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If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t memorized the details of your home insurance policy. But these details are important in case your property ever suffers major damage in an earthquake, fire or other disaster.

[Let Insure.com help you find affordable home insurance now.]

Even if you did spend time reading your policy from front to back, you may find it chock full of legalese. However, in cases of home or property damage (with the exception of cars), you can turn to public insurance adjusters to decipher your policy and help you get a fair settlement with your insurance company. Public adjusters work for both individuals and businesses, but most cater to the individual policyholder.

You probably don’t need to hire an adjuster if your home suffers a small mishap, such as minor smoke damage from a stove-top fire. But you may want to hire an adjuster if your home experiences serious damage, like earthquake or flood damage. An adjuster can arrange for a survey of the damage, estimate its cost and help you file a complex claim. He will keep track of the countless phone calls with your insurer and attend meetings. He may also help you find new living arrangements if your home is uninhabitable.

According to the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA), most states require public adjusters to be tested and licensed. In addition, public adjusters must follow state guidelines that outline their job duties and the claims process. Adjusters aren’t allowed to handle bodily injury claims, car insurance claims or third-party claims (such as a trust or an estate).

Advantages of using a public adjuster

Public claims adjusters can minimize the hassle of collecting documents and evidence and they negotiate with your insurance company. An adjuster will file the necessary paperwork with your insurer, arrange for inspections of your damaged property and haggle with your insurance company if it refuses to pay your full claim.

Public adjusters also help their clients communicate effectively with their home insurance companies in order to expedite claim payments.

Choose your adjuster well

While most adjusters will be fair and honest, every profession has a few individuals who do not live up to their industry standards. A public adjuster’s fee is based on a certain percentage of the total value of your settlement. A few adjusters may be tempted to exaggerate the value of your claim in order to secure a larger chunk of money for themselves.

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), public adjusters typically charge around 15 percent of the total value of your claim settlement.

“The thing to remember is that a public adjuster can’t get you more than you are legally entitled to and they will charge you that fee,” says Jeanne Salvatore, spokesperson for III.

For example, if you and your insurance company settle for $10,000, the public adjuster is could take $1,500 of that. Also, the adjuster’s fee is not covered by your insurance policy. But if you do decide to hire a public claims adjuster, Salvatore recommends checking his or her qualifications with your state insurance department. It is also be a good idea to ask your friends for referrals, she says. Avoid individuals who go door to door after a major disaster to offer their services, unless you are sure they are qualified.

In addition, NAPIA can help you find a public insurance adjuster where you live.

If you decide to hire a public insurance adjuster, you’ll have to sign a contract with him or her. It will define what percentage you will pay to the adjuster out of your total settlement. If you have second thoughts, you may terminate the agreement within a certain period, generally 72 hours after signing. If the adjuster doesn’t perform the job correctly, you can resort to a lawsuit against him.

The best time to hire an adjuster is at the beginning of a big claim. That will allow the adjuster the best chance to expedite your claim. If you didn’t hire a public claims adjuster and then find yourself in the middle of a claim nightmare, you can bring in a public adjuster in the middle of a claim.

Pete Johnson is a Florida licensed Public Insurance Adjuster who works on your (the insured) behalf to ensure that you receive a Fair Claim Settlement on your homeowners insurance claim, property damage claim, business owners insurance claim or any property damage insurance claim. Located in Jupiter, Florida, we serve all of South Florida – including Stuart, Jupiter, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Palm Beach County, Martin County, Broward County and Miami-Dade County.

Whether it’s Hurricane Damage, Fire Damage, Water Damage, Interruption of Business, Commercial or Residential…Whatever Type of Property Damage You Have…Don’t Just Settle Your Insurance Claim. Demand a…FAIR CLAIM SETTLEMENT. Call Pete today at 866-47 CLAIM

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/04/02/protestors-rally-against-proposed-insurance-hikes/
MIAMI – (CBS4) - Homeowners frustrated by the increasing insurance costs gathered Saturday afternoon to protest future rate hikes being proposed in the state legislature.
Floridians In Action, the group protesting the hikes, said the bills being introduced in the state House and Senate will further depress cash-strapped homeowners and increase unemployment.

