Understanding the Role of a Public Adjuster

When you have an insurance claim, your insurance company may send out a claims adjuster to investigate the incident and report back to the insurance company. The insurance claims adjuster works on behalf of the insurance company. It’s their job to make sure the insurance company doesn’t pay out any more than necessary for any individual claim. In short, the claims adjuster represents the interests of the insurance company. Hiring a public adjuster is crucial here.

Most people don’t realize that they have the option of hiring a Public Adjuster. They don’t work for the insurance company. They don’t represent the insurance company’s interests, but they are ethically obligated to be fair in their determination. A Public Adjuster must be licensed in the state in which they do business. Public adjusters specialize in managing all the different steps of an insurance claim, but they work to represent the policyholder, not the insurance company. It’s very important to realize that a Public Adjuster is hired by the policyholder, represents the policyholder’s interests. Whereas a claims adjuster is hired by or employed by the insurance company and represents the insurance company’s interests.

A public adjuster works for the public, but they are independently employed. In other words, a public Adjuster doesn’t work for any agency or government body. They work for a Public Adjuster company and each Public Adjuster must carry their own license, which is issued by the state.

What Does a Public Adjuster Do?

The role of a Public Adjuster is to “adjust” the claim, with the policyholder’s interests in mind. They offer services such as in-person visits to the scene of the incident, in-person visits to inspect the damage, damage reporting, insurance claims submission, claims negotiating, and much more.

How Does the Process Work?

The process may be slightly different depending on the particular circumstances of the claim. However, and example might be:

Suppose you had a homeowner’s policy, and a tree fell on your house, damaging your roof and a few rooms on the second floor of your home. You call your insurance company and they send out their claims Adjuster. The claims Adjuster says you’re partially to blame because that tree was old and should have been cut down. They also say that the roof should have been replaced years ago. You get a letter from the insurance company that says they’re only willing to give you a minimal payout based on the claims Adjuster’s report.

Now that you know you can hire a Public Adjuster to represent you, you call a Public Adjuster in your state. Public Adjuster comes out to assess the situation. They take photographs and video the scene. They get a report from a local tree expert about the condition of the tree. They get a roofing expert to certify the condition of the roof.

Next, the Public Adjuster contacts the insurance company on your behalf. The Public Adjuster and the insurance company go back and forth for a while. Finally, you get another letter from the insurance company with a payout offer that may be substantially larger than the original one.

Notice that you didn’t have to do anything more than hiring the Public Adjuster. Once you do, the burden of the claims process is lifted from your shoulders. Now, not every situation ends well. Results are not guaranteed. But wouldn’t you rather have someone on your side during an important claim? Of course, you would. Have you lost a home or business due to a disaster such as fire, flood, or structural collapse? Contact us today for more information about how a Public Adjuster can make life easier for you.