The answer is yes. If the company that issues your home insurance denies your claim, a public adjuster has the power and authority to reopen the claim and negotiate for more money on your behalf.
The Facts
A public adjuster is not the same as the insurance adjuster that your insurer sends to perform an on-site assessment of damage and assign a dollar amount. You don’t pay anything up front to the adjuster. Some adjusters agree to a flat fee for their efforts.
The public adjuster works specifically for you and not the insurance company. The adjuster can charge up to 20 percent of any amount that’s recovered from the insurance company as a result of his/her work on your case. The professionals can only charge a 10 percent recovery fee for one year if the damage was due to a declared disaster.
Profitability is Primary
Insurers are in the business to make money. To maximize profits, some insurers make it a practice to deny almost every claim that the company receives. They know that most policy holders are so traumatized after a fire or similar event that they simply accept the insurer’s decision as final. There’s no guarantee that a reimbursement can be obtained, but an increasing number of homeowners are turning to public adjusters as more insurers in Florida are denying claims.
Reasons for Denial
Insurers actively seek reasons to deny claims or underpay them. It’s the nature of the industry. Insurance companies adhere to the letter of the policy, but they also interpret terms differently when it comes to paying a claim. Insurance claims can – and are – denied for the following reasons, even if they’re not accurate or applicable, in the hope that policy holders won’t dispute the decision.
- Fraudulent claim
- Unpaid premium
- Lapse in coverage
- Negligence of homeowner before or after the disaster
- Not filing on time
- False statements
- Insufficient damage documentation
- Exclusion clauses