With all of the misconceptions within the insurance industry, Policy Holders tend to be a bit hesitant when it comes to dealing with their Property Insurance Company. The Public adjuster assisting you with your claim should be able to handle the tough questions, providing you knowledge throughout the process, assuring you feel comfortable & supported along the way. Having experience working with Insurance Adjusters and Construction Estimating is not enough, take a look at a few questions any PA should be able to answer.
1. Are they licensed, if so by whom? Quite a few Public Adjusters are in fact not licensed Public Adjusters. Be sure to validate an adjuster you are thinking of hiring to settle your property claim.
2. Are they sole practitioners or do they have a team backing them up? It is important to have a Public Adjuster with ample staff. Being that you are not the only client, you want to assure the Public Adjuster you select has the manpower and time to assist you with your questions throughout the process.
3. How many years have they been in practice focusing on residential or commercial claims? Certain Public Adjusters specialize in different types of properties. Residential, Commercial, Rental, or a combination as well. Working with an adjuster who has a History of assisting Policy Holders with claims similar to yours.
4. What is their preferred method of dispute resolution? Getting to know your prospect Public Adjuster’s preferred method of dispute resolution is important in the event an Insurance Adjuster does not want to settle quickly. In this situation, each adjuster has a method or methods they like to use, to get a Policyholder their award from the Insurance Company, which consists of having an Appraisal, Mediation, or taking the claim to Lawsuit. Knowing this information in advance gives you insight into how an Adjuster handles difficult claims.
5. What happens if the insurance company underpays or denies your claim? With Hurricane Michael Claims, over 16,000 claims were denied which is greater than 10% of the claims submitted by January 2019 according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. This is all to common. Ensuring your adjuster is knowledgeable of the Insurance Policies, allowances, and the specific coverage they can fight for, will give you the highest settlement when filing your claim. Should a claim be underpaid, there are options your adjuster may present to you, such as taking it to appraisal, mediation, or an alternative solution.
6. What problems can arise? Having an idea of the types of situations that may arise during your claim process is crucial to gauging your expectations. Update delays, reinspections, re-assigned adjusters, etc, are just some things that can happen.
7. How much do they know about mortgage companies and their processes? Experience is key. Once a PolicyHolder has settled with an Insurance Company, assuring that the Home Owner gets the funds to make the necessary repairs on a property is of utmost importance. However, if the House is not owned outright, the Mortgage company may be listed on any payments issued. Making sure the Public Adjuster is knowledgeable on dealing with situations like this is vital if there is a Mortgage on the property so as not to delay repairs.
8. How skilled of a negotiator are they? Ask about their specific and strategic negotiation strategy and results in past cases. Ask the adjuster about their experience negotiating. Having someone experienced in negotiating different types of claims assures that any thing that pops up, like delays or difficult estimators, can be handled with swift and decisive action.
9. What experience do they have with claims like yours? Having an experienced Public adjuster is one thing, however having a Public Adjuster who has dealt with the specific loss experienced is just as important. The more experienced a Public Adjuster is with a specific type of claim, the more they can get for the PolicyHolder
10. I experienced damage, what are my options? As a Policy Holder, when a claim is filed, there are a couple of options. They can accept the Estimate initially presented by their Insurance company, or they can counter their Insurance Company’s Estimate with their Own (or the Policy Holders’ Public Adjusters Estimate presented on their behalf). If the Settlement offer is not good enough, Policyholders are able to take the claim to litigation, which is a more aggressive way to fight for the loss experienced. Public Adjusters will walk through every step, explaining all the available options and fight on behalf of HomeOwners for their benefits.
Speak to a Public Adjuster near me, and you. Speak to a Sunrise Public Adjuster today!

Sunrise Public Adjusters 754-400-7445 Intake@sunriseclaim.com