entertain an insurance public adjuster

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Post Reply
Topic Author
Bayoufrogg
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2017 12:05 pm

entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by Bayoufrogg »

5 years ago, I purchased a raised home in the southeast. I now know that raised homes in this humid region are prone moisture accumulation with inadequate insulation.

I ended up with a water saturated subfloor and buckled mahogany floors, among many other issues. I pulled the insurance policy, and to my dismay, it simply reads: "water: excluded".

I have a very reputable contractor ready to remediate and replace subfloor/hardwoods. He asked about my policy and I told him what it said. He said I have a "bunk" policy and went on a rant about how insurance companies scam people with contracts like these. He said he knows a public adjuster that would come and look at the situation, if I wanted. Told me they usually take 10-15% if we get money from insurance and sometimes people get money when the odds look grim.

Should I entertain the idea or squash it due to the terms written in my insurance policy?
barnaclebob
Posts: 5564
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:54 am

Re: entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by barnaclebob »

Do you pay if you get nothing? If not I guess you don't have much to lose.
Topic Author
Bayoufrogg
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2017 12:05 pm

Re: entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by Bayoufrogg »

That was my immediate thought. Then a friend suggested an alternative view. My home owners adjuster could come to perform assessment and still deny claim. Then turn around and cancel the policy based on condition of home.

I'm curious if anyone has ever dealt with a similar situation or if someone in insurance could shed some light.
User avatar
Nate79
Posts: 9354
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 6:24 pm
Location: Delaware

Re: entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by Nate79 »

The adjuster can't change your policy coverage. It's either covered or not.
BobTexas
Posts: 259
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:56 pm

Re: entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by BobTexas »

Sounds like he wants to scam the insurance company
User avatar
riverant
Posts: 1068
Joined: Tue May 04, 2021 6:51 am

Re: entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by riverant »

BobTexas wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:55 pm Sounds like he wants to scam the insurance company
This, for sure.

I’m skeptical your policy excludes “water.” Typically water is something like a burst pipe. It could exclude flooding or water backup however.

Either way, I don’t think this is a covered loss anyways. General humidity that causes water in homes with poor insulation is not a loss peril. You’d generally need something like a snowstorm causing ice dams, where the snowstorm is the cause. Something like “humidity” is not a covered peril I wouldn’t think
surfstar
Posts: 2853
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:17 pm
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

Re: entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by surfstar »

Tell them that your water pipes are fine, you want the FLOORS covered!
jbmitt
Posts: 657
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:00 am

Re: entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by jbmitt »

I was a company adjuster in both the large F500s and with a speciality full service insurer targeting HNW individuals where I had the autonomy ‘to do the right thing’. Most public adjusters weren’t helpful as they siphoned off a percentage of the settlement value that was unchanged.

In your scenario, it’s more of an all or nothing. Without seeing the damage, I suspect you face a denial as it’s unlikely that this was “sudden and accidental”. You can’t really point to a time and cause of the loss. This appears to be more of an ongoing issue with possibly faulty design or installation.

The other thing you need to consider is whether your policy is named perils where you must prove it, or whether your policy is all perils and it’s presumed covered unless specifically excluded where it’s up to the insurer to deny it.

A public adjuster could be helpful in a much larger loss potentially with concurrent causes of loss, significant ordinance and law upgrades, or matching unusual or ornate materials.

If they’re willing to take your claim only on a percentage of recovery, it can’t hurt to try. That’s usually an indication of how strong they think the claim is. Under no circumstances would I give them an assignment of benefits in your name.

Your insurer could non-renew you either way when you present a claim, (with or without a PA) it all depends on where you’re at and what they’re allowed to do in that venue.
User avatar
galawdawg
Posts: 5231
Joined: Thu Dec 14, 2017 11:59 am
Location: Georgia

Re: entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by galawdawg »

Bayoufrogg wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 3:36 pm 5 years ago, I purchased a raised home in the southeast. I now know that raised homes in this humid region are prone moisture accumulation with inadequate insulation.

I ended up with a water saturated subfloor and buckled mahogany floors, among many other issues. I pulled the insurance policy, and to my dismay, it simply reads: "water: excluded".

I have a very reputable contractor ready to remediate and replace subfloor/hardwoods. He asked about my policy and I told him what it said. He said I have a "bunk" policy and went on a rant about how insurance companies scam people with contracts like these. He said he knows a public adjuster that would come and look at the situation, if I wanted. Told me they usually take 10-15% if we get money from insurance and sometimes people get money when the odds look grim.

Should I entertain the idea or squash it due to the terms written in my insurance policy?
That's very odd language for a policy. Normal policy language might read something like:
We do not insure loss caused by constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water or steam over a period of weeks, months or years from within a plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic fire protective sprinkler system or from within a household appliance
or
We do not insure for loss caused directly or indirectly by flood, surface water, waves, tidal water, overflow of a body of water, or spray from any of these, whether or not driven by wind
Is there more specific language in your policy? You may have to look beyond any summary and read the actual policy itself which may be forty or more pages.
jbmitt
Posts: 657
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:00 am

Re: entertain an insurance public adjuster

Post by jbmitt »

I’ve seen agencies stamp water excluded on policies in absence of flood or water backup coverage. I agree that the OP needs to dig into the details.
Post Reply