I need help. I recently had fire in the house. fire was bad enough to destroy all of 2nd floor and attic and water and smoke damage on ground floor and basement.
I am not familiar with how this whole process works. So I hired an independent adjuster to handle the claim. In the beginning the adjuster told me that once I get the money I can spend it however I want it on the house. But now he is saying all the money has to be spend on the house and it must be rebuild.
He is bringing in his contactor friend so he can do the job. he is limiting me as to what I can and can’t do. I feel that i being taken advantage off. he wants to take share from every person including the contractor, he is keep pushing me to use his contractor.
I want to know what I can and can’t do. I am afraid if i dont use his contractor then he might give me trouble in the process.
Do i have the option of getting the money to me directly rather than having it come through him?
Please help
Update:
it’s one month now. I asked my adjuster to send me the estimates he created before he sends it off to the insurance company and tells me his paper work is not ready yet. he doesn’t want to show me any any paper work he prepared related to this claim i assume.
Also what is ACV (actual cash value) how does it work and its process
Update 2:
thanks Some One Else, for bring up this ACV term. I googled and this is exactly what my adjuster is telling me that I will get depreciated value of everything in the house. So if he is settling for ACV and not for replacement coverage then why should I let him dictate?
3
✅ Answers
? Favorite Answer
The public adjuster you hired to help you is supposed to maximize your final claim settlement by being very thorough, etc. And then he will pocket his fee in the process, and probably get a kick-back as well from his contractor.
If you had a different contractor in mind, you can certainly talk to your public adjuster about it, but he won’t get the kick-back he was hoping for from his own contractor.
The claim settlement money must be applied directly to the repairs in order to get “replacement cost” coverage, so you would not want the money coming directly to you, unless you want to settle for AVC (actual cash value), but that would not make any sense.
You hired the public adjuster to help you to give you peace of mind that everything was going to be handled correctly. If you hired the right person for that job, then everything should go smoothly. And he should keep you in the loop as to what is going on, and why.
============ (Added)
There is a distinction between “dwelling” and “contents.” There is no depreciation taken on the dwelling, UNLESS you decide to not repair. If you just want cash, then they only pay ACV on the dwelling.
However, “contents” are different. The insurance policy (usually) only pays AVC. So if you have a damaged chair, for example, the insurance company will need to know how old the chair is so they know how much to depreciate it for. (I think if your policy has a replacement cost endorsement for contents, then you can get replacement cost.)
Apart from fires, when a storm hits, you could be working 7 days every week, 12 hours a day inspecting hail damages, storm damages and so forth. Most dwelling adjusters are expected to do homes plus auto in some cases. Cincinnati insurance is one organization that makes use of dwelling adjuster and plenty of significant companies accomplish that additionally in cities/cities which are a long way away from the place of work to control. But like the other poster mentioned, your mobile will at all times be ringing at strange hours and rough to ignore. Just right luck
Oh, zug, you probably seriously jumped the gun, hiring a public adjuster.
At the very least, you need to NOT use his contractor. You can consider firing him, but even if you do, he probably gets his cut – that’s how he gets paid. Public adjusters, when you hire them, get 10% to 25%, sometimes more, of the ENTIRE claim. You probably seriously screwed yourself, hiring him.
Do you have an agent? Talk to your agent.
Once you’ve signed the contract, you probably cannot get the money to go directly to you any more.
You need to read your insurance policy. Do you have replacement cost valuation on the building? That’s CRUCIAL to know. Whether or not you have RCV on the policy, initially, the insurance company only EVER pays ACV, minus your deductible. AFTER the repairs are done, IF you have RCV, then they pay you the “recoverable depreciation”.
The PA does NOT get to choose if you settle for ACV or RCV. You need to look at your policy and see what you have. And again, up front, BEFORE repairs are done, expect to get ACV, minus deductible, and in some locations, minus a holdback for demolition to your municipality. YOUR AGENT will walk and talk you through this for free.