Ways a Public Adjuster Can Maximize Your Commercial Claim Settlement

When you submit a commercial claim, it’s important for business owners to understand one vital fact: the insurance adjuster your carrier sends to your premises works in the best interest of their employer, not the policyholder. That is why to maximize any commercial claim settlement, the best option is to partner with commercial public adjusters, such as United Public Adjusters & Appraisers. In this blog, we’ll go over the reason why process is the only way to achieve the highest settlement that your policy will allow.

While your insurance carrier’s claims adjuster is knowledgeable about damages and coverage issues, when that individual investigates and evaluates your claim, their goal is different from yours. Given the volume of claims that examiners must process, their objective is to settle as quickly as possible, for the least amount possible, and move on to the next claim in the stack.

Instead, as your commercial public adjusters, here is what to expect from the highly experienced team at United Public Adjusters & Appraisers. To begin, we will:

1. Take Control of the Investigation: Policyholders are required to answer their insurance carrier’s claims adjuster’s questions. Many business owners soon suspect that the questions are in a lane that is controlled by the carrier’s interests, and the answers given will support the insurance carrier’s bottom line, and be reflected in a low settlement offer. As it is not possible to refuse to answer these questions, by partnering with a commercial public adjuster’s firm, this party will be conducting their own investigation, independent of your insurance carrier, that will recognize potential issues, such as hidden or future damages caused by the original event, and prepare you for the insurance company’s settlement offer.
2. Potential Coverage Issues: Sometimes our clients do not bring our team in until they have received a reservation of rights letter, or a declination of coverage statement. As your ally throughout your entire claims process, again with our joint goal of receiving every penny you are entitled to, as your commercial public adjusters, your United Public Adjusters & Appraisers will recognize developing coverage issues and work through these by negotiating with your carrier before your claim can be denied.
3. Business Interruption Claim Settlements: One thorny issue with insurance carriers over commercial property claims is receiving a just settlement for business interruptions. Specific Business Interruption Insurance coverages will cover business income losses, extra expenses, and extended business income. The purpose of this coverage is to ensure that your business remains in business. Here it is optimal to have professional commercial public adjusters working on your behalf. Such policies have clauses that need to be documented and substantiated, including coverage limits based on the length of time taken to resume normal operations, as well as the amount of coverage required to resume normal business operations. Your public adjuster can not only assist with developing and submitting substantiating documentation, but also push for a maximum dollar recovery.
4. Disputing Actual Cash Value (ACV): Here is where the professionals at United Public Adjusters & Appraisers excel. The method your carrier’s claim adjuster uses to reach settlement figures relies on depreciation tables and programs that calculate averages. If your requirements do not fall into these sometimes narrow parameters, your settlement offer may be far below both your expectations and your needs. As your commercial public adjusters, however, our team will use documented facts to negotiate with your carrier and dispute an unacceptably low settlement offer.
5. We Bring About the Best Settlement Offer: Should you submit your own commercial insurance claim, it quickly becomes a matter of time. Your calls to your adjuster will reach his or her voicemail and not be returned. Your timeline waiting for your claim to be settled will be extended. When finally it is given, many business owners simply write off their business losses and accept their carrier’s inadequate settlement offer, just to get on with running their enterprise. Instead, commercial public adjusters possess the same skill set as the carrier’s adjuster. We keep negotiating until hidden problems, and other issues are entirely addressed. Our team will not back down or turn away until you receive a fair settlement. Period.

There is another factor business owners must consider: your peace of mind. When you partner with United Public Adjusters & Appraisers as your commercial public adjusters, you will soon see that we have your back at every turn. We charge no upfront fees. And are not paid until you are paid. Our solid business practices, integrity, and experience precede us. Give us a call today to learn more about our value to you and your business.