Many of my clients are surprised that their insurance claim takes so much of them. People would like to believe they could just call their insurance Company, have them look for damage, and the insurance committee will make a professional, reasonable assessment of the damage. Many of my clients will tell you this does not happen often. What to do?
Individuals that have sustained a hail or wind loss should carefully consider their contractors. A good contractor with good Xactimate software, experience, knowledge of insurance matters can take a lot of the burden of the homeowners. The contractor’s job is to assess the damage and present a thoughtful, reasonable estimate to you that explains the scope of the rebuilding job. You can pass this on to the insurance company as your total claim. Simply having that professional person in your corner is meaningful during the insurance claims process.
Individuals can also hire a public adjuster to help with their insurance claim. They are particularly helpful for elaborate property, like a farm or certain commercial property, and all fire and water losses, either it be commercial or residential property. That is because such claims involve damage to small and large contents, and other coverages like additional living expenses or lost income. These types of claims and coverages involve a lot of detail. For example, a contents claim involving your personal property, from suit coats to furniture, take a lot of time to document and value. It is labor-intensive, and most of my clients work for a living. It is wise to hire a professional person that can shoulder this responsibility.
Note that insurance policies have a cooperation clause that requires the insured property owner, during the claims process, cooperate with the insurer. When a public adjuster is involved, he or she can be the point person for dealing with insurer requests to cooperate. Public adjusters can arrange for property inspections, itemizing and documenting contents lost, and otherwise explaining the scope to the insurance company. Public adjusters can push back and argue with the insurance company that their adjustment is too low. All of this relieves a lot of stress on property owners.
Ultimately, you and your contractor or public adjuster may not entirely see eye-to-eye on the scope of loss. The forum to resolve scope of loss disputes, and what caused the scope of loss, is appraisal in the State of Minnesota. Your contractor or public adjuster can gather documents needed to argue your point before the appraisal panel.
If you correspond with the insurance company, do your best to keep everything matter of fact. More emotion does not produce better results. When you ask an insurance company to do something, make your request very specific. I like questions that are preceded by a bullet point so the insurance company needs to address each bullet point in a response. I would not advise people to expect flowers or roses from their adjuster. They have many files, and most insurance companies give their adjusters a lot of protocol to follow. They follow their protocol, not your wants and needs.
If ultimately you need the help of a lawyer, that should also decrease your stress. If you need one, email me.