Should You Hire A Water Damage Public Adjuster?

Of the types of insurances claims, people often find ones involving water damage to be among the most difficult to sort out. If you're filing a claim, you may want to hire a water damage public adjuster to assist you. Read below to learn what an adjuster is, what they do, and why you may wish to hire one.

Role

An adjuster is a person with the experience and training needed to make sense of insurance claims. Notably, insurance companies almost always appoint adjusters to handle their work. The adjuster reviews the claim, visits the property, and then determines the validity of the case. If the adjuster doesn't find a problem with the claim, they will then recommend a settlement offer.

The thing is, all that work occurs on the insurance company's side of the ledger. Who is there to represent your interests? If you want, a public water damage insurance adjuster can represent you. A public adjuster does the same thing as the insurance company's adjuster, but they represent your interests.

Job

A public water damage insurance adjuster will use their experience dealing with similar properties to help you assess the extent of the situation. More importantly, they'll also help you determine which types of damage should be covered by your insurance and which should not. Particularly, they can tell you whether something fits under a water damage policy if it appears to overlap with damage from a flood or storm. This professional opinion can be valuable if the insurer disagrees about what the policy does or doesn't cover.

The adjuster also can assist you with preparing a claim. For example, they can assist you with taking photos, getting repair estimates, describing the damage, and preparing reports. By assembling significant evidence, you can demonstrate you're serious about the claim and willing to push back against a small settlement offer. If necessary, a public adjuster's input can support a lawsuit.

Should You Hire an Adjuster?

This question boils down to the issue of how much is at stake. If you're looking at a few hundred dollars worth of damage, you might not even file a claim.

Water, however, rarely spares a building from significant damage. The cost of water damage could cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, depending on the type of building and event. In that scenario, you don't want to hope the insurance company's adjuster will see things the way you do.

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