Help For Your Homeowner's Insurance Loss

Is a Public Adjuster Right For You?

When a loss occurs a homeowner can be scared, confused, and stressed out. In order to avoid all this confusion and stress, homeowners do have the option of hiring an insurance professional of their own to handle the claim process for them. This person is called a public adjuster. They are hired by the insured to represent them in dealing with their insurance company over an insurance claim.

In most states there are laws governing the behavior of public adjusters because the opportunity to take advantage of homeowners at a time when they are stressed out and confused is very real. Laws will govern the amount of fees that a public adjuster can charge and they will govern their behavior in terms of how the solicit business.

One of the most important things to note about a public adjuster is that they will take a percentage of the loss as their fee. This means that the money you need to make repairs on your home will be reduced by the fee percentage that you agreed to with the public adjuster. This can be as high as 10 or 12 percent in many states.

A public adjuster will be able to explain your coverage to you and will be able to prepare an estimate of damages and work with your contractor and claims adjuster or reach an agreed repair figure for the damage. Public adjuster will often take the position that they will fight the insurance company on your behalf in the event of a disagreement. Public adjusters can also often recommend contractors and repair professionals for you to use to make repairs on your home. Public adjusters cannot do anything to help an insured beyond what the policy will provide them. For instance if there a cause of loss that is not covered, the public adjuster can review the policy on the insured's behalf, and discuss the claim with the insurance company, but a public adjuster cannot change the facts of the loss and cannot make coverage apply when there is none. They can also not do anything about other policy provisions such as the policy limits or your policy deductible.

Before considering the expenditure of a public adjuster, make sure you discuss the claim in detail with your agent and your insurance company's adjuster. You might find the claim process easy enough to deal with yourself. However, if you feel uncomfortable with the process or are having difficulty understanding how coverage might apply or how to go about getting the repairs done, a public adjuster may be right for you.

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