
Public adjusters are experts on property loss adjustment who are
retained by policy holders to assist in preparing, filing and adjusting
insurance claims.
Most people who have a claim have no idea how to prepare and adjust it.
They more or less rely on their "insurance adjuster" to do that for
them. BIG MISTAKE! What you must understand is that it is the insurance
adjuster’s job to make company inspired settlements with policyholders,
most of whom lack the fundamental information and adjusting skills to be
on a level playing field with the adjuster. A Public Adjuster can help
you level the field.
Knowledge is leverage. The more you know, the more power you have, and
insurance adjusters are well trained to cut corners and save their
company money and, more and more, look for ways to avoid paying claims.
You need someone trained just as well in your corner looking out for
your interests. The objective in adjusting should be to get as good a
result as possible, as quickly as possible, as trouble free as possible.
Most policyholders will continue their fate of dealing ineffectively
due to the fact that they lack ability, information, and understanding.
To adjust is to negotiate. An adjuster is a negotiator. Usually, only
the person representing the insurance company is considered the
adjuster, and the policyholder receives his/her adjustment, as
previously stated, from a company inspired adjuster. In order to arrive
at an adjusted settlement, each side has its own needs to satisfy. The
less you know, the more likely you are to be forced to meet the needs of
the insurance company. You must know your needs! * You must know your
rights! A Public Adjuster can help you with both of these. If you don't
know what to expect and how to get it, you may become overwhelmed and
give in too easily.
No one knows the outcome of an adjustment beforehand. Therefore, it is
impossible to anticipate to what extent either party will give in to the
needs of the other. Bargaining power becomes the main ingredient in
adjusting. It usually comes about naturally as facts come to the
surface. Adjusting is a matter of give and take, and unless you are
dealing from a position of strength and knowledge like a Public Adjuster
can offer, you may be forced to give too much.
Insurance adjusters facing a knowledgeable public adjuster usually enter
on a more cooperative basis, and there is a strong likelihood that each
will strive for common goals.
Usually a policyholder is having to deal with a claim at a time
following a disaster. Psychologically, most people are not up to the
task under these circumstances. It is very common to see people in a
state of shock, confusion and helplessness. A professional public
adjuster will be emotionally level and competent.
The time of a personal disaster is not the time to be thinking about all
of this for the first time. Think about it now and take comfort in the
knowledge that a Public Adjuster can be there to protect your interest
if indeed the unthinkable happens to you.