It has become more important than ever to engage your own public insurance adjuster to represent you in determining your actual loss and claim with an insurance carrier. Many insurance companies are employing practices that are designed to pay you the absolute minimum amount possible.
In an attempt to retain their money, an insurance company may offer you 50 percent or even as little as 15 percent of what you are really entitled to receive. If you are intimidated, or desperate enough to accept this low-ball offer, the company will be quick to pay you and get the claim settled. If you dispute their offer and try to negotiate a more equitable settlement, they may drag out the process as long as possible. They hope that you will tire of the process and finally give up. They are in no rush; you are the one that needs the settlement to restore your situation to the pre disaster status.
Some companies have offered their insurance adjusters financial incentives if they are able to settle a claim for less than your policy would entitle you to receive; the greater the saving, the greater the incentive for the insurance adjuster. Much of the success in getting claimants to accept the low-ball offer is due to a lack of knowledge of how insurance works. If we don’t know much about it, how can we successfully negotiate with someone who has been trained and does it every day? A simple error or omission on the claim form could cause a claim to be denied or seriously reduced.
By engaging your own public insurance adjuster to represent you, you can have the expertise you need on your side. Your expert will know what your claim is really worth and how to properly make that claim. Having your own insurance adjuster will put you in a better bargaining position. No one is likely to be on the same level as an insurance company with their billions of dollars, but having expertise on your side will reduce the risk of being intimidated, and increase the chances of a fair settlement.
