Thinking about handling your own insurance claim? There are many reasons why working with a public adjuster on your claim can be a major benefit to you and your business. Without insurance expertise, you can miss out on thousands of dollars of settlement money that your business needs to restore the incurred damage. These claims take a lot of time, research, and documentation, and a misstep can be expensive. Here are the top five reasons not to handle your own insurance claim.
1. An overwhelming amount of paperwork and documentation
Large property loss claims require massive amounts of paperwork. The more detailed your documentation is throughout the process, the better your chance for a favorable settlement. You will need extremely detailed property inventory information, building restoration estimates, and more. This detailed documentation is not only imperative to have correctly submitted, but is also important to be submitted as soon as possible after damage occurs. Any issues with this initial documentation can lead to your claim being denied, delayed, or underpaid. If insurance denied your claim, or you need to renegotiate your settlement, consider having a public adjuster represent you.
2. You need experience, or lots of time to devote to research
You hopefully will not need to regularly make large loss claims for your properties. Since this is something people usually only deal with a handful of times in their life at most, you can’t be expected to be an expert on the process. The knowledge needed to understand your policy, and to know what to do throughout the process for the best settlement, takes a lot of time and research without experience. Learning as you go can be costly when thousands of dollars are at stake.
3. Managing your claim is a long process
The hours spent on research, documentation, collecting contractor quotes, and managing your loss add up quickly. Time is money, and getting your business restored and back up and running quickly is a major priority. Even in an expert’s hands large loss claims can take a while to reach settlement. Without the expertise to move the process along as swiftly as possible, it can take even longer.
4. Without experience, you don’t know when to fight back on an unreasonable settlement offer
Knowing when your insurance claim is reasonable or when you should push back is difficult without experience. Insurance adjusters know the ins and outs of your coverage to know exactly what you are owed in your settlement, and have years of experience working on claims just like yours to know what is and isn’t a reasonable settlement offer. They know when to push back and continue negotiations, and when you have reached a favorable settlement
5. You’ll likely receive a lower settlement
Because of this knowledge of your insurance coverage and experience with hundreds of claims like yours, you can receive a much higher settlement when working with a public adjuster than handling your own insurance claim. A public adjuster’s job is to ensure you receive the maximum settlement possible. Studies have shown that people receive a much higher settlement when working with a public adjuster than when handling their own insurance claims. You don’t want your inexperience with insurance claims to result in an inadequate settlement.
If you have suffered large loss property damage, D.A. Lamont Public Adjusters are here for you. We are experienced professionals who have served hundreds of clients, resulting in millions of dollars of insurance settlements. We are dedicated to representing you in the insurance claims process and ensuring you receive the best possible settlement. Contact us today at 800-342-6690.