NEED HELP WITH INSURANCE ADJUSTER

[Bird]

You know, I've been in this business for 20 years and I never once stole or tried to screw a single individual. Are there particular companies who are less inclined to be fair? Absolutely, but most cases are decided by book value as a base and then condition comes into play. Perhaps you had a bad experience with an adjuster, well, we have all had bad experiences with different people, but that doesn't mean a majority are the same.

A lot of others actually had valid responses, I suggest you take the educated responses.

I can't think of a single profession that doesn't have both good and bad, whether you're talking about insurance adjusters, preachers, priests, law enforcement, judges, lawyers, doctors, or any other group you want to name, and usually with the vast majority of them good. But there are still people who always start with the assumption that they're all bad, and there's no way you'll change their minds.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Kootch88, my comments were not directed at you personally. I will freely concede that from your prospective as an adjuster, the general public will try to steal from insurance companies just like anyone else. Kind of a different way of saying what Bird said.

My point was, and I stand behind it, the company adjuster is not your friend when you have a claim, he/she is an adversary. An adversary who personally benefits from paying out as little money from the company coffers as possible. That is the educated response - to recognize the true relationship.

As for my experiences with adjusters, and I haven't had very many, but they have been mostly good. I believe that is due primarily because I keep in mind that the adjuster is an adversary. Most of the bad experiences in my circle of friends came about because they failed to recognize the adjuster as an adversary.

 

[kootch88]

You are almost entirely wrong. Adjusters screw up just like mechanics, tractor dealers or anyone else, and there are plenty of bad ones out there, just like any of the above. And yeah, it seems like sport to try and screw the insurance company, but that is looked on acceptable for some reason. Stealing or lack of honesty is wrong, either way.

As an adjuster your job is not to screw people, regardless of what you believe. Your job is to get the claim settled fairly as quickly as possible. Again, I will freely admit there are some companies who I hated dealing with when I was an adjuster, because the companies they worked for had policies in place designed to minimize payouts, but by far those companies are a minority, and I am speaking from handling thousands of cases.

What bummed me out the most was when some poor guy took his plumber's advice and hired an attorney to get more money with an attorney and ended up getting exactly what I valued his injury claim at when he had no attorney. I could care less if an attorney was involved, if your claim was worth 20 grand it was with or without an attorney, and the same holds true for your truck or car. It pisses me off when people make comments like yours earlier when you are talking from an ignorant standpoint, and I stand by that whole heartedly.

I can't tell you how many times I paid people more than what they asked for because they did not have a fair idea of what their claim would bring if it was brought in a court of law, and that is how we tried to evaluate claims, what a jury would bring in damages.

Lastly, there is no company that has incentives to even keep track of the amount paid about by a particular company because of lawsuits in the old days that stopped that type of behavior., so there is absolutely no personal incentive there to screw anyone.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Kootch88, are you trying to sell the idea that the better career path of an adjuster is to be the one who pays out the most money for his company? That even though the formalized tracking methods have been eliminated (or at least concealed), the regional manager doesn't know which adjusters in their group consistently come in lower than the average? Isn't part of his job to keep an eye on the reserves and who is bleeding them the most?

And yes, there are despicable attorneys who advertise on TV and quickly settle their client's claims just to churn the volume (and probably pay finder's fees); there are professional doctors who team up with attorneys to pad the medical, and so on. Like Bird said, there are bad apples in all realms.

But, the fundamental job of the adjuster is to evaluate the claim and settle for the least amount of money possible. A good place to start the analysis of the relationship is with your claim evaluation forms, and questions like "Is there a basis for denying coverage of this claim by the insured?" If you think I'm ignorant, (and I don't think you are ignorant), are you still and adjuster, and if not, why not?

 

[kootch88]

Nope, I'm trying to tell you there are times when it happens, it depends on what is warranted. There are times when I wouldn't budge an inch on what I offered so folks hired an attorney and he settled for exactly what I offered in the first place. It all depended on what the circumstances were.

 

[two_bit_score]

You know, I've been in this business for 20 years and I never once stole or tried to screw a single individual. Are there particular companies who are less inclined to be fair? Absolutely, but most cases are decided by book value as a base and then condition comes into play. Perhaps you had a bad experience with an adjuster, well, we have all had bad experiences with different people, but that doesn't mean a majority are the same.

A lot of others actually had valid responses, I suggest you take the educated responses.

The opinion expressed by greasemonkeyok may be the far end of the spectrum but it or something close is shared by many people based on their experiences with adjusters and insurance companies.

I've been involved with insurance claims issues and cases for many years on both sides of the docket and have seen the pendulum shift from being generally fair to insurers and claimants in years past to being almost completely slanted in favor of the insurance companies in the last five years or so.

The insurance companies used to look for ways to extend coverage and give the benefit of the doubt to insurers in in first party cases. Sometimes to the point that I thought they were "too easy". Now, it seems they have no incentive to settle claims fairly because they own the courthouses. Their responses are more and more 'take it or leave it and well see you at the courthouse'.

It's been good to me. My time in insurance matters has never been billed higher than this year. But, I'm a consumer,too, and I see the insurance companies abusing their advantages over their customers.

I told my plaintiff lawyer friends years ago that they would kill the goose that laid their golden egg and it finally happened. The defense and insurance companies will find their free ride come to an abrupt end too. Just a question of when.


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[two_bit_score]

Nope, I'm trying to tell you there are times when it happens, it depends on what is warranted. There are times when I wouldn't budge an inch on what I offered so folks hired an attorney and he settled for exactly what I offered in the first place. It all depended on what the circumstances were.

And you never had a case where your insurance company or your insured got sued and the cost of the settlement including defense costs, etc was more than your initial offer? WOW. You're the best adjuster in the world or you never handled any real claims or you just 'don't remember' the cases that don't fit your preference.

I don't know any adjuster, lawyer or claims manager that can make the absolute blanket statement you made, truthfully.


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[duke7595]

Hello,

I completed my business with the Insurance adjuster today.

The out come was better then I expected.
We finally settled on the total loss of the pickup at $12,490.00 actual cash
value.
I was also able to buy back the truck for $2,630.00 (salvage value)

I will receive a check for $9,859.83 and keep the truck.
Less the $1,000.00 deductible.
All and all I was quite pleased with the out come, the adjuster also allowed me to keep the rental for another week.

Thanks to everyone who assisted me, you guys were super helpful.

Sincerely, Duke

 

[kootch88]

I am glad to hear all went well, I guess there are a few companies and adjusters whose sole purpose is not to screw their customers.

 

[ray66v]

Good luck with your repair.

Let us know how it all works out.