Public Insurance Adjusting
Forty-four states (plus the District of Columbia) recognize that policyholders need someone on their side of the claim that is as familiar with the process as the insurance company’s adjuster. It’s for this reason they recognize, license and regulate the “public adjusting” profession.
When serving as a property owner’s Public Adjuster (or PA) we would typically get involved in the very early stages of the claims process. As a licensed Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi or Kentucky public adjuster, we can render assistance in many areas such as helping our clients locate temporary housing, inventorying of damaged personal property and estimating the structural damages. In this role we serve as the policyholder’s direct representative and handle all of the communication and negotiations with the insurance company’s adjuster. Our job, in effect, is to level the playing field by providing the same type of expertise to the property owner that the insurance company is deriving from their experts.
Most property owners have no idea what provisions their policies contain, so one of our tasks is to relate to them what their coverages and benefits truly are. Having been in business over thirty years, we’ve read thousands and thousands of insurance policies and are well aware of the many different types of coverages buried within policies and where to find them. But, more importantly, we know how to access them so that the policyholder receives all the benefits for which their premiums paid, at a time when they need it most.
We also work with families in Alabama to help them through the insurance claim process, though Alabama does not provide a license for an individual to be an Alabama public adjuster. In Alabama, the best remedy for property owners to ensure they get an equitable settlement is to utilize the Appraisal provision outlined in your policy.