Sometimes, your insurance company’s adjuster is slow to act on your claim. Sometimes, he’s wrong. Maybe you need to find a good adjuster to help you. Here’s how to find one.

Angry that your insurance company isn't moving as fast with that claim check as you'd like? Or maybe the adjuster's offer is less than you need to cover your losses? Perhaps you need your own adjuster.

Public adjusters assume all of the duties necessary to have your claim processed, including making an inventory of the loss and presenting your case to the insurance company. A good public adjuster has experience in the industry and will understand your contract and the company's responsibilities right down to the fine print. In exchange, a public adjuster receives a percentage of your claim.

Finding an adjuster takes some research

"For the most part, people like using (a public) adjuster because they like the idea that someone is working on their behalf vs. someone working on behalf of the company," says P.J. Crowley, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute.

But the decision to hire your own adjuster is far from a slam dunk. Finding a competent public claims adjuster is a lot like finding a medical specialist during a health crisis: It takes some research at a time when chances are you need to move fast.

Because you will be paying the adjuster yourself, you don't want to hire one unless it's really necessary.

"If they're good, it really makes a lot of sense," says Chris Farrell, host of the nationally syndicated television show "Right on the Money!" and author of “Right on the Money: Taking Control of Your Personal Finances. ”And if they're bad at it, you've really created a nightmare for yourself."

There are some horror stories. "Some public adjusters, to justify their fee, will exaggerate their claim," says James Markham, senior vice president and general counsel for the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters and the Insurance Institute of America.

And some insurance company adjusters may bristle if you bring in your own expert, he says.

"Some company adjusters are instantly suspicious or even antagonistic whenever they have to deal with a public adjuster," Markham says.

Ask questions, do your homework

Most often, public claims adjusters are called in for large property claims, says Rick Lambert, chair of the agent and broker section committee for the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Society. For smaller claims (less than $25,000) or auto claims, which are typically based on a fairly standard formula, it's probably a waste of money to hire a public adjuster, he says.

If you have a large property claim and are considering a public adjuster, ask yourself two questions: First, is your company acting quickly to replace your losses? Second, have those efforts been effective and fair?

"Is the company out there within 12 hours, or has it been a week since the fire and no one's come?" says Lambert, also vice president of Early, Cassidy & Schilling Inc., an independent insurance agency in Rockville, Md. "Most good companies are going to come out there pretty quick."

Most well-known companies also are going to play fair when it comes to claims, he says. But, Lambert admits, in today's economy when companies are hurting, "Some are going to play hardball."

There are also a few other instances when it could be practical to hire a public adjuster:

You've sustained a partial loss. Half the house burned down. Now you've got to document which of your possessions survived the fire, which burned and which are damaged beyond repair.

You don't have the time to follow up on your claim. Whether you're a two-income couple with kids or a busy professional who travels frequently, filing a claim and following it through will take time, especially if you don't have a record of your possessions and their value.

You had loved ones injured or killed in the incident. If you're spending your days at the hospital or mourning a family member, you may not even want to think about the claims process.

The loss is business-related. Rather than assign an employee to handle the claim, some companies will outsource the job.
Even though you'll want to move fast, you still have to do your homework before you hire a public adjuster.

"It's delegating," says Farrell. "You're hiring their knowledge and expertise. It looks good on paper, but it's easy to get ripped off."

And while it should go without saying that you don't hire the public adjuster who knocks on what's left of your door after a fire or tornado, plenty of desperate folks have done just that and really regretted it.

Courtesy of Public Adjuster Information

A house fire at any time can put you and your family’s lives in great danger. Yet, fire experts say you can dramatically reduce the risk of injury or death by just following these five simple safety tips:

1. Make sure your house number is visible from the street so emergency vehicles can find you. Consider using oversized reflective or illuminated numbers at the curb, preferably next to your mailbox.

2. Install smoke detectors in places where they will activate in time for you to save yourself and family. This is usually within a foot of the ceiling. Make sure you test them monthly by pressing the ―test‖ button, and replace batteries at least once a year. Don’t rely on the alarm to make an intermittent ―beep‖ to change batteries.

