Insurance adjuster advice?

[Tdog]

We finally heard from our homeowners insurance that the adjuster will visit us Monday morning. He will arrive exactly one month to the hour [if he is on time] from the time that Katrina was having her way with my metal roof, trees, & evrything else.

Wonder if any tbn'ers have any advice about the visit. I do not plan to lie, & I don't intend to deceive the company. However, I don't want to overlook items that should/could be covered. I realize everyone does not have exactly the same coverage, but do any of you have any tips that might be of help?

BTW, this is for wind & wind driven rain damage only. No flood here.

Thanks for your help.

Jack

 

[Code54]

Make sure you point EVERYTHING out, no matter how small. Also I would advise to take photos of everything so you can doc. any and all the problems. Check and see if clean up costs are also covered. Good luck and you are VERY smart to be 100% honest - insurance fraud is NEVER a good idea.

 

[TOMLESCOEQUIP]

When you get to the point of an amount of $$$ settlement, NEVER make the mistake of going first ........let the adjuster make the first amount offer.......That leaves the door open for you to increase your recovery if other things you didn't think about show up later. Remember.........the adjuster works for the insurance Co. not you..............it's his job to settle with you for the least amount of loss to his company. Stress the fact that you aren't looking to profit from any of this, you just want ( and expect) a fair settlement on your losses. By you naming an amount 1st, you may be way under the amount they were willing to pay, & could sell yourself short in recovering whatever it takes to get your lives & property back to normal. Best of luck to you & others in your area............Tom

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> Stress the fact that you aren't looking to profit from any of this, </font>
No offense, but this is something I'd never say. Why even raise the topic?

 

[Cowboyjg]

What you have to understand is that the adjuster is well versed on what they are there to do. Chances are they have visited quite a few people with hurricane damage. There won't be a whole lot you can offer them in the way of input. Make sure they look at EVERYTHING so that you get compensated for what you should.

Rule of thumb is to replace/repair only what has been damaged. Example would be.....if lower cabinets are damaged and uppers are not, you will be compensated for the repair/replacement of the lowers only. If drywall is damaged a foot or two up the wall they will repair/replace only the affected area. It is not uncommon that there will be a diference of opinion on the amount of damage covered.

Read your policy and be sure what is covered. The real key is to know your exclusions (what's not covered). Anticipate differences of opinion in the interpretation of covered vs non covered. Also know if you have actual replacement costs or something different.

Your honesty is not an issue or a topic of discussion, nor should it be.

Pictures and documentation of the damage is a prudent thing. Be sure they will take their own pictures and so should you.

Depending on your carrier and their work load it could be several weeks before you get any information about what they will cover and how much the compensation will be. You are permitted to make temporary repairs to protect the home from any further damage. Keep all reciepts for this work as you will be allowed to claim this.

Because of the "Human Factor" you don't know what you will get in the way of an adjuster and their personality. Don't hide anything, Don't arbitrarily offer any info except a pointed finger to the damaged areas, Don't be adversarial if the adjuster doesn't seem to be giving you credit for damage you feel should be covered. Do ask that they explain in detail why they don't feel it's covered. Do take notes of the visit and what is said so there is no he said, she said later on.

You have the right to appeal decisions about damage not covered that you feel should be as well as the amount of $ for the repairs. It is not uncommon that what the carrier has for pricing is not current or accurate for your area.

Of course there is a chance that all of this will be a moot point and your carrier will take wonderful care of you. Needless to say, this is what everyone hopes for. If you believe the insurance companies commercials of late, it would seem that it is a very real possibility.

Good luck with your visit tomorrow..... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Unclebuck257]

cowboyjg gave you some very good advice. I guess one of the main things is that you don't know your adjuster's personality ahead of time and you will have to evaluate that as soon as you meet him/her.

There are two types of adjusters in these situations, staff ins co adjusters and independent Cat adjusters. The type is important too.

In years past, I've been there, done that, as a staff adj and a Cat adjuster too. A staff adj makes no more or no less, no matter how much your claim is for. A Cat adjuster gets paid a percentage, based on how big an estimate he/she writes regarding your damages. At least it used to be that way.

