Why Your Business Should Hire A Commercial Public Adjuster After Suffering A Loss

One of the biggest challenges you can face as a business owner is property damage or a loss due to an unanticipated trouble or an incident. Not only do you have to deal with repairing damages, but chances are, you’ll also struggle to return to normal business operations. 

Plus, because most small businesses in the US are underinsured, dealing with a catastrophic event (which is very common in Florida) is close to impossible. 

Fortunately, you can keed your stress down to a minimum by hiring a commercial public adjuster who can manage all the aspects of your insurance claim, and possibly even maximize the amount you can recover.

What is a Commercial Public Adjuster?

A public adjuster is a licensed insurance expert hired by the policyholder who knows to effectively manage all aspects of an insurance claim. What they do is very similar to a regular adjuster that your insurer will send over to inspect the damage on your property. The only difference is the fact that a commercial public adjuster will work for you! 

By hiring an adjuster, you can make sure that your claim is as accurate as possible, and that you can receive the maximum payout available to you under your policy.

Key Benefits of Hiring a Commercial Public Adjuster

If you’re still debating whether to hire someone for your insurance claim, consider the following benefits:

1. Expedite your claim

Restoring your business to its original condition after a disaster strikes is a tedious affair that many business owners find overwhelming. Once you add handling an insurance claim into the mix and dealing with the insurer, it can become borderline unbearable. 

You can alleviate most of the pressure by working with a commercial public adjuster. Because they’re familiar with all the intricacies of filing an insurance claim, they can easily evaluate the damage and report accurate losses - in a fraction of the time it will take you to do the same. 

Furthermore, they’ll source all the necessary forms and documents and file your claim promptly.

This can dramatically expedite the entire process, which means you can start restoring your business a lot sooner than you would if you handled the matter on your own.

2. Level the playing field during negotiations

Documenting damages is one thing, but negotiating with an insurer is typically an effort in futility. You just can’t win. Insurers already know they’ve got the upper hand in negotiations and will use your desperation and fear of financial ruin to get you to say yes to a claim that is, quite frankly, unfair. 

Even worse, insurance companies purposefully use complex language in settlement offers and their contracts to confuse you. In other words, as someone without expertise in insurance policies, you can’t know if you’re being cheated. 

This is why hiring a commercial public adjuster is a must. Because they worked with insurance companies in the past, public adjusters are familiar with all the tricks in the book. They’ll know whether an insurer is actively trying to trick you out of a fair settlement and can lock down the compensation promised to you under your policy. 

As such, letting a commercial public adjuster negotiate on your behalf is the only way to level the playing field in insurance-related matters. 

3. Receive Expert Guidance

Insurance claims, just like insurance policies, are very complex by design. Despite your best efforts, you simply won’t be able to anticipate the issues that may arise during the process, and you certainly won’t have the experience to figure out the best course of action. 

In addition, due to your lack of familiarity with all the available options, you may fail to capitalize on some valuable opportunities. 

For example, commercial losses are usually partial and while it may not be possible to sell damaged inventory, some items may have a significant salvage value. As such, it could be a good idea to keep some of the inventory and use it as a trade-off to cover some of the losses. 

Without an expert advising you, this idea may not even cross your mind. 

4. Maximize your settlement

According to an OPAGGA study, a public adjuster can negotiate a 747% larger settlement than what the insurance company originally planned to pay out. This is huge and can help you recover all losses, especially in catastrophic events when insurers are processing a larger amount of claims. 

5. No upfront fees

Saving money at these tumultuous times is understandably your main priority. After all, you’re trying to minimize your losses. So we understand that you may resort to a DIY approach when filing an insurance claim in order to save some extra cash. 

However, commercial public adjusters almost never charge upfront for their services as they work on a contingency basis. In other words, the adjuster isn’t getting paid unless they negotiate a favorable settlement.

This is not only a fair payment model, but it also provides you with a guarantee that the adjuster will fight as hard as they can to deliver a favorable outcome. 

Ultimately, you have nothing to lose. Not hiring a commercial public adjuster is actually ludicrous when you consider just how much hiring one will benefit you. 

Recover a Fair Settlement

Commercial claims can get significantly more complex than your run-of-the-mill homeowner’s insurance claim. Many potential issues can arise during the process, and every small mistake could end up costing you and your business a significant amount of money. 

If you want to reduce risk while maximizing your settlement amount, you’ll need a commercial public adjuster who will work on your behalf and help you get the most out of your insurance claim. 

If you don’t know whom to turn to, go for an adjuster with the most experience. Here at Continental Public Adjusters, we have a passion for helping the citizens of Florida receive what’s owed to them under their policies.

We’ve been in the business since 1982, so we’re familiar with each possibility and are ready to deal with anything your insurer tries to throw at you.

To protect your rights as a policyholder, schedule a claim review by calling (800) 989-4769.