3. Create a fire escape plan with an emergency route for each family member’s bedroom. If bedrooms are on the second floor, purchase a simple chain ladder for escape from windows. Arrange for a safe family meeting place outside the home in the event fire strikes. This way you can account for each family member instantly.

4. Place an adequately sized fire extinguisher near the kitchen area of your home. Also, place one at the opposite end of the home. Most homes use undersized extinguishers. Even if a small fire breaks out, you will want all the suppression you can get.

5. Remove all weeds, tree branches, leaves, and litter away from the perimeter of your home. Put a screen on your fireplace and keep it closed at all times. It’s best to sleep with your bedroom door closed to give yourself more time to escape in case of a fire. And teach your children what to do if their clothes catch fire: Stop, Drop, and Roll!

Wow!  There was over 47 inches of snow in one week here in Philly? 
There are several things you should do to prevent claims on your home insurance.

• Remove the snow from your decks and the roof of your garage and shed.  Snow becomes very heavy and could cause a deck, garage or shed to collapse. Remove the snow if you can do it safely.
• Look at the trees in your yard to make sure the trees are not bent over and scraping your home due to the heavy load of snow on them.
• Clear your walks and make sure you put some salt down. The snow melts during the day and the water can freeze at night.
• Make sure all your outside drains and sewers are not blocked by snow.  If the snow melts this could cause a flood. 
• If you have a fire hydrant near your home make sure that you shovel out the hydrant so the fire company can respond faster to a fire.

With more snow in the forecast it is time to be proactive to prevent losses.
It is time to shoot the ground hog!  I don’t think I can handle six more weeks of a winter like this.

Save On Homeowners Insurance And Keep Your House This may seem like old news but we are in a bit of an economic bind these days. Front and center in this bind is the home foreclosure crisis which is gripping America from coast to coast. Those who failed to make their mortgage payments and had their home foreclosed on are left scratching their heads wondering where they went wrong. It may have never occurred to them but homeowners insurance could’ve saved their home. To get the best coverage schedule your FREE policy review today.

Yes, believe it or not, an expense like homeowners insurance can actually help you with your mortgage expenses. It might sound backwards but as the saying goes, “you have to spend money to make money” and homeowners insurance is no exception. So how exactly can you utilize your homeowners insurance to prevent your home from being foreclosed on?

• Consider job loss insurance – Often added as a rider to a standard homeowners insurance policy, job loss insurance has risen in popularity in the wake of the foreclosure crisis. Purchased while still employed, job loss insurance pays for part or all of your mortgage should you be unemployed for a number of reasons.
• Receive an Insurance Policy Review – Many homeowners pay too much for coverage without knowing. The key to not falling into this trap is by fully understanding your current coverage in order to find the best policy at the right price.

Using Homeowners Insurance To Your Advantage If you own a home then you probably realize the importance of homeowners insurance. It’s something you need anyways so why not optimize it to work in your favor? Job loss insurance and comparing quotes are just two ways to make sure your home stays yours. Contact your public adjuster today about other ways you can save on homeowners insurance.

Most policies have specific conditions that apply to theft losses. The most common is the duty of a policyholder to notify the police, as well as the insurer, of the theft. While this may seem like common sense, there may be a variety of instances where the policyholder fails to notify the police, and this could cause problems in getting the claim paid.

A small theft claim, for instance, may not seem like something that must be reported to the police, however, it is always better to be safe than sorry. Sure, many times the items stolen may be worth less than the policy deductible, but what happens if more items come up missing later? Often, policyholders do not notice that some items are missing until long after a burglary or theft, and failing to notify the police could create issues with the insurance company covering the loss.

Policyholders should also make sure to understand that notifying the police of a loss does not relieve them of their duty to report the loss to the insurer. As discussed in previous posts, if the insurer is not given notice of the loss, coverage could be denied.

The best practice when dealing with a potential theft loss is to immediately notify the police and insurance company. Most insurers closely evaluate theft claims many with an eye towards fraud. If notice is not given to the police or is unreasonably late, the insurer will likely take a more skeptical view. This can cause substantial delays, even if coverage is ultimately not denied.

Ice Damming can cause roof leak damage. This occurs when the gutters to your home are clogged with debris. This debris can be leaves that were never cleaned out in the fall months, or even ice build up when temperatures fall below freezing, creating an ice dam whereby the roof snow backs up the roof and leaks in through ceilings and exterior walls.

