So your home was broken into, your flat screen TV, electronics, cash and all of your heirloom jewelry was stolen. Thanks to receipts and recent valuations of your jewelry, you know exactly what everything was worth. You submitted this in your insurance claim. Your insurance company seems to think that the value of your items is quite a bit lower. But you know, they’re your items, why should the insurance agent decide how much you receive for a loss of precious items?

You may leave this scenario feeling scammed, disappointed, and distrustful. 

Unfortunately, this scenario is all to common when it comes to filing insurance claims. Even being an excellent patron, paying premiums and staying safe, when disaster does strike, it may feel like your insurance turns its back on you with underpaid or denied claims. 

Let’s explore how to spot red flags, know your rights, and how and when to get help from a public adjuster.

 

 What “Being Scammed” by Your Insurer Actually Looks Like

Being aware of what is fair and what is not under your contract can help you quickly identify insurance scams that will leave you with insufficient funds to repair or replace your damaged or lost belongings. 

Claim delays with no clear explanation:

many insurance companies will advertise fast claim payouts to entice customers. While small claims may take just a few days to a few weeks, complex claims can take months, leaving the homeowner with damages and lacking proper payout to repair them. This delay, if unexplained, is often used to get homeowners to either give up on the claim or settle for less. They are hoping that you wont know that you have insurance rights with state protections and resources like public adjusters who can fight this injustice. 

 

Lowball settlements that don’t cover real costs:

As mentioned in the scenario above, lowball settlements can feel insulting to homeowners who lost valuable items or faced real damages. Insurance adjusters use serious lowballs to avoid high settlements, which ultimately cost the company money.

 

Denial for vague reasons or small technicalities:

Insurance companies will sometimes intenionally delay a claim so that somewhere along the way, you, the policyholder, will mess up and they can use the mistake as grounds for denying or reducing your payout. Creating stressful deadlines, complex requests and long processes, the insurance company hopes that the policyholder will get stress or frustrated causing a slip-up. 

 

Why Do Insurance Companies Do This?

Unfortunately, insurance companies make money by charging high premiums and offering low settlements. In fact, their algorithms and internal insurance adjusters are trained to minimize payouts to give policyholders as little as necessary, and sometimes even less!

How do you get around this? While an insurance adjuster may not be on your team, a public adjuster is. Licensed public adjusters like those at Property Claim Consultants work with policyholders to maximize claims and ensure fair payouts. 

 

How a Public Adjuster Protects You From Getting Burned

Public adjusters offer independent damage inspection along with full documentation. This allows us to hand the insurance and professional and expert report of what we are owed. Public adjusters like those at Property Claim Consultants also know the ins and outs of the insurance industry, the policy language, and common scams. 

Need help with a home insurance claim? Let Property Claims Consultant guide you through the process and ensure you receive the full payout you deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation!

Research has found that about 1 in 5 California residents live in areas prone to flooding, 66% in areas at high risk for earthquakes, and 10% in areas at high risk for wildfires. Despite this, LendingTree found that 10.5% of California homeowners lack homeowners insurance. What happens if disaster strikes and your home isn’t insured? More likely than not, if you aren’t prepared to pay for extensive damages out of pocket, you will lose your home. The simple solution? Homeowners insurance. Let’s dive into the details of homeowners’ insurance and how you can ensure that you are protected no matter what.  

What Is Home Insurance & Why Is It Important?

 

Home insurance falls under the umbrella of property insurance and it covers losses and damage to your home. It also protects belongings inside your home from theft or destruction. Home insurance policies generally cover interior and exterior damage, loss or damage to personal assets, and injury that arises while on the property. 

Home insurance helps homeowners protect themselves and their belongings from unexpected circumstances. This protection can save the homeowner thousands of dollars in home repairs and the cost of replacing lost belongings. Some of the most common types of disaster, the remediation of which relies on homeowners’ insurance, are water, fire, and smoke damage, often caused by natural disasters or home plumbing issues. 

While homeowners’ insurance is not legally required in the United States, many mortgage lenders require homeowners to have insurance coverage as a part of the loan terms. However, if you own your home outright, you are not required to have coverage. In this case, the money saved simply doesn’t outweigh the risk. 

What Home Insurance Covers & What It Doesn’t

It is essential to keep in mind that typical homeowners’ insurance policies offer coverage for some disasters, but not for others. Working with a trusted public adjuster can help you better understand your coverage and how to receive a fair and proper payout in the case of a disaster.

 

Covered Perils: Fire, theft, storm damage, vandalism, etc. 

Exclusions: Floods, earthquakes, neglect, and intentional damage

 

When to Hire a Public Adjuster for Home Insurance Claims

Unfortunately, even though homeowners’ insurance serves to protect homeowners from losing their homes or paying exuberant amounts out of pocket, insurance companies will oftentimes try to skirt these responsibilities to the detriment of the homeowner. Homeowners will end up being severely lowballed and have to pay tens of thousands out of pocket to repair their homes. This is where a public adjuster comes in. A public adjuster works with homeowners to fight insurance companies in order to receive proper settlements. Qualified public adjusters will asses the home’s damage, and submit an appeal with insurance, negotiating until they have reached a reasonable setllement payout. Property Claims Consultants is a trusted name on the West Coast for evaluating damage and adjusting public. 

Need help with a home insurance claim? Let Property Claims Consultant guide you through the process and ensure you receive the full payout you deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation!