Noble Public Adjusting Group likes to keep our blog readers educated on all things having to do with insurance and adjusting. To help with that, we would like to clarify the answer to a question we get asked all the time: What is the difference in types of Florida insurance adjusters? Hopefully, this blog post will clear up any confusion as to the different types of Florida adjusters once and for all.
Understanding The Different Types of Insurance Adjusters
Staff Adjuster
The first type of Florida adjuster is the one as an insurance policyholder you are probably most familiar with. This is the staff adjuster who works for your insurance company. Your insurance provider will send out their staff adjuster to examine the damage to your home or commercial property once you file an insurance claim. Though most staff adjusters are licensed by the state of Florida, their first duty is to the insurance company and its shareholders.
A staff adjuster’s job is to save the insurance company as much money as they can. They are always going to offer a settlement for your insurance claim that is less than what it could be or even outright deny your claim. Their bottom line is profit.
Independent Adjuster
The second type of Florida adjuster is what’s called an independent adjuster. An independent adjuster is hired by your insurance company, so they can say we sent out an independent adjuster to establish your loss of damage. You might think this is better since the word independent brings forth ideas of freedom. But the independent adjuster still works for the insurance company, not for Florida insurance policyholders. His hands are tied, for his bottom line is also saving the insurance company money.
Just remember, an independent adjuster is paid exclusively by your insurance company to give them an assessment of damages to your residential or commercial property after an insurance claim is filed. So don’t get fooled by the word independent, because they’re not. Furthermore, as a policyholder, you should realize that since there will probably be thousands and tens of thousands of insurance claims filed in Florida when hurricane season starts in early June of 2018, insurance companies are not set up to process that many claims at one time. And many of the independent adjusters who arrive after a big storm are from out of state and are not licensed in Florida, so they don’t know what the additional building codes are for our state.
Public Adjuster
A Florida public adjuster is hired by you independently to file and handle your insurance claim, whether it be for damages you have experienced to your residence or commercial property. A public adjuster DOES NOT WORK FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES. They work exclusively for policyholders and go to great lengths to make sure you get the best possible settlement for your insurance claim. In fact, a study by The Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) found that on average, policyholders receive 747% more as a settlement for an insurance claim by using a public adjuster, rather than handling the claim themselves.
“This report definitively shows that public insurance adjusters play a vital role in making sure that Florida consumers receive full and fair compensation on their insurance claims,” said Lenny Bauman, president of the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (FAPIA). “Public insurance adjusters are the only individuals licensed by the State of Florida to represent the insured and assist clients with estimating, documenting and filing insurance claims.”
As you can see, your best bet when you have an insurance claim to file in Florida is to hire a public adjuster. Don’t leave yourself at the mercy of an independent adjuster hired by your insurance company, or one of their staff adjusters. They work for insurance companies, Noble Public Adjusting Group and all public adjusters work for policyholders. We champion your cause, and we love what we do, especially when it involves taking on big corporate insurance. We often feel like we are living the story of David and Goliath!
Noble would love it if you would take a minute to share this blog post with your friends on social media. Everyone needs to learn the difference in types of Florida adjusters and who to call on if they have an insurance claim to file for damages to their home or business property.
As the preferred public adjuster in Florida, Noble’s main office is in Panama City Beach, but we have locations across Florida, and also in Texas and Georgia. Call us today to discuss your insurance policy before hurricane season arrives in early June to make sure you have the coverage you need. We will go over your policy with you at no cost to you.
Noble Public Adjusting Group
107 Amar Place Suite 103
Panama City Beach (West End), FL 32413
(850) 249-MY-PA