Be respectible and courteous to whoever shows up and point out the obvious and not so obvious damage you have sustained and found. You'll pick up on this adjuster's personality pretty quickly, and with any luck, you'll "gell" with the person.

Covered damages are covered damages, and that's very true, but an adjuster does have some discretion in some things. DO NOT expect something for no damage because insurance companies, a long time ago, started having "reinspection teams" go out and reinspect insured's properties to make sure there was no "kickback" going on between insureds and adjusters. The adjusters are very well aware of that too.

All you can basically do is wait to see, after you point out everything to the adj, what he/she writes up and gives you credit for, damage wise. If you disagree or find something later, you can always ask for a "supplemental" estimate to be written to cover any additional things not found the first time around. Don't expect all private contractor estimates to be the same as the adjusters estimate of damages either. If you can, I certainly would have a couple of private contractor repair estimates though, just to compare costs to the adj's estimate of damages.

I think you'll be just fine, but if you have ANY problems, get your agent involved IMMEDIATELY too!! Sometimes agents can help tremendously, depending on the company you have coverage through.

 

[TOMLESCOEQUIP]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue"> Stress the fact that you aren't looking to profit from any of this, </font>
No offense, but this is something I'd never say. Why even raise the topic? )</font> Mike.......I stated that because I had a bad experience with an adjuster on a homeowner policy when a pipe burst in my kitchen ceiling. The adjuster started our conversation by telling me what they weren't going to do & what they aren't going to pay for. I had to argue from the start to get things repaired correctly. Thats where the "I'm not out to profit" statement came from. I expected repairs to return my house back to normal, nothing more. This was one of the largest Ins. companies(not naming names) & their adjuster treated us like ( Insert word of choice here) . I wouldn't settle till things were opened up, and all the damage was discovered. My point was to make sure everything needing repaired or replaced from the poster's hurricane damage should be handled to the satifaction of the homeowner within the limits of the policy.

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> My point was to make sure everything needing repaired or replaced from the poster's hurricane damage should be handled to the satifaction of the homeowner within the limits of the policy. </font>
This I agree with. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif The reason I wouldn't mention 'profit' is to not raise the topic. Were I an adjuster, such a statement would raise a red flag.

 

[8561]

The main thing you need to do is be open an honest and point out everything. In spite of the reputation a few bad ones have earned, most adjusters are decent and honest people looking for a fair settlement. In conditions like Katrina, they don't have the time or inclination to argue much with you, so I wouldn't be nervous about that. If your damages are wind and wind driven rain related, most homeowner's policies will cover all of those damages. Make sure you open up the walls to discover all the water infiltration and mold that has certainly grown in the last 30 days.

Remember, this adjuster has seen hundreds of these claims and probably knows what he is doing. He (or she) will know what they are looking for, and you should point out the things you think might have been missed. As far as the comments relative to repairs that were posted previously, if your lower cabinets are damaged, most carriers will replace the entire cabinet set, not just uppers or lowers. Their obligation is to indemnify you, which is to say return you to your pre-loss condition. Pre-loss, you had matching cabinets. They'll give you the whole set if you ask for them. If the lower two feet of drywall is damaged, most if not all will give you 4' up, since that's where the joint is anyways. I adjusted property claims for almost 10 years, this is the right way to do it. If you have questions after the inspection, post them, or send me a private message and I'll help you out.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

If you're with Allstate you might meet a very good friend of mine named "Joe". He's a contract adjuster from Texas that's working in your area.

I'll bet he's always one step ahead of you on what's covered and what's not. I'll also bet he'll turn you on to things you didn't catch or notice or even think about.

You see the impression I get from him is his boss, Allstate, only wants to be fair. They don't want to rip you off and they also don't want to have you take advantage of them.

He's a good guy and if your adjuster is Joe and he grins like someone just grabbed his grin button and held on if you mention my name, you're in good hands, more ways than one.

When we were hit hard a couple of years ago with hail we found our insurer used contract adjusters and we felt like the claim was paid fairly and completely.

I hope you have the same kind of luck.