 People call me for every reason in the world. "Can you give me the name of a great limo service? Massage therapist? Great sushi restaurant in SOBE? Someone that installs storm windows? Locksmith? A medical practice my husband can join? Where can I buy a mezuzah for my new home?" are just a tiny fraction of questions I get everyday. Today agents have to be superheroes when it comes to helping our friends, clients, prospective clients, anybody that might one day list/buy/sell or refer us to someone that will down the line.
When a homeowner has an insurance claim, they usually call their insurance company to file a claim. The insurance company then sends out an adjuster, their employee, to assess damages and figure out monetary compensation. The homeowner is paid and the claim is settled. Usually. Is this fair? Usually not. Let's change the scenario a little bit. What if the second call the homeowner makes is to their own public adjuster, someone that works in their interest and not the insurance company's interest? Now the playing field becomes more level and the homeowner has someone on their side to mitigate the claim from their point of view, assess damages, figure out monetary compensation. The public adjuster represents the homeowner and will help them cut through the red tape and intricacies of filing with insurance companies at large. The public adjuster charges a fee between 10-35% for their services. I see this as money well spent. Why must homeowners have a public adjuster in their corner? Just like an intelligent person doesn't walk into a courtroom without being represented by competent counsel, neither should homeowners try to deal with an insurance company by themselves. When there are large damages to your biggest asset that require compensation, it's best to have someone on your side that is knowledgeable and competent. In many instances, insurance companies will try to settle claims with homeowners for much less than they are worth, sometimes offering only a small amount of money for repairs. Unacceptable. The insurance company knows that they should replace someones roof and plywood decking underneath, but instead only offers a small settlement for 'repairs'. What if the tiles on the roof are no longer manufactured and cannot be matched? According to a professional that I know in the business, the insurance company needs to replace the whole roof. Installing mismatching roof tiles will not only look horrendous, it will also reduce the value of the home and reduce curb appeal. Can you imagine a prospective buyer's first impression driving up to a home for a showing and seeing ugly, mismatched tiles on the roof? Not good. Just like you have a great real estate attorney, title insurance company, painter, handyman, mortgage broker, home inspector, appraiser, mover, in your aresenal, make sure you also have a great public adjuster for your clients to use. Today, more and more agents offer 'concierge service' to their past, present and future buyers and sellers. This is a great added value contact to refer out to clients in need. They will thank you many times over for saving them money!
3 Comments
3/20/2010 07:30:32 am
I met a great P.A., unfortunately I had hired and fired the previous one within contract limits, but he refused to send a letter of release and I was advised by atty. they could claim part of my award, so had to stay with him. I am ill, the claim was complicated and I was battling financial problems on several fronts, so made this bad decision. Q. He decided to go to appraisal instead of mediation withot consulting me-found out about his decision when he called night before appraiser mtg. telling me to meet him at my house (had moved out because of severe illness to son & myself from mold). Whole process from then on was even more catastrophic, he expanded the actual damage to areas which I told him were not caused by the water leakage, forgot to inform all insurance reps of the most significant leak and resulting damage, 95% of my calls/emails containing roofer receipts, expert reports were ignored "just let me do my job, don't need any further evidence". never even opened emails. Award was inadequate to repair my home, will have to sell home as distressed short sale; credit ruined/savings gone to rent (PA told me to rent high as possible,would increase my claim, cost me nothing as ins. co. would reimburse - took 20% of the one check for ALE I got before it was terminated, only rec'd 10% reimbursement, am out $5000 rent only. Requested expert at my cost to rebut ins. co. expert-screamed at me he would get me for ins. fraud if I hired one; told me he picked contracors for repair "I'll take care of it all"-found out from 3 reliable legal sources in legal