What Exactly is a Public Adjuster?

Losing your house to a hurricane is sure to leave a heavy dent on to your lifestyle. Claiming insurance involves a lot of paperwork and, is extremely time consuming, if you do it all yourself. With limited amounts of time, the only way to speed the process is by hiring an insurance adjuster.

There are three types to choose from: Independent adjusters, who are freelance workers, hired by insurance companies on contract basis; staff adjusters, who are employed by insurance companies full-time; and public adjusters, about whom we are going to talk in detail.

A public adjuster is a representative provided by the government to a policyholder who wants to claim insurance. In the United States, a public adjuster is sometimes called an insurance loss assessor. Once you decide you want to hire one, the public adjuster starts going through the insurance policies, damage done to your house, or any other insured commodity in question He calculates repair cost, and starts negotiations with your insurance company.

Even though experience is a crucial criterion for hiring a public adjuster, efficiency and precision are also important to consider. They need to be able to give you the insurance advice you need to benefit you later on. Now that we know what a public adjuster is, and what their workflow looks like, let’s talk about their duties.

What are the duties of a public adjuster?

The primary duty of a public insurance adjuster is to advise and assist you in filing a claim with the home insurance company. Since they are on your side, every detail will be assessed carefully, so that you benefit the most from it. During negotiations, they will accompany you to the settlement meeting.

The public adjuster also presents evidence of damage and costs required to rectify your claim during the meeting. If they feel that the compensation you received wasn’t appropriate, they can file a new claim. A public adjuster should be hired on if you are dealing in damage to an object worth more than $100,000. Usually, they are paid a certain percentage of claim money received, for which an agreement between them and the policyholder is signed before the process is started.

Why should you hire a public adjuster?

During times of emotional stress and trauma, it is easy to make mistakes. You aren’t ready to enter another stressful process, which is claiming insurance. Here are some more reasons you should hire a public adjuster:

1. You might not know agreement details

It is not uncommon to be ignorant of insurance agreements. If you have a condo and want to insure it, normal home insurance only covers the wall costs. If you want the insurance to cover the furniture, utensils, lockers, and wardrobes, you’ll have to opt for the HO-6 home insurance policy. If you don’t have it, you can be sued for anything that happens in your home; even for something as insignificant as a slip-and-fall injury.

2. Cost of repair is bound to be higher than property cost

If your house is completely blown away, you don’t have anything left to do but try for property cost retrieval. It is usually easier to do so, but cost-per-foot costs less than repair, so insurance companies will usually attempt to force you into the former. Only a public adjuster will help you come to the right decision.

3. Handling mortgage banks if you have a mortgage on your house

Your public adjuster will talk to your mortgage bank on your behalf. There’s a check they will send you for reconstruction, but, taking it immediately will only increase your costs later on. An adjuster will advise you to send it back, so it will sit in your escrow account. When the insurance company gives you the money to rebuild or repair your house, the mortgage bank will release payments in three installments.

4. Additional living expenses

There’s no need to live in a shelter, or pay out of pocket for a hotel, in the event your house is destroyed. It is mentioned in all home insurance policies that the insurance company will pay for additional living expenses, which you can claim later. If you can calculate your living expenses accurately, you won’t have to worry about anything at all.

5. Avoiding dubious adjusters

Insurance companies usually provide their own adjuster, that you might get less of a deal. Don’t fall prey to such things; hire your own public adjuster, who will almost always try to get you more money than you would otherwise.

Are you looking to a hire public adjuster now? What has stopped you from hiring one in the past? Let us know in the comments below.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes