In Florida, insurance companies have 90 days to notify you if they have accepted or denied your claim. If your insurance company approves your claim, Florida Statutes state that they must pay you within 20 days of their decision. How do you get paid to a public appraiser? Insurance companies for homeowners have been plagued by appraiser fraud, which has affected many types of insurance policies. Estimates often didn't reflect the actual amount of damage, and customers had to wait indefinitely to receive the money they desperately needed to repair the damage to their property or rebuild it because of it.
In addition, many public appraisers accepted bribes from lawyers and contractors who benefited from the results of their work. Both insurance companies and their customers suffered. Some public appraisers devised complex fraudulent schemes to steal from insurance companies. However, many studies show that hiring a public adjuster to represent you in your insurance claim results in much higher claim settlements.
In the end, insurance companies are forced to pass on the costs of fraud from public appraisers to the insured in the form of higher premiums. When scheduling this meeting, the appraiser should ideally deal with their lawyer. However, sometimes the adjuster will try to circumvent your lawyer and call you directly. According to the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), policyholders who used a public adjuster received payments 747% higher on average than those who were not represented.
A public insurance adjuster is a licensed professional that policyholders can hire to represent their best interests in a property insurance claim situation. We see that some policyholders are confused about whether they should hire a lawyer or a public appraiser to process their claim. Legally, public appraisers are not allowed to accept any type of referral fee from an attorney, so this is done as a courtesy and without any conflict of interest. A public adjuster is supposed to act as an advocate for the policyholder when dealing with an insurance company.
Public adjusters advocate on behalf of the property owner to ensure proper navigation through the complex provisions and processes involved in a typical insurance claim. You should always have an experienced public adjuster ready to advocate for you and help you maximize a fair settlement. Many policyholders will also hire a public adjuster before hiring an attorney to avoid litigation and retain more of their agreement. After catastrophic events, public experts often end up being much more of an obstacle than a help, making life difficult for the insured.
We will generally contact you within 1 to 3 days and an independent adjuster or company adjuster will come to investigate the loss as soon as possible. They will document the loss immediately and an experienced public adjuster will be present throughout the inspection to advocate on your behalf.
