Public adjuster vs Attorney: Do You Need a Public Adjuster-Or a Lawyer?

A hurricane has damaged your home or business. You file an insurance claim with your insurer. The insurance company sent an adjuster to inspect your property. Indeed, he was very courteous and professional.

However, the insurance company has offered to settle your claim at an amount you feel is too low. Or the company denies your claim. Therefore, do you need a public adjuster to help you out?

Or do you need to hire a lawyer? Public adjuster vs attorney? How to decide?

Public Adjuster vs Attorney: What is a Public Adjuster?

The claims adjuster the insurance company will send to inspect your property damage may be a staff adjuster for the insurance company. Alternatively, the company sent an “independent” adjuster. That person, although not an employee, also works for the insurance company during the claims process.

Therefore, both those adjusters are looking to save money for the insurance company. The insurance company is not necessarily acting in bad faith. However, they are looking to pay as little as possible to settle your claim.

Conversely, a public adjuster works for the insured property owner. The insured pays the public adjuster for his services. A public adjuster is state-licensed or has a non-resident license.

The job of a public adjuster is to review your policy for covered events and policy limits. Then he inspects your damaged property and prepares a report showing the repair or replacement costs. He will help you file a claim.

Next, he will negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf. Furthermore, he will try to get you a better settlement than the insurance company may be offering.

On the other hand, if the insurance company is making a good offer, he will tell you that.

Public Adjuster vs Attorney: When Do You Need a Public Insurance Adjuster?

Public Adjuster vs Attorney: When Do You Need an Attorney?

In the scenario above, a public adjuster is probably the first person to call for professional help. The public adjuster is cheaper than an attorney. In fact, an attorney will take your case for a 30-40% contingency fee, whereas a public adjuster charges 10% of the settlement. Moreover, the public adjuster will negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf.

Additionally, law firms will have to hire a public adjuster or contractor anyway to prepare a report with estimates of repair costs. You have already done that if you hire a public adjuster first.

You may need a lawyer if the insurance company will not increase its settlement offer. In that case, the attorney may have to sue the insurance company. Most likely, the public adjuster you initially hired will act as your expert witness in the case.

You may also want to hire an attorney if the event involved the spilling or leaking of toxic substances. This could lead to a government investigation of violations of environmental rules and regulations. The attorney could direct your investigation of the leak. Therefore, attorney-client privilege would protect the investigation.

If You Need a Public Adjuster, Call AllCity Adjusting

We are a family-owned claims company with five decades of combined adjusting experience. As a result, if there’s one thing we understand, it’s that you need 100% of your claim value.

Insurance companies undervalue your claim 8 out of 10 times. Moreover, they hire expensive adjusters to ensure they maintain a strong profit margin. Additionally, they have experienced actuaries that create insurance agency guidelines that help their team of agents to challenge your insurance claim’s validity.

We understand that you have already gone through a tumultuous event. For this reason, get an agency that gets you more.
At AllCity Adjusting we work to ensure you get 100% of your claim value. Equally important, with over 50 years of combined adjusting experience, we know insurance companies. Furthermore, we understand where they cut corners.

Moreover, we help you build a larger claim and maximize your claim value. In short, we get you back to normal fast. Don’t get fooled, get the company that gets you more.