They expressed their discontent by gathering at Tropical Park from noon to 3 p.m.
Emiliano Antunez was among those who protested Saturday.
“Well, they’re proposing to go up almost 200 percent then on top of that Citizens Insurance would have to charge an additional 25 percent over whatever any private insurance company charges,” Antunez said. “We’re trying to bring awareness to the people. What’s going on in Tallahassee? It’s not in their best interest at this moment that they should get behind groups like these and contact their legislators and let ‘em know that we just can’t take it anymore.”
Luis Meurice said he’s fed up.
“It’s just a habitual problem with [insurance companies] just sticking their hands in our pockets and we are fed up with it,” said Luis Meurice, a protestor.
State legislators backing a variety of bills addressing homeowners’ insurance say the bills will bring insurance companies back to the state and boost the state’s property insurance market.
Floridians In Action disagrees and issued the following statement about insurance companies.
“They have emptied your pockets through higher insurance rates, which have affected employment, (depleted spending capital to purchase goods, services or construction.This translates into higher unemployment numbers); cost of living swells by additional premium hikes that affect every single business and Floridian,” the group said in a statement.
The group is protesting the following bills:
If passed, SB 1714 and HB 1243 would give Citizens Property Insurance Corporation the right to raise premiums by as much as 25 percent – a 10 percent increase over what state law currently allows.
SB 1462 and HB 4115 would do away with a state law that requires a consumer advocate group to score insurance companies based on claims handling.
SB 1330 and HB 885 would allow insurers to hike premiums by as much as 30 percent  a year without approval from regulators.
SB 408 and HB 803 proposes shortening the time homeowners have to file hurricane and sinkhole claims. Insurance companies could be allowed to drop sinkhole coverage all together.
To send a letter to your state representative, click here.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel contributed to this report.)

By an eHow Contributor

When a house gets water damage, it must be fixed immediately. Lingering water damage will cause mold and mildew to build up and create a number of health risks for you and your family. Unfortunately, fixing water damage is not an easy task. Read on to find out what you can do and when it’s time to call a professional.

Read more: How to Fix a Water Damaged House | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2090193_fix-water-damaged-house.html#ixzz1C47OoJsb

Senate Bill 408 proposes new Florida insurance laws that harm all policyholders. Florida businesses and homeowners will receive fewer benefits, and insurers will be encouraged to delay, deny and defend claims if this bill becomes law. It takes away a lot of financial peace of mind that insurance currently provides.

Senate Bill 408 is lengthy and covers many topics. Here is a summary of some key provisions:

Read more here

Results of OPPGA study shows Public Adjuster Representation in Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Claims Extends the Time to Reach a Settlement and Also Increases Payments to Citizens’ Policyholders

The number of licensed public adjusters in Florida has grown significantly in the last six years, and the incidence of complaints, regulatory actions, and allegations of fraud involving public adjusters is generally low. Florida’s public adjuster laws are comparable to and in some cases more restrictive than those of other similar states.

Here’s the entire article in pdf format

A Court finds that an agent’s bad manners are technical violations, not bad faith.

Docket No. 09-cv-0083
(E.D. Ky. February 11, 2010)

Here’s a case, where the Shoopmans’ home was substantially damaged by fire. After they filed a claim, Allstate investigated the causes of the fire and suspected the fire was the result of arson. Allstate filed an action, asking the Court to declare that the Shoopmans are not entitled to coverage under their homeowners policy. The Shoopmans filed a counterclaim, alleging violations of the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (“UCSPA”) and the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act (“KCPA”), for bad faith in handling their claim. At issue in this opinion was Allstate’s motion for summary judgment.

The policy precludes coverage if “any insured person” under the parties’ insurance policy engaged in or directed an intentional or criminal act in setting the fire or concealed or misrepresented any material fact or circumstance to Allstate during the claim investigation. Allstate argued that the Shoopmans’ son, Michael, resided in their home at the time of the fire and is an “insured person” as a matter of law. The Shoopmans argued that Michael was staying in the house temporarily to recover from injuries from a motorcycle accident, so he is not an “insured person” under the Policy. The Court concluded that the evidence supports more than one reasonable inference, so summary judgment was not appropriate on that issue.

