Should I hire someone to help deal with the insurance company for hurricane repairs?

We know so many of you are dealing with storm repairs right now after Hurricane Beryl. You may be working with insurance companies, claims and contractors. But you may not know you can hire someone to help you navigate the insurance world. Investigator Amy Davis gets questions from homeowners about insurance issues.

Hiring an insurance adjuster to help manage storm recovery

Those of you dealing with storm cleanup and rebuilding know – it is stressful and complicated.

You have to work with your insurance company, maybe figure out contractors and housing. A public insurance adjuster is someone who can act as your advocate in these situations. This job was created by Texas law in 2004.

They can negotiate with your insurance company to help you get the most money from your claim.

Public insurance adjusters are licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance. They are often former contractors, construction workers or former insurance adjusters themselves – so they know the policies.

Attorney Hunter Klein works with homeowners when they have to file against their insurance companies.

I asked him about when people should consider hiring a public adjuster.

“If you start to see more, though, than just damage to your roof. If you see a lot of water coming into the inside, if you’ve got part of the ceiling that has collapsed, for example, if you’ve got a tree that fell on part of your property, if the claim becomes more complicated than just a simple roof, then my advice would be and personally, I would every single time call a public adjuster. So, what I tell people is if you’ve got complex damage, that’s more than just your roof. Your first phone call needs to be to your insurance company. Proper notice has to be given your second phone call. My second phone call would be to a public adjuster.”

How much does it cost to use an insurance public adjuster?

“Luckily public adjusters will not charge you out of pocket. A public adjuster will typically charge what’s called a contingent fee, much like lawyers do. And that is a percentage of any amount paid by the insurance company. By law, it’s capped at ten. So, some public good gestures, you know, will vary depending on the complexity and size, if it’s easy or whatever. But typically, the average rate for a public adjuster is 10% of what the insurance company pays.”

You’ll also have a deductible for your insurance for whatever work is done.

We’ve seen cases where a contractor or roofer may offer to negotiate your claim with the insurance company. You should know it is against the law for them to do this.

You can search for a public adjuster who is certified and trained on the Texas Association of Public Insurance Adjusters website.

You can also check: How to find a licensed insurance agent or adjuster (texas.gov)

How long do you have to file a claim with your homeowner’s insurance after you get damage?

Klein also talked about timing when it comes to filing a claim with your insurance. A viewer asked how long you have to file a claim after you get damage.

“There’s a lot of confusion that surrounds that. So, two points I would make on it. The first one is, every policy contains a prompt notice requirement that says that you, the policyholder, must give your insurance company notice as promptly as possible after the damages occur. What if you don’t know? What if time goes by? What if it’s a second home or a vacation home or something like that? So yes, you do have in some instances, possibly two years. That’s where the confusion is. There’s nothing that says you have to file a claim within two years of the date the damages occur, except policies. Now State Farm has this, Allstate has this, other policies have it as well that say if it’s a wind or a hail event, it must be filed within one year of the date the damages occur. And you can avoid that if you can show good cause, but no one knows what that means. So if it’s a wind or a hail event, you likely have only one year. If it’s water or something like that, you might have two years. But this is where it’s important. Just because you file it within the year does not make it prompt. Those two requirements exist together, so if you wait and file it on day 364, yeah, congratulations, you complied with the one-year requirement. You’re still not prompt. And so that creates some conflict.”

You can watch the full Ask Amy episode on KPRC 2+ at 11 a.m.

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