Sometimes, your insurance company’s adjuster is slow to act on your claim. Sometimes, he’s wrong. Maybe you need to find a good adjuster to help you. Here’s how to find one.

Angry that your insurance company isn't moving as fast with that claim check as you'd like? Or maybe the adjuster's offer is less than you need to cover your losses? Perhaps you need your own adjuster.

Public adjusters assume all of the duties necessary to have your claim processed, including making an inventory of the loss and presenting your case to the insurance company. A good public adjuster has experience in the industry and will understand your contract and the company's responsibilities right down to the fine print. In exchange, a public adjuster receives a percentage of your claim.

Finding an adjuster takes some research
"For the most part, people like using (a public) adjuster because they like the idea that someone is working on their behalf vs. someone working on behalf of the company," says P.J. Crowley, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute.

But the decision to hire your own adjuster is far from a slam dunk. Finding a competent public claims adjuster is a lot like finding a medical specialist during a health crisis: It takes some research at a time when chances are you need to move fast.

Because you will be paying the adjuster yourself, you don't want to hire one unless it's really necessary.

"If they're good, it really makes a lot of sense," says Chris Farrell, host of the nationally syndicated television show "Right on the Money!" and author of “Right on the Money: Taking Control of Your Personal Finances. ”And if they're bad at it, you've really created a nightmare for yourself."

There are some horror stories. "Some public adjusters, to justify their fee, will exaggerate their claim," says James Markham, senior vice president and general counsel for the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters and the Insurance Institute of America.

And some insurance company adjusters may bristle if you bring in your own expert, he says.

"Some company adjusters are instantly suspicious or even antagonistic whenever they have to deal with a public adjuster," Markham says.

Ask questions, do your homework
Most often, public claims adjusters are called in for large property claims, says Rick Lambert, chair of the agent and broker section committee for the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Society. For smaller claims (less than $25,000) or auto claims, which are typically based on a fairly standard formula, it's probably a waste of money to hire a public adjuster, he says.

If you have a large property claim and are considering a public adjuster, ask yourself two questions: First, is your company acting quickly to replace your losses? Second, have those efforts been effective and fair?

"Is the company out there within 12 hours, or has it been a week since the fire and no one's come?" says Lambert, also vice president of Early, Cassidy & Schilling Inc., an independent insurance agency in Rockville, Md. "Most good companies are going to come out there pretty quick."

Most well-known companies also are going to play fair when it comes to claims, he says. But, Lambert admits, in today's economy when companies are hurting, "Some are going to play hardball."

There are also a few other instances when it could be practical to hire a public adjuster:


You've sustained a partial loss. Half the house burned down. Now you've got to document which of your possessions survived the fire, which burned and which are damaged beyond repair.

You don't have the time to follow up on your claim. Whether you're a two-income couple with kids or a busy professional who travels frequently, filing a claim and following it through will take time, especially if you don't have a record of your possessions and their value.

You had loved ones injured or killed in the incident. If you're spending your days at the hospital or mourning a family member, you may not even want to think about the claims process.

The loss is business-related. Rather than assign an employee to handle the claim, some companies will outsource the job.
Even though you'll want to move fast, you still have to do your homework before you hire a public adjuster.

"It's delegating," says Farrell. "You're hiring their knowledge and expertise. It looks good on paper, but it's easy to get ripped off."

And while it should go without saying that you don't hire the public adjuster who knocks on what's left of your door after a fire or tornado, plenty of desperate folks have done just that and really regretted it.

5 ways to find a reputable adjuster

Poll the people you trust. Call your accountant, your lawyer and your neighbor. Ask if they've ever used a public claims adjuster or know anyone who has.


Contact the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters. This trade organization, which represents 110 of the industry's largest firms, maintains a searchable database of members who have at least two years of experience and uphold a professional code of conduct, according to David W. Barrack, the group's executive director. In addition, the organization also offers a certification program. A Certified Professional Public Adjuster must have five years of experience and pass an exam, while a Senior Professional Public Adjuster must have at least 10 years of experience and pass a more rigorous test.


Interview the candidates. This should occur once you have a few names that look promising. Ask about rates, references and credentials. Contact their references and quiz former clients on the adjuster's performance. Was the person effective? Available? Fast? Accurate? Did he or she deliver what was promised? If the adjuster claims any kind of certification, get the name of the accrediting body and call it.


Call your state insurance office. Many states license or regulate public claims adjusters. If yours does, make sure your prospect is in good standing with no unresolved complaints. It won't hurt to call the Better Business Bureau while you're at it.