Allstate also alleged that Michael misrepresented facts and concealed pertinent information about his father’s mandolin, his criminal background and his activities on the day of the fire which were “material” to the investigation. As the jury could find Michael was not an “insured person,” the Court declined to consider that argument.

Allstate also argued that the Shoopmans included a Gibson mandolin in the claim but did not tell Allstate that the mandolin had been pawned and did not notify Allstate that the mandolin had been recovered until months later. The Shoopmans argued that Michael pawned the mandolin and they did not know of it until after Michael was arrested, well after they filed the Proof of Loss. The Shoopmans further contended that any alleged “misstatements” on the Proof of Loss related to the mandolin did not affect Allstate’s investigation. The Court held that whether the Shoopmans actually misrepresented or concealed information, and whether that information was material to the investigation, are questions for a jury and denied summary judgment.
As for the Shoopmans’ bad faith claim, the Court granted summary judgment in favor of Allstate. The Shoopmans argued that Allstate’s predisposition to blame Michael for setting the fire, failure to comply with its corporate adjusting requirements, and rude behavior towards them constituted more than “mere negligence” and were deliberate acts and reckless disregard for their rights as insured persons. The Court disagreed. “The Shoopmans’ assertions simply do not amount to outrageous conduct absent some affirmative act of harassment or deception.” The Court held that to prove a bad faith claim regarding a delay in claims handling, there must be proof or a reasonable inference that that the purpose of the delay was to extort a more favorable settlement or to deceive the insured regarding coverage. Allstate’s adjuster’s and investigator’s bad manners or errors in judgment were not sufficient to support a bad faith claim, nor were its technical violations of its procedures and rules.

Catastrophic Losses? Here are some options to overcome the complexity involved in Property/Casualty Insurance Claims:

Understand Insurance companies can play rough when it comes time to pay on a claim. Recent studies clearly indicate property/casualty insurance companies are paying out less claims relative to the premiums they collect than at any time in the past 20 years. Their profits have soared. In 1988 they earned approximately 11 billion dollars to almost 70 billion in 2005!

Pete Johnson, a licensed Public Adjuster suggests even before the insurance adjuster arrives, to gather all the information pertinent to your loss. Here are a few tips to reduce the stress when filing for an insurance claim: promptly inspect your property, accurately estimate damage and loss, scrutinize, interpret and examine your insurance policy, and thoroughly support your claim with documentation and expert opinion reports. These steps will assist you in overcoming the complexity involved in insurance claims.

By doing so, property owners level the playing field by hiring a licensed professional adjuster who is working in their best interest. There is a great deal of complexity involved when negotiating directly with insurance companies, Johnson states. Homeowners normally lack the skills needed to reach a fair claim settlement. Public adjusters provide the expertise to maximize the amount you will receive from insurance companies. Their fees are based on a small percentage of the total insurance payout.

As a 30 year plus insurance restoration contractor and licensed Public Adjuster, I can assure you that when assessing the damage to your home or business I possess the knowledge to determine what needs to be done to bring your building and contents back to its condition before the loss and, just as important, how much it will cost. Costs vary widely geographically and are also determined by market conditions and demand. In many areas of Florida during the 2004-2005 hurricane season, prices doubled and tripled on some items, if you were able to find a contractor to perform the work.

It is of the utmost importance for you to obtain the correct sum of money for your claim in order to make your life and possessions whole again, as they were before the loss. The insurance company hires and trains professional adjusters to assess your loss from their perspective. In order to keep the playing field level, you also need a highly skilled professional to ensure that you receive a fair claim settlement.

You have a life to run. If you’re like most of us, this usually takes 110% of your time. For you to handle a complex task, such as an insurance claim, with its thousands of details, can be overwhelming at best. It would be in you and your family’s best interest for the minimal amount, usually about 10%, to hire a professional adjuster to handle this enormous challenge. I am the professional public adjuster that you need. Call for a free assessment of your claim.

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