INSURANCE CLAIM PROCESS: (the basics)
a) Individuals and businesses purchase insurance to protect their property against monetary losses due to things like water damage, storm damage, fire/smoke, etc.
b) When a loss occurs, a claim is made against the insurance company contract/policy that you purchased seeking monetary compensation for a covered loss.
c) The insurance company assigns one (or more) of their adjusters (and possibly other “experts” of theirs) to investigate your claim and determine the damage present and if those damages should be covered under your policy.
d) If you disagree with the insurance company’s findings, your insurance policy will likely require a specific process be followed to resolve the disagreement. This can lead to things like mediation (relatively inexpensive), an appraisal process (expensive) and litigation (expensive).
THE CRITICAL PART of the claims process is the insurance adjusting component. This is where the foundation of your claim is built. This is also why its so important to get your Public Adjuster involved from the very beginning.
THE PROBLEM with the above process is that – YOU – the Insured is relying solely on the good grace of the insurance company. Remember – the Insurance Company is a big business with one goal – make money for their stockholders through the “insurance game.”
THE SOLUTION is to hire a Public Adjuster and not just any Public Adjuster. You want to hire Access Public Adjusting. We represent YOUR INTEREST, not the insurance company. By hiring Access Public Adjusting you are getting the advantage of an industry insider with the insights and knowledge from having worked years for insurance carriers. We have the insurance industry knowledge, experience and expertise to protect your interest.
THE PROOF – A study was commissioned by the “Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability,” an office of the Florida Legislature. The report was published in January of 2010. The following are some of the findings published:
- “Policyholders with public adjuster representation typically received higher settlements than those without public adjusters.”
- “For non-catastrophe claims, policyholders who used public adjusters received an estimated $9,379 on their claim, compared to $1,391 for those policyholders that did not use a public adjuster (a difference of 574%).” [FYI, non-catastrophe claims are your everyday types of claims like leaking water lines, mold and such.]
- ‘The difference in payments was even larger for claims related to hurricanes.’