In the wake of property theft or damage to your car or home, chances are you will have to consider making an insurance claim. If you have to do so, you might find yourself dealing with an insurance adjuster. Most public insurance adjusters in Miami, Florida will not charge you for visiting the site of the loss and determining whether they will work on your case. Nevertheless, they will charge you for working on your claim.
Typically, public adjusters charge you a percentage of what you are bound to receive when the insurance company settles your claim. Nonetheless, this percentage varies among public insurance adjusting firms and is usually capped by local state law.
In Miami, Florida the percentage charged by public adjusters lies in between 10% percent for the state of the emergency claims such as a hurricane or storm and 20% percent for the average demand. Of course, this depends on the experience level, success rate, and other factors. Choosing a public insurance adjuster is better than filing the claim yourself as they will do a tidier job, get you the correct amount, and save your time.
Public Adjuster Laws and Statues by Serafin Martinez on Scribd
Types of Adjusters
Claims adjusters are the professionals that you will deal with the most while following up on your insurance claim. There are three types of adjusters, and they include:
An Insurance Company Adjuster
This is an adjuster employed by the insurance company where one is filing their insurance claim.
An Independent Adjuster
This is an independent contractor that is hired by an insurance company to handle some of the claims forwarded to them.
Public Adjuster
This is an insurance adjuster that evaluates property loss or damage on behalf of the policyholder and assists them in filing insurance claims at a fee. These are licensed professionals that work for both businesses and individuals but not for insurance companies. Think of Public Adjusters as an asset, and they help you get the maximum amount of compensation under the law.
More about Miami Public Insurance Adjusters
A Public adjusters duty is to YOU the client; they work on behalf of the policyholder. A business or individual typically employs the services of this adjuster when they require some assistance in filing a claim or when they believe the claim amount being offered by the insurance company is not correct.
Claims for hurricane damage, fire, winds, or floods, as well as damage resulting from other perils, can be negotiated and filed by a public insurance adjuster. Additionally, they can also evaluate property losses resulting from situations such as loss of business income.
What Will a Public Insurance Adjuster Do For You?
A public insurance adjuster is a specialist in the language, details, and all the intricacies found in insurance policies and can file and adjust claims for you as well. They typically know claim-related fields such as construction and commonly use software to do an independent evaluation of the property loss or damage. Adjusters are usually better at investigating the costs of damages done to your home, and they also know what the best way to submit a claim or supplemental, in addition to understanding how the system works.
Time is short, and most homeowners can’t spend time filling out forms, evaluating and submitting claims. At any rate, it can be a daunting task and usually fail to accurately provide a property insurance claim the way a licensed public adjuster can, YOU need to be as detailed as possible. Also, the experience can go a long way.
This professional can also help you negotiate with contractors to get a better settlement from your insurer. Contact between you and your adjuster is personal while that between them and your insurance company typically occurs via mail. Needless to say, when a public insurance adjuster has your back when you need to file a claim, you will not only evade pitfalls that stem out of inexperience but will also save you time as they will undertake all the labors associated with the process.
Should You Use a Public Insurance Adjuster?
The normal is for homeowners to file a property insurance claims. However, its always best to consider using a public adjuster to fight for your insurance application.
Here is the thing: you as the policyholder stand to lose nothing from hiring one considering that most public adjustment companies offer to evaluate the loss, free of charge. They aim to help you determine the severity of the damage while advising you on whether you should file the claim.
Additionally, regardless of whether the policyholder is sure about the loss’s value, having a second opinion is only wise. In fact, on many occasions, public insurance adjusters, on visiting the sites of property loss or damage, find that the policyholders’ loss estimates are far below what they should be.
Since insurance adjusters who handle property claims are experts, it is very doubtful they will make mistakes. Most homeowners with insurance tend to make these mistakes, especially when it comes to evaluating and calculating the damages. An example of someone failing to submit the property information is; Let’s say a hurricane destroys your roof, most forget to add the costs of removing the roof which can cost you a lot of money on the claim.
It is paramount to obtain the exact estimation and well-written claim of the damages done to your home from your home insurance policy You have to remember that insurance companies are after all in business and as such would never voluntarily pay you more than what you have claimed even when they notice you omitted some costs. Hiring a public insurance adjuster will save you from such pitfalls.
How do you Choose A Public Insurance Adjuster in Miami, FL?
When looking to hire a right public adjuster, you first need to check whether they are legally certified to practice. As such, do not employ the services of an attorney or contractor who claim they can offer adjustment services yet they do not have the necessary licenses. Remember, a license is the ultimate proof of qualification.
Other factors to consider include:
Will the adjuster handle your claims personally?
As the client, you preferably need one person working on your case. However, most public adjusting companies will send several experts over to inspect your home, and that’s a good thing! Sometimes another public adjuster will give it to another adjuster because they specialize in a specific type of claim such as roof damage.
Can you get referrals?
Having a friend refer you to a public adjuster is the best way of finding a right adjuster. However, if none of your acquaintances have worked with adjusters before, ask the adjuster you have discovered for contact information of their previous clients to do a follow-up. A right adjuster with nothing to hide will willingly divulge this information.
Is the adjuster well experienced?
Some claims need the attention of an experienced professional due to their severity or complexity. It is essential to find out what the best public adjuster that suits your needs; you can learn more about previous jobs they have had in the past similar to yours or have worked with your insurance company in the past.
Also, note that more experienced adjusters tend to charge higher than those with less experience. Nevertheless, the amount of claims worked on by an adjuster does not necessarily indicate their experience level. For instance, a highly-experienced adjuster could take on only a few requests every year, just because they choose to work on large and complex claims that involve a lot of money.
Their terms of communication
Typically, the public insurance adjuster will handle all the details of the claim for you. However, you might feel that you also want to be involved in the process to some degree. Before you hire an adjuster, ensure that they are comfortable regularly communicating with you during the process.
References