Ask your insurance agent. Sound like a conflict of interest? Not really. You're hiring an adjuster to represent you to the insurance company. So what is this person's reputation within the industry?

Shop for fees, competence and integrity
Generally speaking, the fee is around 10%, and the percentage may vary with the size of the claim, says Barrack. But beware, some public claims adjusters are charging up to 50%, according to Farrell.

Even though shopping for price is important, "emphasize competence and integrity above fees," says Markham. "The ugly truth is that exaggerated claims can cross the line to fraud. And the fact that you have a public adjuster doing it doesn't absolve you."

Don't let the adjuster steer you toward particular contractors, says William W. Baldwin, president of The Baldwin Co., a Charlotte-based public insurance adjusting firm.

"There should be no ties to a construction business," he says. "To me, there's a conflict of interest."

Wonder if your hired gun might damage your relationship with your insurance company, especially at renewal time? A more important question might be why it was necessary to hire a public adjuster in the first place.

"There has to be an element of trust and confidence here," Crowley says. "If you don't trust your insurance company, chances are at renewal time you should be shopping for someone you do trust."

Insurers say critics' complaints of poor treatment are mostly unfounded

headline numbers were eye-popping: Allstate reported a record $5 billion profit for 2006. State Farm Insurance's profit climbed 65 percent for the year. St. Paul Travelers' earnings rose sixfold in the fourth quarter, American International Group's rose eightfold.

A year and a half after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, profits at the nation's major property-casualty insurance companies soared -- and are expected to be strong again in 2007, according to estimates by the A.M. Best Co. rating agency.

Critics charge that the insurers are doing well financially by shorting the people who bought their products -- including hundreds of consumers who still haven't gotten settlements for their Katrina claims. The industry, in turn, denies taking advantage of consumers, crediting its growing profitability instead to fewer storms last year and improved business procedures.

One of the harshest critics, J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C., accuses the nation's insurers of using Katrina and other major hurricanes to try to justify "overpricing insurance, underpaying claims and reaping unjustified profits" at the expense of homeowners and business owners.

Hunter, a former Texas state insurance commissioner, added that he expects the industry to continue to do exceptionally well because it is pushing more risk and more cost onto policyholders.

"They're making homeowners and business owners take on more of the risk through high deductibles, caps on replacement costs and other limitations," he said. "And they're refusing to renew tens of thousands of homeowner and business property policies, especially along the coasts."

Hunter argues that state regulators "have not done the job to control excessive prices" charged by the insurers.

For consumers, the situation is both frustrating and financially burdensome.

Joyce Ridgeway, whose four-family house in the Esplanade Ridge neighborhood of New Orleans was damaged when Katrina hit in August 2005, is still waiting for a final settlement from British-based insurer Lloyd's. She's so far received just $30,000 toward the $85,000 needed to cover alternative living expenses and to repair the roof, gutters and wood siding wrecked by the storm.

Ridgeway, a 52-year-old public health worker, is frustrated that she's still living on the property in a trailer provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Tenants are back in just two of the units.

"I've been doing bits and pieces as I can to get repairs done," she said. "I took my savings, I take my paychecks -- and I have a good contractor who is working with me."

But, she added, "I've waited so long. It just doesn't seem fair."

A Lloyd's spokesman said that if a claim couldn't be resolved locally, it could be referred to the company's dispute resolution department. He added: "We have not received any formal complaint on this matter so are unable to comment any further."

Fewer storms, higher profits

Industry experts argue that the property-casualty insurers did amazingly well in handling Katrina -- the most costly catastrophic event ever in the United States -- and the other hurricanes in 2004 and 2005.

Robert Hartwig, president and chief economist with the New York-based Insurance Information Institute, points out that the industry has so far "paid $41 billion on 1.74 million claims for Katrina alone -- and for the combined 2004-2005 hurricane season, we paid about $81 billion in insured hurricane-related losses."

The industry's profits rose in 2006 in part because there were far fewer storms, Hartwig said.

And, he added: "But the good results have more to do with the fact that insurers saw good results in auto insurance, workers comp and a variety of other areas and in states that don't have a coastline."

Rating agency A.M. Best estimates that the property-casualty industry earned $68 billion in 2006, up from $49 billion in 2005, and that profits could total $62.2 billion this year if the storm season is relatively benign.

As a result, the policyholder surplus -- essentially reserves to cover future claims -- grew to a record of nearly $500 billion in 2006, A.M. Best estimates.

There also has been a change in how the industry actually makes its profits.

