When you own a business, you constantly deal with people you want something from. That could be a prospective client, someone who could provide you with a new connection, or a customer who may give your company a positive review. You can add insurance adjusters to that list.
After claiming your policy or that of another party, give the adjuster assigned your case respect, accommodate them as best you can, and hope for the best. If they don’t comply with the policy, you may need legal representation to help you get what you deserve as an international litigation lawyer can share.
What Does An Insurance Adjuster Do?
Insurance claims adjusters investigate insurance claims and if there’s a dispute with the policyholder, they try to resolve them. They determine your loss’ cause, document and quantify the damage, and decide if your policy covers it. There are three types of insurance adjusters:
- A public adjuster would work for you, the claimant, advocate for you, try to get the largest recovery possible, and ensure you get the coverage you paid for. Public adjusters are paid a percentage of the recovery, usually 10% to 20%. The benefits of hiring one are that they should know insurance much better than you, they may be better negotiators, and you save time and energy because they deal with your insurance carrier, not you
- Independent adjusters are independent contractors hired by the insurance company. They are often used after major disasters because the staff can’t handle the workload, or a specialized claim is involved
- Staff or company adjusters are employees of an insurance company. They may specialize in one line of insurance
Independent and staff adjusters work for the insurer’s interests. Their job is to fairly judge your claim but ensure you get nothing above or beyond the coverage you pay for as our friends at Focus Law LA can explain. Field adjusters also go and see what happened in person, while desk adjusters do not.
How Do I Get The Most Favorable Decision From An Insurance Adjuster?
If you’re dealing with an independent or staff adjuster, here are some suggestions for working with an insurance adjuster:
- Treat them with respect and build a rapport
- Give them what they ask for (if it’s documents or information, make sure you keep copies) when they ask for it. If something is unavailable, explain why
- Answer their questions to the best of your ability. If you don’t know the answer or can’t remember something, tell them. If you need to look at something to refresh your memory, do so
- Stick to answering the questions. Don’t go into unnecessary details or chit-chat excessively. You won’t score points by wasting their time
If you correspond by email, keep copies. Take notes of any in-person or telephone conversations.
Their decision may be against your interests. They may decide the loss isn’t covered by your policy or you’re not entitled to the recovery you seek. Ask if there’s any information or documents they’re missing that may change their decision. If so, supply them.
If you can’t reason with them or provide more information, you can ask about their internal process to appeal their decision. You may also get help from your state’s agency regulating insurance.
Depending on how large a loss you suffered, it may be worthwhile to get an attorney involved. Insurance is highly regulated, and the facts and law may be favorable to you. Intervention by an attorney may help clear up misunderstandings, and a carrier may take you more seriously if you have legal representation.
If your carrier’s actions and decisions are unfair, and they appear to go out of their way to reject your claim or reduce your recovery, there may be grounds to sue them in state court because of their bad faith actions and decisions.
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