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Do You Need to Hire an Orange County Public Adjuster?

A lot of people recommend hiring an exceladjusters.com who can help with insurance claims processes in case accidents happen. But is this important? Do you need to hire an advocate to settle insurance claims fairly and quickly? Or can hire a public adjuster only cause more problems? Continue reading to find out.

It’s always stressful to lose properties, whether it be in a car accident or a house fire. If you’re expecting that your insurance company will reimburse you, you need to submit a claim first. It’s the first step to determine how much you’ll get from your insured company.

For situations where your home experiences large-scale damage, you may need to live elsewhere and lose all of your belongings. And as you try to return to a sense of normalcy, you’ll need the help of an Orange County public adjuster to settle your insurance claims quickly and get the value of money you’re supposed to get.

Orange County Public Adjuster Defined

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He is a trained and licensed specialist who recovers and adjusts insurance claims for damage losses to homeowners, businesses, and commercial property owners. They work mainly for the policyholder.

What does a Public Adjuster do?

If your loss is large enough that you couldn’t file a claim with your insurance company, what you should do first is to call your Policy agent. Your policy agent will help you start the process and will answer your questions about the process once you initiate the claim.

A public insurance or claims adjuster is responsible for investigating these to determine the value of your loss and amount your company needs to pay you.

Below are the tasks public adjusters need to do:

  • Provide damage restoration services
  • Review the insurance policy coverages and the water damage restoration process
  • Evaluate the clients’ compliance responsibilities
  • Measure and investigate the extent of the Loss
  • Evaluate replacement costs and/or depreciation
  • Assemble support data for loss of income claims
  • Assemble business equipment claim
  • Prepare the documentation for advance payment request
  • Evaluate microbial contamination (mold)
  • Assess the total loss claims and review insurance estimates
  • Expedite the claim process
  • Negotiate final recovery to the insured’s satisfaction.
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Orange County Public Adjuster: Should You Hire One?

There are many reasons why policyholders hire public insurance adjusters, such as the following:

  1. In cases where there could be total or large loss claims, the helps the policyholder get a larger sum in repairing or rebuilding the property.
  2. If there are unresolved disputes in the claim assessment,
  3. If the company isn’t communicating well with the policyholder, it’s best to hire a public adjuster to understand complex documents. They will investigate how much the costs are to repair or replace the structures.

Hiring an Orange County public adjuster is a very good idea to help you maximize your claim payment and settle it as quickly as possible. But there are different reasons why you should stick with your agent and your insurance company, such as the following:

  1. They perform tasks your insurance agent and your company can do. In this case, it will be unnecessary to hire one.
  2. Hiring a public adjuster may reduce the reimbursement you’ll receive. That’s because you’ll need to pay a percentage to them.
  3. If the amount of your loss exceeds the policy limit, you may need to hire a lawyer to settle the claim. Public adjusters may not be able to help if a lawyer is involved.
  4. They don’t work for the company.
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What to Consider When Hiring an Orange County Public Adjuster

If you feel that you should hire a public insurance adjuster, consider the following:

  1. Don’t hire someone who goes door-to-door after a disaster.
  2. Only hire if he’s accredited, trained, and experienced.
  3. Hire someone who has a license to practice. You may look for a Certified Professional which means, He has worked for at least 5 years and has passed the examination to obtain the certification. Who has worked for more than 10 years can certify as Senior Professional after passing the certification exam.
  4. Don’t pay too much and consider how much you’re willing to part with for the services.
  5. Don’t hire the first public adjuster you see. Make sure to interview several to find the best one for the best price.
  6. Limit your contract to a certain period. If the insurance claim isn’t settled during that time, feel free to walk away from that.
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Other Red Flags when Hiring an Adjuster:

Take note of the following red flags when you choose to hire one:

  1. No progress
  2. Unreturned phone calls
  3. Insisting on using a contractor or a particular restoration company
  4. Can’t show his/her license or current references
  5. Inflates the claim and asks you to participate
  6. Refers your repair job to a dishonest contractor for a kickback
  7. Asks you to pay large upfront fees, and then disappears without handling the claim
  8. Attempts to access your personal information (SSN or bank account information)

Conclusion

While hiring a public adjuster sounds like a good idea, it may not always be the best option. If you have insurance, and you just don’t know the coverage, you should always communicate with your agent first. But if you’re still concerned with how the insurance company is handling your claim, you can hire an Orange County public adjuster.

About Michael Farmiga