field (I worked for the Court 20 yrs) that these contractors regularly give PAs money in exchange for job; interviewed and chose remediator, build-back team but he refused to send my contractors' estimate to ins.co., sent his own totally ridiculous estimate, which included kitchen remodel from stain on adjacent dining room ceiling, requiring all cabinets/countertop replacement. Tho I repeatdly emailed/called him re revisions we agreed were needed on the only expert I hired for water damage/mold assessment, that expert told me give hime 2 weeks lead time, PA contacted him MORNING OF FINAL UMPIRE MTG. with numerous revisions critical to our claim, but he only had time for minimal changes before mtg, had no time to include critical changes supporting our claim. I had developed rapport with this expert, he actually called PA several times on my behalf (PA denies any calls).PA agrees on Umpire suggested by Universal who turns out to be golf buddy of Universal's claim rep, I again request expert to rebut Universal's expert, again refuses; Ins. Co. will only deal with PA. PA chooses to close case with settlement 1/2 of what's needed for minimal repairs; hangs up on me when I call to ask what my portion is, tells me to contact company president (who PA asks to act as appraiser on my behalf and he obviously knows nothing about claim throghout Umpire mtg. conceeded to Universal's outright lies as didn't know differently. Q. Award check hasn't been drafted yet; can I bring my ins. co. evidence I fired him within 3 day limit in our contract, yet he refused to sign letter of release? Is any way I can at least reduce 20% fee? President of co. was obviously unhappy with my PA during Umpire mtg as didn't know how to reply and, for some reason, didn't let Rami rebut obvious lies by Universal? When I tried to speak, everyone shushed me, wasn't allowed to speak. What are my options to mishandling of claim? Have proof of firing within 3 day limit in PAs contract with return rec't from him, but his refusal to sign leetter of release was verbal, though I have copy sent to him. How can I get documents from PA e.g. minimum Umpire's ruling? I believe I am entitled to entire award w/no fee to PA - blatant incompetence. Since Presient of PA co. acting as appraiser was obvious unhappy w/my PA during mtg., should I try to write ltr explaining what happened, asking fee reduced from 20% to 10%? Do I need an attorney? Tried real estate attys and 3 contacted had no experience with lawsuits against P.A. and this would prolong award, which desperately need now to start with minimal repair that can be done as home damage has increased over time this claim began over 6 months ago. Ins.Co. really did have it in for this particular PAs methods and his outrageous estimate of damage, and suspected he was taking over repairs for monetary reasons-asked me this on phone. Should I try to contact them? They saw me as a victim of a bad decision - can I have atty. ask for check to be made out to me only, not me and PA? But them PA would come after me for measly $8K. WHAT LEVERAGE DO I HAVE TO AT LEAST REDUCE FEE AND HOW DO YOU ADVISE I APPROACH INSURANCE CO., IF AT ALL? Universal's known for bad faith with homeowners-would they want to start the process all over? Please help or I will lose house in foreclosure, please. Oh, contacted FAPIA, the PA assoc. and secretary of FAPIA was app 3/20/2010 07:39:38 am
REGARDING PREVIOUS COMMENT I JUST SUBITTED. After much research, I chose to hire a P.A. I have respect for this field as advocates for homeowners and I purposely chose a pro-PA site to post this comment. I expect, however, I may not receive a response as this was just a comment-am new to the web so forgive this fopa. But the question is directed to the author of this article and it would be very much appreciated if he, himself, respond to my comment in a professional way that is a credit to the P.A. profession. Thank you. 3/29/2010 08:18:31 am
Lynda sorry to sorry to hear about your bad experience with your Public Adjuster. I feel that a Public Adjuster's job should be to educate and protect the policyholder. Other people have felt the burden of filing an insurance claim. Through my experiences helping clients with property damage issues I have found that the right Public Adjustment Company can make the process painless and hassle-free to the property owner. Hopefully I can answer some of your questions. You should also consult an attorney. Leave a Reply. |
Kharee ShorterI am a License and Bonded Public Adjuster in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. My mission is to walk you down the path to the American Dream of homeownership and much more... Archives
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