What is the role of a public adjuster?

When property is damaged due to a fire, natural disaster or by vandalism, your insurance company will send someone to the scene to assess the damage that has been caused by this incident. This individual is a claims adjuster. They are there to inspect the damage that has been caused and to report back to the insurance company with an amount of how much it will cost to fix the damage that has been caused. Since insurance companies are trying to save money, they can sometime provide inadequate amounts of money to cover the damage. Their adjuster may have low-balled the incident or the insurance company itself may try to lose as little money as possible. For these scenarios, individuals have the opportunity to hire a public adjuster. When a homeowner hires a public adjuster, this adjuster can provide a neutral estimation of how much the damage will cost to fix. They may not be associated with the insurance company as the claims adjuster is. This means that they are not subject to fulfill the demands of the insurance company. They can argue that the insurance company is not providing adequate compensation for the damage that has been done.

Are public adjusters associated with insurance companies?

Although public adjusters may be able to help you personally, they cannot sue an insurance company for wrongfully estimating the damage. This is when acquiring an attorney can come in handy. An insurance attorney may be able to work with the public adjuster and the homeowner to acquire a more just deal with the insurance company. The public adjuster can review the insurance policy that the individual has. They will examine the language used to assess the policy for this particular situation. Since they are neutral in this situation, they may be able to provide a more accurate assessment of the scenario. If their analysis does show that the policy owner is not getting what they are entitled to, they may be able to work with the insurance company to adjust the claim and get the proper amount of coverage for the situation. These adjusters may be able to help a policy owner more than a claims adjuster is because they are not working for the insurance company that the policy owner has.

The Law Office of Craig A. Blumberg is an experienced New York City insurance law firm. If you require quality assistance after having suffered property loss, please contact our firm to schedule a free initial consultation.