Insurance companies traditionally made most of their money by investing consumers' premiums, mainly in bonds. But increasingly, they're relying on so-called underwriting profits, which are premiums minus losses and administrative expenses.

As a result, Hunter, the consumer activist, says that insurance companies have sharply reduced the percentage of premiums paid out in claims. He estimates payouts fell below 70 percent of premiums in 2006, far below the 80 percent that prevailed in the 1990s.

Long-term look

Greg Heidrich, senior vice president for policy development and research with the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America trade group in Des Plaines, Ill., said it was unfair to look at the payout ratio for a single year or a short period of time.

He said that property insurers in Louisiana in 2005 paid out $20 billion in claims, or the equivalent of 20 years worth of premiums collected in the state. After that, Heidrich said, "you want those companies to build back their capital base so they're in a position to pay claims that could be at extraordinary levels in other years."

He also said that more than 95 percent of all the hurricane claims have been settled, "so I have to reject out of hand the notion that profits in 2006 are driven by people not paying claims."

At the same time, he said, he "understands the concerns" of those still waiting for settlements -- especially those caught in disputes over whether the damage came from wind or flood. Homeowners policies typically cover wind damage, but not flood damage.

Genio Staranczak, chief economist with the PCIAA, said that insurance companies also have become better at protecting themselves by spreading risk, mainly by buying reinsurance. Reinsurance is basically insurance for insurers. He estimated that 45 percent of the 2005 hurricane season losses were borne by reinsurers.

Eileen A. Frank, a New York insurance broker who grew up in Louisiana and maintains an office in New Orleans, said that while many hurricane claims have been settled, many others still are pending.

She said that she and others in the industry tried to help clients by pulling together their claims and supporting documents, only to be referred by insurance companies from one adjuster to another and to yet another.

"Payments that should have been made without question are still not being delivered," she said.

Meanwhile, it's become harder for families and small businesses in coastal states to get affordable property insurance coverage.

Frank, who is a member of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York, said that insurers wary of predictions of more-active storm seasons don't want new customers -- or are not renewing old ones.

A policy she handled recently for a multifamily house cost the owner $6,000, up from less than $2,000 before Katrina. And, Frank said, it had a deductible for wind damage equivalent to 5 percent of the value of the house.

"Pricing has gone through the roof," she said. "And I don't think we've seen the end of it."

BY EILEEN ALT POWELL AP BUSINESS WRITER

There are many paths taken to become a public adjuster. Many adjusters receive on-the-job training while working for a public adjusting or insurance company. Others pursue a degree in insurance which prepares them for employment in many areas of the insurance industry.

Universities offering programs of Insurance studies:
Appalachian State University
Bradley University
Cal. State Univ., Northridge
Florida State University
Georgia State University
Illinois State University
Illinois Wesleyan
Indiana State University
Louisiana State University
Old Dominion University
Seattle University
St. John's University
St. Mary's University
Temple University University of Calgary
University of Georgia
University of Louisiana, Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Monroe
University of Mississippi
Univ. of North Carolina, Charlotte
University of North Texas
University of Nottingham
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Pennsylvania
University of Texas at Austin
University of Wisconsin
Virginia Commonwealth University
Washington State University


Public adjuster licensing varies from state to state. You can find a list of State Departments of Insurance here.

The National Association of Public Insurance (NAPIA) awards the Certified Professional Public Adjuster (CPPA) and Senior Professional Public Adjuster (SPPA) designations to public adjusters who have met specific experience and educational requirements, completed a qualifying examination and subscribe to a code of ethics for business and professional conduct.

A Merrillville, Indiana woman shared with her former husband a $3.6 million verdict against State Farm Insurance Company which refused to pay the couple after their home burned down in.

The couple’s original claim was for $145,000. They fully cooperated with the police and even passed polygraph tests. While they were cleared as suspects in the blaze and were never charged with any crime, State Farm still refused to pay for the fire loss.

After a seven-day trial, the Insureds were awarded $145,212 for their home and personal belongings, and in addition, State Farm was ordered to pay $500,000 for showing bad faith and $3,000,000 in punitive damages.

The typical fire policy contains hundreds of provisions and stipulations - various forms and riders that are constantly changing and many complex details about your requirements in case of loss. Most people do not know or understand these policy provisions - and most do not realize that the burden of proof is on them, the policyholder. Most insurance company representatives actually prefer to work with an experienced accredited public insurance adjuster rather than an inexperienced insured.

An accredited public insurance adjuster not only has your confidence, but also that of company adjusters who recognize that they are dealing with a professional.