When Filing a Property Claim After a Disaster, It Is Rarely a Bad Idea to Employ a Public Insurance Adjuster

Guess where the title of this post was copied from? The Massachusetts Division of Insurance!

How differently public adjusters are treated by governmental leaders in Massachusetts than in Florida.

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance website notes:

Following a disaster, an insurance adjuster can help homeowners in navigating the claims process and obtaining the maximum claim for damaged property.

An insurance company may have its own adjusters or hire independent ones and their services are performed free of charge. In Massachusetts, consumers also have the choice of hiring a public insurance adjuster. Public insurance adjusters are licensed by the Division of Insurance (DOI). They are not affiliated with any particular insurer and charge a fee for their services, which may be up to 10% of the final recovery from the insurer.

When filing a property claim after a disaster, it is rarely a bad idea to employ a public insurance adjuster. However, it’s important that consumers remember scammers may pose as licensed professionals to take advantage of them in the aftermath of a disaster, when emotions and stress are typically heightened.

Public adjusters in Massachusetts must have experience adjusting losses before applying to be a public adjuster:

The applications shall be kept on file by the commissioner. No application shall be filed unless and until the applicant shall demonstrate that he has 2 years experience performing services in connection with adjusting of property losses.

I noted that Florida’s leader overseeing public adjusters, Jimmy Patronis, owes an apology to public adjusters in Jimmy Patronis Owes An Apology—Pay Up! Explains Why. I find it interesting that government leaders outside of Florida look at public adjusters differently and encourage policyholders to hire reputable public adjusters.

Thought For The Day

I’d rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.
—William F. Buckley, Jr.