Wait and See before Hiring a Public Adjuster

Wait and See before Hiring a Public Adjuster

As public adjusters the number one opposition to hiring us right away that we hear is that the insured wants to wait and see what the insurance company offers on their claim. The Cambridge English dictionary defines a wait-and-see situation as one in which someone is not sure what to do and decides to wait before taking any action.

At Brown O’Haver we have options for people who prefer this approach. We offer our services at any time in the claim and may only take a fee on what the insurer pays above the original offer a person may have received. We offer this alternative but it doesn’t mean that the wait and see approach is always the best choice for an insured.

One of the biggest problems with the wait and see approach in your insurance claim is that while insureds may be waiting on retaining a public adjuster, they are not waiting on other aspects of the claim.

This happens oftentimes when the insured hires a restoration company but does not hire a public adjuster. Restoration companies will begin removing things from the home and accruing fees all while an insured is waiting to see if hiring a public adjuster is the right choice for them. Eventually tens of thousands of

dollars might be paid out to a restoration company which can never be recouped even if and when you eventually hire a public adjuster to help you with your claim.

The main reasons to hire a public adjuster are to protect the interests of the insured and to receive guidance and direction on the claim.

Public adjusters are licensed to advocate on behalf of the insured. It is our duty and responsibility to give an insured advice on their claim and help them to move through the process. By waiting to hire a public adjuster an insured is missing months of advice. In addition, the insured is making critical decisions at the most important part of the claim without the help of an expert.

While we can help most people at any stage in the claim it is certainly more difficult when we have to unravel a claim. Oftentimes, waiting to hire a public adjuster is akin to waiting to hire a CPA until after an audit request. Can the CPA help with the audit and most likely get their client through the process?

Certainly, but it would have saved time, money, stress and heartache had the client hired a CPA in the first place which would help to offset the odds of being audited.

By hiring Brown O’Haver from the beginning an insured can receive the service and expertise for the entirety of the claim mitigating the problems that can result without us.