If this occurs you need to mitigate water damage immediately, but don't go up on your roof.  You should contact your Public Adjuster.  Your adjuster should be able to get emergency services done without costing you anything out of pocket. You also need to understand the dangers of mold.

If your home has a sloped roof, and is more than 20 years old, there is a 98 percent probability that your attic has excessive heat, leading to ice damming. Flat roofs also suffer ice damming and the weight of ice and snow damage.  This can result in subsequent water damage, and may have other serious problems identified by that heat, too. Even newly constructed homes may have serious attic heat problems.

Your response may be, "I don't live in a snow climate, so I don't have to be concerned about ice dams, right?" Wrong! The problem of ice damming is a much deeper issue than it may first appear, and may be indicative of construction and health related problems other than just that of a "roof" problem. Ice damming can lead to delamination of the roof sheathing, wood rot of the roof rafters, and failure of the insulation - leading to higher fuel bills, the development of mold growth, and health problems disguised as asthma, allergies, colds and sinus conditions.

Most people attribute the problem of ice damming to the "roofer," saying the roofer caused it. But this may not be the case. Although in some cases, the accuser would be right, in most cases, the roofer is not to blame for ice damming and related problems. He may have done everything correctly when installing a roof, and still there may be ice damming and water leakage - not from unsatisfactory roofer workmanship, but rather as a result of one of several subtle sources of heat, created by:

1. The Architect
   
2. The General Contractor
   
3. The Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Contractor
   
4. The Insulation Contractor
   
5. The Electrician
   
6. And yes, let's not forget, the Homeowner, too!

Winter is here and in full force. Correcting the above problems is easy during warm weather, but almost impossible to correct in cold weather, so act now, call your public adjuster and they will take of the damages for you. One of the most common types of mold that thrives in a moist attic environment is black mold. Black mold spreads by spores, and there is growing evidence of serious health hazards associated with breathing in the black mold spores. If your home has experienced any of the above scenarios, schedule your policy review and home inspection today.

By MICHAEL W. FREEMAN

FOUR CORNERS | When three hurricanes struck Central Florida in the summer of 2004, causing widespread damage to homes and businesses, there were plenty of stories from angry owners of homes and businesses about lingering battles with their insurance companies over unsettled claims.

There were complaints that insurance claims adjusters, sent out by the insurance agencies to investigate damage claims, too often were simply trying to help the insurance companies avoid paying the claims - or to try to pay out as little as possible.

Adriana Velez, who works in the insurance industry as a claims adjuster, has heard those complaints numerous times. She said the solution for homeowners is simple: hire someone like her to work for them as a public adjuster.

Velez operates Insurance Claims Central Florida LLC, an Orlando-based firm that handles residential and commercial claims. The difference, she said, is that she works as a public adjuster - an insurance claims advocate working for the policyholder, not the insurance company. Her side, she says, "helps level the playing field" in fights over claims.

Public adjusters, she said, are licensed by the state and have the same training as claims adjusters working for the insurance companies. Public adjusters, she said, use their experience to protect policyholders, to negotiate settlements and to push for higher amounts than what the insurance companies may initially offer.

It's a new field, she said, but a growing one.

"This area is very virgin," Velez said. "Not many people know about this."

Velez recently spoke during a meeting of the Four Corners Business Council, a group of business owners who work in fields related to real estate, who meet once per month at USA Vacation Homes at Four Corners' Polo Park subdivision. Velez was invited to the meeting by one of the regular members, Kevin Delaney, owner of Delaney Insurance Group on U.S. 27 in Four Corners.

"What typically happens during a claims process is independent adjusters work on behalf of the insurance companies," Delaney said. "The insurance companies spend a lot of money on these agents, but typically they don't invest a lot in overhead. So they hire independent contractors. The independent adjuster works for the client."

Public adjusters offer a way to balance the scale, Delaney said.

"When you have a public adjuster, that person is committed to your needs," he said. "It's a voice for the insured."

Velez said public adjusters can be used for damage claims related to fires, hurricanes, leaking roofs, sinkholes, cracked tiles, tornadoes, water damage, smoke damage, vandalism, theft, flooding - virtually any and all physical-damage claims on residential and commercial properties.