Insurance Claims Help & ServicesFor Insurance Claim Disputes, Independent Appraiser, Insurance Appraisal Process, and Appraisal Umpire Services!

More and more policyholders have been finding themselves involved with an insurance dispute over their claim damage. A settlement dispute from an insurance claim can be devestating. Most people believe that their insurance company will be there to help them. In many cases that is 100% acurate. However, with larger, more complex, and more costly claims it can feel like you have your pants down around your ankles.

A large fire, water from a boken pipe, tornado, or tree on the house can cause severe, high dollar damages to a building and its contents. Policyholders immidiatley think, “Thank the lord we’re covered.” Well, not so fast. Sure, you have a policy, and you’re covered for the damages, but, how much will the insurance company pay compared to what the damages will cost to repair. Most policyholder’s often say, “I’ve been with this insurance company for 45-years and never once submitted a claim.” It should be simple, right? You’ve paid your bills all this time, you submit a bid from a reputable contractor, now the insurance company should pay it!

Hmmmm, more and more on larger, more costly claims, that begin to dig deep into the insurance companies bottom line, it doesn’t seem to be that easy. We’d like to believe that our insurance company will be there to take care of us in our time of need. However, many are not, especially with larger claims. Larger claims can become a battle over what should be replaced and what the insurance company believes can be saved and repaired. In my career as a claims professonal I have found that many insurance companies truly wish to take care of their policyholders and provide them with the maximum amount of money their policy will allow.

I’ve also found that there are just as many insurance companies that go out of their way to find ways not to pay policyholders all that they deserve on their claims. The Insurance Appraisal Process can be complicated unless you choose a competent, experienced appraiser that understands all aspects of the insurance appraisal clause, as well as all aspects of Insurance Appraisal Services. First, a brief overview of the insurance appraisal clause. Appraisal is a clause within most insurance policies that allows a process to settle insurance claim disputes. The claim disputes may be about damage to buildings or property.

Let’s say that a policyholder suffers a flood, fire, or tornado to their structure. The insurance company sends an adjuster who determines the damages to be $200,000. However, the policyholder has a contractor that has provided an estimate for $325,000. A dispute between the two parties has begun in both the cost of repairs and the scope of damages. An agreement on the costs cannot be reached. Either the insurance company or the policyholder now has the right to demand appraisal via written request. To resolve such disputes, each party must choose an insurance appraiser. Insurance Appraisal Services is what we do.

(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Claim Consulting Service – Ph: 919-669-9111 . Insurance Claim Help and questions about Independent Appraiser Services is available by visiting Insurance Claims Group | Insurance Appraisal Services | Insurance Appraisal Process | Insurance Appraisal Umpire | Fire Insurance Claims

You pay your insurance premiums 12 months a year, yet peak hurricane season is June 1st-November 30th. It makes you wonder, what are you getting for paying those insurance premiums? Was your hurricane damage claim denied? We are here for you, we work as independent insurance appraisers and will work with you to handle your hurricane damage dispute.

If you do have a written copy of your hurricane insurance policy on hand, it is very difficult to read and understand. There is a thick stack of pages with small font, and it comes with a huge surprise in the event you have to use it. Insurance companies are a profitable business. Home and business are forced by the government to pay these companies to protect our own property.

So, if you pay your monthly fee, then you are protected if another Hurricane Katrina comes in and destroys your home? Not necessarily. Your insurance company could cancel your hurricane policy for the following reasons: If you miss a payment, if you have multiple claims in one year, or if you don’t follow rules built into your policy.

You thought that purchasing this expensive insurance should guarantee you financial reimbursement in the event of a natural disaster, but the sad truth is that it does not.

The insurance company’s job is to sell their policies, usually through a local agent, who should sell the client the appropriate policies to protect their business and home assets. Do they do this to protect us? No, it is to protect the lending companies who give us those loans and their investment in our property.

Technically, you do not own a building or lot until you pay the bank all of the money you owe them. Most people realize this fact, which is fair. The bank paid for the home or business, and is making money themselves. The insurance company forces you to protect the bank’s investments.

The question that remains is, who is protecting us, the homeowners, when something happens? Do the insurance agents call us to make sure that we are familiar with all of the clauses in our policies? Your agent should give you the power to educate yourself.

The reason sometimes this doesn’t always happen is because your agent has a large, diverse, spread out client base, and their ultimate goal is to make money as well. With that said, most insurance agents, although employed for financial gain, do care about the clients, you do see some positive news stories about agents who go above and beyond in the face of destruction. That, unfortunately, is the exception to the rule.

When your home is damaged in any way, you must file a claim to get it paid for by the insurance company. It is up to you to prove that you have suffered damage. You will need to help their representative (usually called an adjuster) and to supply pictures and documentations to prove that you have suffered financially (or will)

For example, you may need receipts or proof of cost for items on your claim, and you may be required to have pictures. Without those, it will be hard to prove your loss.

Ultimately, the insurance company make a guarantee to repair or refund you the amount that you are actually out, so you can be exactly the same as you were before the disaster, not behind or ahead financially.

Before something like this happens, you need to have all of your personal belongings listed, photos taken, receipts gathered, etc. There are on line companies where you can back this information up. Take pictures of everything, you never know when you may need them. Go through every room of your home or business and at least take a picture of every room. Take individual pictures of anything with high monetary or sentimental value.

When the adjuster comes to your home or business, they base their estimates on a variety of factors including age, condition, and value of property prior to event.

It’s important to remember you may not get back what you pay for an item, if you paid $2,000 three years ago, there will be a depreciation factor weighted into the value. Again, if you have a receipt you may be able to get more back.

Another option is hiring a company to do digital photo documentation of all of your belongings, you can find these companies online if you don’t want to do it yourself.

No matter how you document or save your receipts, it will make this process much smoother if you have them in a safe place.

Your insurance company will benefit, as well as yourself, because it is less work for all parties involved, and may even expedite the process of you getting back on your feet. If you have any questions or your insurance claim has been denied, call us, we will help

(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Claim Consulting Service – Ph: 919-669-9111 . Insurance Claim Help and questions about Independent Appraiser Services is available by visiting Insurance Claims Group | Insurance Appraisal Services | Insurance Appraisal Process | Insurance Appraisal Umpire | Fire Insurance Claims