Public Adjusting

WHY DO I NEED A PUBLIC ADJUSTER?

Following a loss from a disaster, most home or business owners find themselves in a situation that is completely foreign. Dealing with the loss and the insurance claims process can be a very overwhelming, confusing, and emotional experience and people often turn to their insurance agent and possibly a lawyer for help.

The role of an insurance agent is to report your loss to the insurance company. They, in turn, assign an adjuster to the claim who will likely try to limit the insurance company's financial exposure.

To protect their interests, some policyholders seek the legal advice of an attorney. While they may be informed and educated in their individual areas of expertise, these professionals most likely do not have expertise as claims processing advocates.

A public insurance adjuster is a licensed, trained, educated, and experienced professional who can offer great assistance and value to a property owner after a loss has occurred. A qualified public adjuster is intimate with the claims process as well as the insurance policy and its conditions and can, therefore, guide and direct a policy holder through the process with strength and surety of the claims outcome. A public adjuster is only interested in protecting the interest of the policyholder and has an obligation to their client to do so.

DO I HAVE TO PAY A FEE?

There are no out-of-pocket expenses to hire a public adjuster. We work off a contingency fee, which means that we only get paid when a settlement is reached from the insurance company. The percentage is agreed upon beforehand, so there are no surprises for you. We charge 10% of the overall insurance claim and we do not get paid unless you do. Therefore, if we do not recover money for you, there is no fee!

SHOULD I CALL MY INSURANCE COMPANY FIRST?

No, always contact your public adjuster first. If a policyholder provides incorrect or incomplete answers to questions asked by the insurance company, it could reduce the amount of the claim. Once you hire a public adjuster, they handle all aspects of the loss, including notifying your insurance company of your damages correctly so that you can receive a fair settlement based on your policy provisions.

I ALREADY CALLED MY INSURANCE COMPANY AND RECEIVED AN OFFER, IS IT TOO LATE TO HIRE A PUBLIC ADJUSTER?

Not at all. Policyholders will often try to handle a claim on their own, assuming their insurance company will fully compensate them for all damages. It is a frustrating experience when the insurance company denies your claim or offers an inadequate settlement. Honor Adjusting Services will provide a free claim review to see if we can assist you in gaining additional money.

WHY CAN'T I DEAL WITH THE INSURANCE CLAIM MYSELF?

Most people do not take the time to read and understand their entire insurance policy. Once a loss has occurred, there are numerous details to be attended to such as building estimates, content spread sheets, loss-of-use receipts, business interruption calculations, etc. These details make it difficult to focus on rebuilding your home or continuing business operations. In the meantime, your insurance company is making monetary decisions on your behalf.

Honor Adjusting Services will take care of every issue and detail so you can concentrate on the more important matters. So, the answer is yes, you can deal with the insurance claim yourself. However, a careful evaluation of the time, money, and disruption to your personal or business life will prove the value of a public adjuster to represent you in the needs of your insurance claim.

WILL MY INSURANCE AGENT BE LOOKING OUT FOR MY BEST INTEREST WHEN I SUFFER A CLAIM?

Generally, insurance agents fall into two categories. There are agents who are consumer-minded and concerned that their clients receive fair settlements as it will encourage their clients to renew their policies. On the other hand, there are also agents who are more concerned with their loss ratios. These agents would prefer to see the claim settlements as low as possible in order to receive more money at the end of the year from the insurance companies who write the policies.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COMPANY ADJUSTER, AN INDEPENDENT ADJUSTER AND PUBLIC ADJUSTER?

A company adjuster or ‘in-house’ adjuster is an employee of the insurance company. An independent adjuster works for a private company and is hired by the insurance company to adjust losses on their behalf. Their client is the insurance company.

A public adjuster is hired by the insured client to work on their behalf to prepare and present the claim to the insurance company and negotiate the settlement. As public insurance adjusters, we at

Honor Adjusting Services work for YOU!