Public Adjuster - FAQ

Licensed Public Adjusters for Homeowners and Businesses in Michigan

For many homeowners or business owners, setting up a property damage claim without the assistance of their own insurance claim loss adjuster working on their behalf is unfamiliar territory. The claim documentation provided by the insurance agencys is full with numerous terms and procedures that are not common and a professional claim adjuster understands fully: valuation, property replacement cost or actual cash value. The insurance company expects you to properly document and prove your property loss or damage claim, this can be done by you or by a public claims adjuster that does not work for the insurance company and knows how to properly estimate, and document everything related to the loss or damage.

Policyholders along the years have asked us almost the same questions time and time again:
How do I estimate the damage or loss caused by the fire, smoke, water or natural calmities? Will I recover enough money to rebuild the house or business affected by the mold, flood or fire? With two offices located in Auburn Hills and Grand Rapids, Michigan Fire Claims public adjusters and loss consultants are ready to quickly respond to all your insurance claim needs for a speedier resolution to your mold, wind, smoke, flood damage, natural gas or propane explosion fire loss insurance claim in Michigan.

What is a licensed PUBLIC ADJUSTER?
A public adjuster is a professional insurance adjuster, licensed by individual states that only represent the interests of the insured individual. Having your best interests in mind, they level the playing field between you and the company adjuster.

When you suffer a property loss, like a fire loss, flood loss, mold or water damage, the insurance company sends their own insurance adjuster to investigate the claim. Insurance companies employ staff adjusters and independent adjusters; they serve the insurance company's interest, not yours.

Regardless of where you are in the process - even if you believe you have already received the best settlement from your insurance company - call us today, we might be able to increase that settlement and sometimes even double it!

As Public Adjusters and Damage Estimators, we work for you, the insured, to increase property insurance claim settlement amounts.

What are the other types of ADJUSTERS?
There are actually 3 types of "adjusters":

• Insurance Company Adjuster (often referred to as the "insurance adjuster") working for the insurance company.
• Independent Adjuster also works for insurance companies, not for policyholders. They are simply an independent agent rather than an employee, so an independent adjuster could be working for multiple insurance companies.
• A Public Adjuster represents the only type of adjuster that works exclusively for policyholders and never for insurance companies. This means there´s no inherent conflict of interest when it comes to advocating on your behalf to the insurance company.

What are the benefits of hiring a public adjuster?
Like having a lawyer by your side in court, a public adjuster is there to work as your advocate to make sure that every detail is covered in your claim. Our adjusters have years of experience interpreting insurance policies and backing up claims for coverage. After a traumatic property loss like a fire loss or flood, your focus will be on rebuilding your home or business, not on learning how to interpret insurance language.

What will MICHIGAN FIRE CLAIMS do for you?
After a loss, we maximize your insurance claim; many people don't realize that the insurance company doesn't automatically pay their insurance claim. Instead, it's your responsibility to prove your claim in order to get compensated for a loss. When a disaster occurs, the insurance company has adjusters, building engineers, claims managers and supervisors, all representing their interests. Who do you have representing yours?

As you are trying to rebuild your home or business, there is little time for learning the ins and outs of insurance policies to make sure you are not settling for less than what you are entitled to. As public adjusters, we work for you, advocating on your behalf, never for insurance company and our professional adjusters can help by:

• Evaluating your insurance policy to establish the best possible strategy for presenting your claim to the insurance company
• Valuing, documenting and substantiating every detail, while keeping you informed of our progress
• Negotiating on your behalf with your insurance company
• Settling the claim for the maximum amount possible and all this with less hassle and less time in the dark for you

Contact us today for more information on how we can help you get everything you're entitled to for your property loss.

How is MICHIGAN FIRE CLAIMS compensated?
We are typically compensated by a small percentage of the claim, which is offset by the higher settlement we are able to obtain. In special circumstances, other means of compensation can be negotiated.

What kind of losses does MICHIGAN FIRE CLAIMS INC handle?
We can help you or your business recover from all disasters covered under your property insurance policy and its endorsements.

• Hurricane
• Tornado
• Flood
• Hail
• Earthquake
• Collapse
• Explosion

Each of these holds its own unique challenges when it comes to filing your claim. We can help you sail through all of the paper work and successfully resolve in your favor every type of disaster.

Contact us to ensure the best possible outcome for your claim.

If my property suffers catastrophic damage, won't the insurance company just pay me the policy limits?
In some cases, yes, however, this depends on the type of insurance policy you carry. There are some policies that can pay more than the amount of insurance shown on the declaration page. Our adjusters can review your policy to determine the full extent of your entitlement.

As claims get more complicated, so does the time and energy required to accurately document every detail of your loss. A very thorough understanding of valuation requirements is necessary to present a complex insurance claim along with comprehensive documentation that ensures a full and quick financial recovery.

Many homeowners or business owners do not collect all the money they're entitled to simply because they don't know all the ins and outs of the claim process.

You have nothing to lose by contacting us for our opinion. We will always tell you if we can't make a difference in your claim.

What is a Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss?

After a loss, you will be required to file a Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss; that is the road map to your claim. This is a sworn document, so it is your testimony to the insurance company that you are claiming exactly what you put on that piece of paper. The insurance company will use that Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss as a foundation document in the later steps of their claim investigation.

To see the pitfalls of this and understand how we can help you steer clear of them, please read our Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss page.

What will happen when your Insurance Company demands Your Examination under Oath after you have a loss?

The insurance company will appoint an attorney and that person will send you a detailed letter stating, at length, what documents you are to provide and bring with you to the examination, and they will set a date and time, typically at the attorney’s offices. The examination is done in the presence of a court reporter who transcribes the entire proceeding, taking down every word of your testimony. This is done for potential purposes of later litigation.

To understand the ramifications of this please read our Examination under Oath detailed explanation.

Why should I engage the services of MICHIGAN FIRE CLAIMS to obtain what is rightfully due to me?
Insurance companies employ professional adjusters to represent their best interests in claims. You should hire Michigan Fire Claims to represent yours.

 

If you have any other questions about Private Adjusters - feel free to contact us or visit our private adjuster blog to learn more.