Public Adjuster vs Insurance Adjuster

How Knowing the Difference Can Make a Huge Impact on Your Property Claim

Insurance premiums are a double edged sword; it’s hard not to momentarily daydream where else you could be spending the money, yet you continue to pay faithfully with the understanding that if and when something terrible occurs to your home or property, such as structural damage from a severe storm, you’ll be rightfully compensated. But who’s really watching out for you in the event of a devastating fire or hurricane that destroys many, if not all of the things you’ve worked your entire life for?

We want to let you in on what often seems like a well kept secret where insurance holders are concerned: The adjuster that your insurance company will send out to appraise your damages isn’t necessarily there to help you. It’s an unfortunate but true reality that policyholders often overlook during this particularly emotionally devastating time.

Whenever you take out any insurance policy, it’s important to remember this one rule: if you ever have to file a claim, the insurance adjuster assigned to your case is working solely for your insurance company–not you. Even if they introduce themselves as independent insurance adjusters, they’ve still been hired by your insurance company. Regardless of how helpful and thorough they may appear to be while assessing your damage, their bottom line is to help your insurance company, which operates no differently from any other for-profit company. No matter what your insurance agent markets otherwise, your insurance agency is in the business of making (not giving away) money, pure and simple. Therefore, the insurance adjuster is really just there for two reasons:

1. They’re obliged to be there. It’s part of the coverage you’ve agreed to—and paid for diligently—year after year.
2. To appraise your damage in a way that’s fair to both you and the insurance company. Your insurance company has thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of policyholders to keep happy. And when it comes to insurance, that means low premiums. The more they pay out in claims, the less they have to work with in terms of competitive rates.

Sadly, many policyholders don’t realize this during the the claims process, settling instead for quite possibly meager payouts representing just a small fraction of what is actually owed. It’s only the people who sense that something isn’t quite right and begin to do their homework who discover that there’s another type of property claims adjuster—one who offers services that align with the policyholders’ needs, rather than the insurance company’s.

Insurance Adjuster vs Public Adjuster: Priorities

As we stressed above, an insurance adjuster works for your insurance company and is therefore not actually appraising your damages with your best interest at heart. Their bottom line is to provide a settlement that simply “settles” the claim, possibly overlooking damages and losses that aren’t so obvious during their own appraisal process. Unfortunately, this typically translates to the insured receiving far below what he/she is actually entitled to.

A public adjuster, on the other hand, is a licensed insurance expert who advocates on your behalf during (or even after) the claims process, assuring that your case is scrupulously appraised and negotiated. Like an insurance adjuster, a public adjuster carefully examines your policy and appraises the damage you’ve suffered. But the similarities end there. Following our own thorough valuation of damages, which is careful to include losses you’ve endured beyond any immediate damage, such as loss of profit, public adjusters then initiate a thorough investigative process which includes a comprehensive valuation of damages and subsequent negotiation process with your insurance company to arrange a settlement that suits your best interests rather than your insurance company’s.

Insurance Adjuster vs Public Adjuster: Final Settlement Amounts

The difference in claim settlements that enlist the help of a veteran public adjuster is remarkable. We see it nearly every day at Insurance Claim Consultants, where exploited home and business owners transition from feeling frustrated, and quite frankly cheated, to feeling encouraged and empowered as we help them realize the amount they’re actually entitled to. In one recent case, we assisted the owner of a 12-unit apartment complex in Sarasota, Florida, who had filed claim when a fire caused severe smoke and water damage to three of his units.

The property owner called us after being entirely denied by his insurance company, who claimed that the extent of the damage did not exceed his deductible. We immediately sent a two-member team, comprised of one of our experienced insurance adjusters and a construction consultant, to assess the damage. After carefully surveying provisions within the owner’s insurance policy and noting a recent change in building code, our team proved that the damages were well above the insured’s deductible—$212,856.72 to be exact. A part of this settlement included loss of rent, a detail his insurance company had neglected to include, but one which the property owner was rightfully entitled to.

This is just one example of 1) how your insurance company can act negligently during its appraisal process and 2) how the right public adjuster can fight for a higher settlement on your behalf. At Insurance Claim Consultants, we’re here to assist you with the following claims:

• Hail Damage
• Fire Damage
• Storm Damage
• Tornado Damage
• Hurricane Damage
• Flood Damage
• Water Damage
• Roof Claims
• Collapse Claims

Our team of seasoned public insurance adjusters and property damage appraisers has acquired hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients, with tens of millions in increased settlements. Since first opening our doors in 1992, we’ve worked with over 10,000 clients, providing a comprehensive analysis of all damage—even the more obscure damage that both you and the insurance adjuster (the one your insurance company sent out) may have overlooked—and going to bat for you to secure the settlement you need to repair, rebuild, and restore all of the losses you’ve experienced, including:

• Property affected outside of the main dwelling, such as a patios and landscaping
• Lost wages and/or profit
• Additional expenses you may have incurred as a result of the damage, such as renting new living or business space
• The additional expense of rebuilding and/or repairs that meet present-day building codes

We take pride in thoroughly investigating the full extent of your loss and taking all necessary steps to assure you’re awarded what’s truly due, down to the penny.

Commonly Asked Questions

At Insurance Claim Consultants, we work tirelessly to assure that property damage victims get the settlement they’re entitled to. In fact, we have a 100% success rate in helping our clients obtain larger settlements. Don’t take risk of trusting your insurance company’s adjuster to handle your claim—call Insurance Claim Consultants today for a free, no-obligation review of your claim.