Submitting Your Own Insurance Claim Repair Estimate

Repair estimate

I recently talked to a person who filed an insurance claim for water damage he had in his house. He told me that before the insurance adjuster came out, he had a contractor come out and give him an estimate for the damage that was cause by the water. When the insurance adjuster came he presented the contractors estimate to him, but the insurance adjuster came up with his own estimate which was less than half of what the contractors estimate was for. He had the contractor talk to the insurance adjuster and was able to get a little more from the insurance company but yet it was half of what the contractor estimated the damage for. The contractor told him that he had a little bit of room to move on his price but he could not do it for what the insurance company was giving him. The homeowner called the insurance adjuster and told him that his contractor would not do it for that price and the insurance adjuster told him that he would have to find another contractor who could do it for that price.
When I talked to this person and told him what I did and that I might be able to help him. He told me that I was not going to be able to help because if the contractor who estimated out the damage could not get more how was I going to be able to do so. I then explained to him that the insurance company wants to be able to deal with contractor, because in the state of Pennsylvania a contractor is not allowed to negotiate on the behalf of the policyholder, only licensed Public Adjuster can do so. If the contractor does the insurance company will either ignore the contractor or the insurance company can report him to the state department of insurance because he is acting as a Public Adjuster. Plus, I told him that it is one thing to estimate out the damages but it is totally another to interpenetrate the policy on what should be covered and what is not.

When to Seek Professional Help

Unfortunately you are not on a level playing field with your insurance company, they have a person who works for them, that is trained and experienced and they want to minimize what the insurance company pays out. You are entitled under the terms of you policy to have your damaged restored to its original state by a contractor of your choosing. Further, you are not obligated to use the insure’s recommended contractor to determine the scope of the damage or make repairs. When your insurance company won’t pay for certain expenses, you have two options: fight the insurance company yourself or hire a public adjuster. A public adjuster advocates for you alone and makes sure you a being fairly compensated for your loss. They understand the insurance process and how it works.