Should I Hire a Public Adjuster to help after a fire?

A fire is probably the most devastating event a property owner can experience. In the chaotic aftermath, amidst the emotional turmoil and uncertainty, you’re suddenly faced with a complex and often times, very stressful insurance claim process. Your first instinct might be to call your insurance company and trust them to handle everything. But is that the best decision for your financial recovery? Ask yourself, should I hire a public adjuster to help after a fire?

The moments and days immediately following a fire are critical. Decisions are made and actions are taken that will fundamentally shape the outcome of your claim. This is precisely why your first call after ensuring everyone’s safety should be to a licensed and seasoned Public Adjuster that has extensive experience handling fire losses. A Public Adjuster may still be able to help even after the insurance company makes an offer, however waiting can be and often times is a very costly mistake.

The Dangers of Trusting the Insurance Company and/or Emergency Services Contractors to Take the Lead after a fire.

Your insurance company should respond quickly to a fire loss. They will typically send an adjuster and possibly a “preferred vendor” to the property. While these vendors may be necessary to mitigate further damage by boarding up windows, applying tarps, & cleaning. The issues arise when innocent policyholders allow them to proceed without fully comprehending what they intend on doing, how much it will cost, and if the insurance company has committed to cover their services in writing. When questioned about the costs associated with their services, these companies will often tell you not to worry as the insurance company will pay them directly. While this may technically be true, the money spent on these companies will typically come out of your available coverage and could limit your potential recovery for the claim, furthermore, if they do not get paid by the insurance company, they will most likely pursue the policyholder for payment which often leads to liens on properties and/or lawsuits.

Here’s what often happens:

• Loss of Control: The insurance company’s vendors arrive on-site and begin work immediately. This includes making crucial decisions about your personal or business property. They may start packing out all of your contents for cleaning or storage, often without a detailed discussion with you.
• Arbitrary Decisions on Your Property: These vendors, who have a working relationship with your insurance carrier, will be the ones deciding which of your precious belongings are “salvageable” and which are not. Do you want a third party, whose interests are aligned with the insurer, making the final call on your precious belongings, family heirlooms, or critical business equipment?
• Depletion of Your Coverage: This is a critical point many policyholders miss. When a vendor takes thousands of dollars’ worth of your belongings for “cleaning,” the cost of that service is deducted directly from your Personal Property coverage limits. In many cases, items are cleaned that should have been declared a total loss, and you end up paying for a service that doesn’t fully restore your property. This unnecessarily eats away at the funds you need to replace what was lost, sometimes exhausting your coverage before you’ve even started to rebuild.

How can a Public Adjuster help after a Fire?

A Public Adjuster from Claim Concepts steps in immediately to manage this process on your behalf. We ensure that a proper inventory is taken before anything is removed, we challenge decisions about what can and cannot be salvaged, and we make sure your policy coverages are used wisely for your benefit, not for the benefit of the insurance company or their vendors.

Beyond Emergency Services: An Expert Advocate on Your Side

Controlling the initial chaos is just the beginning. A fire claim involves much more than what is immediately visible. Hiring a public adjuster ensures every single aspect of your loss is professionally documented and claimed.

1. Comprehensive Damage Assessment: The insurance company’s adjuster is trained to assess the loss from their perspective. We, on the other hand, conduct a far more detailed evaluation. We bring in experts when and if needed to identify hidden damages from smoke, soot, and water used in firefighting efforts. We account for structural damage, code-compliance upgrades required during rebuilding, and the full scope of business interruption for commercial properties or loss of use on residential properties.
2. Decoding Your Insurance Policy: An insurance policy is a complex legal contract. Do you know the difference between Replacement Cost Value (RCV) and Actual Cash Value (ACV)? Are you familiar with your coverage for Additional Living Expenses (ALE), code upgrades, or debris removal? We are. We analyze your policy to uncover every bit of coverage you are entitled to, ensuring nothing is left on the table.
3. Meticulous Documentation & Valuation: The burden of proof is on you, the policyholder, to document your loss. Our team will prepare an extremely detailed estimate for what it will take to indemnify you as the policyholder. We utilize Xactimate which is the industry standard estimating software and are meticulous with our estimating and 3 tier review process that all estimates go through. We will also address personal/business property by creating a room-by-room inventory of every single item, from furniture down to silverware, which is a monumental task that we take off of your hands. Our team handles this entire process for you, using specialized software to accurately price your belongings and prepare a detailed claim package that makes it hard for the insurance company to dispute.
4. Expert Negotiation: Unlike how their TV commercials may show, dealing with an insurance company after a claim is a negotiation and often a bit of a battle. Their adjuster is a trained professional who’s tasked with representing the insurance companies’ interests during negotiations. By hiring a seasoned Public Adjuster, you level the playing field. We speak their language, understand industry standards, and use our expertise to negotiate the proper settlement that you need and deserve. Studies have shown that policyholders who hire a public adjuster receive a significantly higher settlement than those who do not.

Your First Move After a Fire, May Determine Your Recovery

After a fire, you are at your most vulnerable. The insurance company has the advantage as they deal with claims daily, where most policyholders may have 1 or 2 claims in their lifetime. You deserve to have a licensed professional who is 100% dedicated to protecting your interests and ensuring you recover the settlement that you need and deserve.

By bringing in the team of elite Public Adjusters at Claim Concepts right away, you ensure that the claim process starts off on the right foot. We take control, manage the vendors, protect your policy limits, and begin the meticulous work of building a comprehensive claim package. Don’t wait until you receive a lowball offer or realize your coverage has been burned through by the companies that have promised to help, however if that has already happened, we may still be able to help. The bottom line is that the sooner we get involved, the more effective we can be.

Our team of Public Adjusters often gets involved in claims that have already been underpaid, delayed, and sometimes even denied. We always offer a complimentary consultation with one of our seasoned Public Adjusters where you will have a chance to have your questions answered and explore how our team may be able to assist you through this complex process.

If you have experienced a fire at your home or commercial property, don’t face the overwhelming claims process alone. Contact Claim Concepts today for a free, no-obligation consultation and let us fight to get you the settlement you are entitled to.