I am not sure if I should just do what my insurance tells me or hire an attorney to represent me. I recently had a fire at a 4 plex that resulted in the building "red tagged" (no one can enter any units until repaired). It will take months to repair and get tenants back in it. My insurance covers lost rents and should cover the entire repairs to the building.

Thank you Ken and Steve.

The insurance company kept nay-saying public adjusters. They said they will take up to 20% of the claims and leave you high and dry and not cover everything. I'm all for losing 20% if it is more than what the ins co can initially offer.

You only need a public adjuster if:

1) you haven't hit policy limits

2) your claim is worth more than the ins co will give you - AND - YOUR EFFORTS YO RENEGOTIATE (TO THE POLICY LIMITS) ARE UNSUCCESSFUL

aside of these 2 statements, you don't need a public adjuster.

Chip,

It's time to get real. The ins co is NOT your friend!! They have ONE JOB: protect their money.

Their agents and adjusters are super freindly and promise to give you full benefit.

I've had 5 fires. On the last one they did nto include a bunch of stuff like a dumpster to haul away the charred contents, pay the guy who boarded up the windows, replace the landscaping torn up by the firemen, pump the water out of the basement, utilities during rehab, my appliances...each time I asked they said "Oh sure, we'll take care of you on that." But I had to ask and push. It was not in their original settlement.

The payout came to $49K. I talked to an adjuster who said "Let me try it." His claim cam to $93K and the ins co agreed. I paid him a percentage on the spread he was able to negotiate.

As others have said, public adjusters typically only get paid on a contingency: they get you MORE NET PROCEEDS than the insurance company originally offered. Brad's example is perfect...the payout is only a percentage of the spread, not the entire payout. Simply put: you can't lose. They only get paid if you get paid more.

I had a fire (my first) earlier this year, and while I was going to call a public adjuster I first called a guy with Trifecta property restoration. He didn't charge me a dime to go look at the place. His repair estimate came back at FOUR TIMES ($31,000) what the insurance company originally offered ($7,700). That maxed out my policy since this was just a smaller, older home out by the railroad tracks. The insurance company accepted and paid me in 5 days. He refused to take a penny of it, even though I tried several times to pay him something for his time and effort. Quite a guy, really. My thanks to him is to send any referrals his way along with a glowing recommendation, and he's my "go-to" guy for any serious issues now.

I had a fire in an 8 unit building, major damage to only two units. Since I'm a Licensed contractor I offered to settle with my Insurance Carrier for $100,000. This would cover the cheapest repairs possible, no lost rent, no profit only my cost and I wanted them to forget about my deductible.

Three days later my Insurance Company offered me only $60,000 as a settlement. I blow a gasket! I told my adjuster that lost rent alone is valued at $24,000 and the repairs could easily total over $200,000.

So I got a public adjuster who got 3 estimate on everything from separate contractors of each trade. The total repairs was $260,000 plus $60,000 in lost rent. Total estimate $320,000, less my 10% deductible.