Q. What is an "Adjuster"?

1. Company Adjuster or Staff Adjuster:
   
   This adjuster works directly for the Insurance Company (like a State Farm adjuster).
2. Independent Adjuster:
   
   This adjuster usually works for several Insurance Companies. During catastrophes, like Hurricanes, insurance companies usually do not have enough of their own personnel (staff adjusters) to handle all the work, so they use 'Independent Adjusters' to help out (almost like hiring sub contractors). In either case, both of these insurance adjusters represent the insurance companies that pay them, and they ALWAYS look after the insurance company's best interests.
3. Public Adjuster:
   There is a third adjuster, but this one works for the public, not for the insurance company. This Adjuster is referred to as a "Public Adjuster," sometimes referred to as "Private Adjusters". The Public Adjuster will file your claim, work directly with your Insurance Company's adjuster, and ultimately see to it that you get every penny you are entitled to receive for your damages. Although there is a fee associated with hiring a Public Adjuster, you usually get much more than the insurance company would offer, plus you won't have the hassle of dealing with the claim process. For their services, Public Adjusters receive a percentage of the money they collect on your behalf, and this percentage may vary slightly with different companies.

If your home or business is badly damaged or destroyed...

When you submit a claim to an insurance company, you face a highly trained adjuster who represents the insurance company's interests and seeks to minimize your settlement. A public adjuster's sole responsibility is to represent you - the insured. An adjuster with experience and expertise is obviously better equipped to obtain a more favorable adjustment then you could on your own. Insurance company adjusters work for, report to, and are paid by, the insurance company. We find that often times they decide to repair or clean items, when replacement is needed. When you don't hire a public adjuster it's just like fighting a court case all by yourself against an attorney who has years of legal experience. You are giving the company an unfair advantage at a time when you deserve equal and proper representation and the maximum settlement.

An expert public adjuster will relieve you of the time consuming process and difficulty involved in preparing and filing an insurance claim and protecting your property after a loss. An insurance policy typically contains hundreds of provisions and stipulations and many complex details that will impact the magnitude of your loss. Very often, insured's settle for less then they deserve because they don't fully understand the details of their policy.

As a public adjuster, we work on a fee basis, the more we collect for you, the more we make. You might think that by hiring us our fee will reduce the money you receive...this is a big misunderstanding and far from true. Public adjusters will typically recover more than you would be able to receive on your own. Plus you don't have to pay any money out of pocket and you don' t have to handle the claim. We take the burden off your shoulders and watch you smile when you receive the check you deserve!

Still not sold? Here's a quick example of a case; a restaurant owner thought that a public adjuster's fee would take away from his settlement, so he decided to not hire one, and thereby negotiate the claim on his own. He struggled with the claim for about a year, received about $600,000, only to realize he did not get the proper offer. He decided he needed a public adjuster to take a second look at the case. So he hired us, Friedman & Levine, to represent him. Within weeks we revised the claim from $600,000 to just over $900,000. If he had hired us from the beginning he would have been back in business earlier, and reached the settlement he deserved with no hassle. He would never negotiate a claim without us again, as is the case with many other businesses and homeowners.

Most people have never heard of public adjusters or how we can function as advocates. It's only when claims occur that our profession is mentioned. Learn how we can help you, browse our website and educate yourself, it's to your total advantage. We guarantee our services and if you give us the opportunity to show you what we can do, you certainly will not regret it.