Has your property been damaged by a hurricane or tropical storm? We can definitely help!
Documenting and adjusting the full extent of damages to your home or building can be an involved process. There are many things that can go unnoticed, and if these things are missed they will certainly cause problems long after your insurance company has “closed” your claim.
During major catastrophic events the insurance company only care about one thing: Getting an insurance adjuster to your home to take photos and issue an estimate as quickly as possible.
Notice that “you” are not in the equation there? That’s not an accident.
Insurance companies are under strict timelines to do those two things as quickly as possible. Depending on the state that you live in those timelines may vary a few days, but almost every state has some sort of “deadline” for completion. That’s why it becomes such a high priority for insurance companies when thousands of claims start pouring in after a hurricane event.
As long as your insurance company “shows up” and issues some sort of “estimate”, they have met the minimum requirements set forth my your state in most instances.
Showing up and writing some sort of estimate should not be confused with doing their job. Or doing the “right thing”. It shouldn’t even be confused with being complete or accurate either.
The adjuster they will send is there for one reason- to close your claim as quickly as possible so he or she can get paid and the insurance company can show that they are in compliance with the timelines set forth in your state. That’s it. No more, no less.
Remember- your insurance company will “tell you” they are coming out to inspect for your benefit in order to tell you what it will cost to make repairs. Make no mistake, they are coming out to document what they see so they can issue their denial or estimate in order to not get in trouble with your state’s department of insurance.
As you can imagine, under catastrophic situations these companies and adjusters are going to miss a ton of damage that is not obvious during their inspection. The adjuster will miss things, and this is normal- nobody is perfect. They will also “ignore” damage and not include it in their photos, reports or estimates because the damage is complicated and may delay the closing of their report so they can’t get paid out.
An experienced adjuster will know what damage to photograph and include in their reports. They know what types of damage will complicate and delay closing of a claim. They know it will be weeks before they can get an answer from your insurance company if they include these items, and that will result in a longer payout than they want.
So, what do they do? Just enough.
The insurance company and their adjusters will usually do just enough to stay out of trouble. This allows them to say that they have done everything they’re supposed to on your claim. This also usually results in denials that aren’t correctly documented, estimates that are missing many items and ultimately severe underpayments to you, the building owner.
We have extensive complex and catastrophic claims experience and can help you when you need it most with your hurricane or catastrophic claim.
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I work as a Houston Public Adjuster, Estimator, Appraiser and Claims Consultant. I also travel as needed for storms & Large Loss claims.
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