A professionally licensed public insurance adjuster will help you to work your way through the difficult process of making an insurance claim. The public adjuster will appraise the damages, prepare an estimate, prepare any documentation needed, determine coverage’s spelled out in the insurance policy, and negotiate with the insurance company’s claims department. Insurance companies are quick to offer low-ball amounts to people making claims. They hope that the person will just accept the small amount without looking into it and by doing this, the insurance company saves a lot of money. When you make use of a public insurance adjuster, you can be sure that you will not get any less than what you are entitled to from the insurance company.
Contact FAPIA
The Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters is the best place to find an expert public adjuster in Miami. FAPIA can provide referrals for any area of Florida. Sometimes victims of a disaster receive many inquiries and offers from contractors, public adjusters, and other people offering their help. Just because they are reaching out to you does not mean that they are doing something wrong, or they aren’t offering genuine help. However, you will need to do your homework and make sure they are legitimate before agreeing to their services.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
If the public adjusters are not members of FAPIA, be careful. They may not have the experience and knowledge to represent you adequately and this is not a chance you will want to take. Here are a few red flags to look out for:
• They make wonderful sounding promises, but no guarantees.
• Abnormally high fees. The average charge might be around 15%. For especially large losses, the fee should be much lower than that.
• You feel pressured to make a decision quickly. Legitimate public adjusters will understand that this is a huge decision, and that you will want to be cautious.
Remember to make sure they are members of FAPIA. Take your time before coming to any decisions. Do some in-person interviews with possible adjusters. Ask for some references from them. It might seem a bit awkward at first, but follow up with those references. Find out what their situation was, and how happy they were with the adjuster’s services. When you come to a decision and you do hire a public adjuster, make sure everything is in writing and be sure you understand their fees ahead of time.
