to pay the costs that have escalated due to shortages? Now comes the flurry of paperwork – the negotiations with the adjusters, the forwarding of quotes and bids. You finally get your check from your insurance company, but it’s only a third of the quotes you’re getting from contractors. You think you can spend it to at least begin repairs then notice your mortgage company’s name is included on the check. You call them to get them to sign it, but instead, they insist you sign it and forward the check to them. They may apply it to your unpaid balance. They may release it to you in
installments after you have completed part of the repairs. It is their option. After complaining to your local state officials, you discover it’s legal – there’s nothing you can do about it. Your contractors won’t begin work without a deposit. They’ve been through this before. Their crews want to be paid each week. There aren’t enough local crews, so they all have to pay for temporary housing too, in addition to their homes wherever they are from. Everything takes extra time, such as waiting in line at the one home improvement store that is open running on backup generator power. So you negotiate a bank loan to rebuild your home, hoping you can get more insurance money later. It doesn’t feel like the storm is over. Building codes have stiffened. The additional costs are excluded since you did not have “code upgrade” coverage. Your agent sold you “inflation coverage.” Sorry, that doesn’t cover code changes, only market changes. Thankfully, your claim is simple. It’s probably a wind policy claim, or if you are inland, a regular homeowner claim. If you were near the coast or a bay, your problems are worse. You had flood insurance, but many things are excluded from both flood and wind coverage. Your deductible is only part of the story. But it’s worse – your wind adjuster and your flood adjuster disagree over the cause of the major damage to your home. Each one says the other should cover it. One is covered by Federal law and the other is under State insurance laws. Different rules apply for appealing the loss decisions. You learn that even state legislators or US Senators are suing their own insurance companies. Federal Judges’ homes are destroyed. Courts are backlogged with lawsuits that will take years to reach a decision. Meanwhile… your home must be restored. After attempted appeals, you learn that the adjusters sent in estimates that were modified downward by the regional offices before the checks were issued. The regional offices of the insurance companies feel the independent adjusters have been too generous. You learn that the insurance company blames the independent adjusters for the estimate and refuses to change it. They assure you that you can find a contractor that can do it for that price. Do you hire an Attorney? Do you hire a Public Adjuster? Do you demand Arbitration? Do you use Mediation? Do you get additional bids from General Contractors? How do you put the claim together? How do you cut through the red tape? There are only three kinds of Adjusters – Company Staff Adjusters, Independent Adjusters, and Public Adjusters. Who will settle your claim? Who has your best interest in mind? People work for money. Staff adjusters are on salary. Independent adjusters work for a fee per claim. Only Public Adjusters are motivated to obtain the highest claim possible for you, since they work on commission in most states. All of them are trained, licensed, and hopefully, regulated by the state where they work. Only one has a fiduciary interest to represent you. All of them are experienced. Only one of them is usually grey-haired with experience and broad-based skills. Most public adjusters have been company or independent adjusters before becoming exclusively public adjusters. Many have construction experience, either
commercial or residential. But not even the title “Public Adjuster” is good enough. Get references and check them. Some even have professional estimating skills. Some have completed hundreds of hours of extra training. The license designation is not enough. The qualifications must also be there. Finding the right one is made more difficult by rules, promoted by the insurance industry, prohibiting public adjusters from advertising during a declared catastrophe. You have to rely on referrals. Maybe that is actually a good idea. An attorney can sue your insurance carrier. Sometimes it is needed. But your policy states you agree not to sue until you have complied with the terms of your policy. There’s a lot of fine print to comply with. An attorney can handle your home purchase – but he can’t put a value on it, tell you how to advertise it, or tell you how to make it more presentable for the purchaser. You need a Realtor for that. A Public Adjuster should be able to put a value on your loss. He should be able to negotiate the fine print of the policy to help you comply with its provisions to reach a settlement. He should be able to inform you about additional coverages that may have been overlooked. He should be more than just a negotiator or a loud voice at the bargaining table. He should know what he is doing and be qualified for the type of claim he is handling. A mediator can help the two parties reach agreement. Arbitration can bring about a settlement. However, neither are necessarily in compliance with the policy provisions for disputes regarding the value of a loss. Neither process involves anyone assisting you who is motivated by your success. Call a public adjuster. Let him or her evaluate your loss against the terms of your policy. If you find a good one, tell your friends. Don’t let the second storm be worse than the first. Smooth Sailing!