Wait and See before Hiring a Public Adjuster

1
Wait and See before Hiring a Public Adjuster
As public adjusters the number one opposition to
hiring us right away that we hear is that the
insured wants to wait and see what the insurance
company offers on their claim. The Cambridge
English dictionary defines a wait-and-see
situation as one in which someone is not sure
what to do and decides to wait before taking any
action. At Brown OHaver we have options for
people who prefer this approach. We offer our
services at any time in the claim and may only
take a fee on what the insurer pays above the
original offer a person may have received. We
offer this alternative but it doesnt mean that
the wait and see approach is always the best
choice for an insured. One of the biggest
problems with the wait and see approach in your
insurance claim is that while insureds may be
waiting on retaining a public adjuster, they are
not waiting on other
aspects of the claim. This
happens oftentimes when the insured hires a
restoration company but does not hire a public
adjuster. Restoration companies will begin
removing things from the home and accruing fees
all while an insured is waiting to see if hiring
a public adjuster is the right choice for them.
Eventually tens of thousands of
2
dollars might be paid out to a restoration
company which can never be recouped even if and
when you eventually hire a public adjuster to
help you with your claim. The main reasons to
hire a public adjuster are to protect the
interests of the insured and to receive
guidance and direction on the claim.
Public adjusters are licensed to advocate on
behalf of the insured. It is our duty and
responsibility to give an insured advice on their
claim and help them to move through the process.
By waiting to hire a public adjuster an insured
is missing months of advice. In addition, the
insured is making critical decisions at the most
important part of the claim without the help of
an expert. While we can help most people at any
stage in the claim it is certainly more
difficult when we have to unravel a claim.
Oftentimes, waiting to hire a public adjuster is
akin to waiting to hire a CPA until after an
audit request. Can the CPA help with the audit
and most likely get their client through the
process? Certainly, but it would have saved
time, money, stress and heartache had the client
hired a CPA in the first place which would help
to offset the odds of being audited. By hiring
Brown OHaver from the beginning an insured can
receive the service and expertise for the
entirety of the claim mitigating the problems
that can result without us.