If you have experienced damage from Hurricane Sally, get prepared for the inevitable. We are hearing from commercial and residential property owners daily about their Hurricane Sally claims and their biggest complaint is, “Why is my settlement so small”?

There are many possible reasons for this.  Among the most common are:

• Inexperienced adjusters conducting improper damage assessments. Insurance companies are usually understaffed after a major disaster like Hurricane Sally.  And that means there just aren’t enough experienced adjusters to properly complete all the damage inspections.  In many cases, carriers will just send out newly trained “warm bodies” and that is a worst case for you, the property owner, because this almost always leads to mistakes, delays and underpayment.
• Experienced adjusters doing the dirty work of some insurance companies. This is most egregious because experienced adjusters should do the right thing and include all the damage in their estimates.  However, too often, adjusters lowball their estimates under pressure to satisfy the carriers they are working for.
• The damages to your property are more severe than initially thought. This is quite common after hurricanes.  Sometimes the adjuster will show up quickly after the storm to perform an inspection, but much of the damage hasn’t manifested itself yet.
• You are not represented by a Public Adjuster or an attorney and your carrier may perceive you as NOT being serious about your claim. This is unfortunate but true.
• To save money.  Your insurance company maximizes profits by collecting premiums, investing those premiums, and finding ways to minimize their claim operations costs and paying out as little as possible on claims.
   

Tutwiler & Associates have been working hurricane claims since 1984. For your own peace of mind, call our Pensacola insurance adjusters now at 850-783-3319 for a free, no-cost claim evaluation, visit our Hurricane Sally Insurance Claim Public Adjuster page for additional information or contact a public adjuster to submit a question to one of our insurance claim experts.