Many of my articles, posts, webpages, etc. start off with “Most people believe…”. I’ve tried to think of other ways to explain to people that things are not always as they seem – or appear as they should. Well, with insurance policies, insurance claims, and the insurance industry – many people find themselves scratching their heads with disbelief when they finally suffer damage to their property.
So, here I go again… Most people believe that when they buy insurance, they will be taken care of when, and if, a tragedy occurs. It’s really quite simple.
We purchase insurance.
We have been paying for coverage for over X-amount of years.
When we have a claim the insurance company will be eager to help us and fulfill there part of the bargain.
(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
Insurance Appraisal: It seems lately as more and more claims enter into appraisal, the clause is being invoke without merit. To actually qualify an insurance claim for the appraisal process there first must be a dispute over the “amount of loss”. However, only after the parties have exhausted negotiations. Read the rest of this entry »
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(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
An insurance dispute held up the demolition of a house destroyed by fire for over a year. Unfortunately, this type of situation can happen. In fact, some disputes can last even two to three years or longer. Even more unfortunate than the loss of the home was the loss of two family members who died in the fire.
The following story was broadcast by WRAL News on May 7, 2008 – one year to the day they covered the original story about the fire itself. This story has personal affects on me as I was the independent appraiser for the insured in this case.
WRAL News – The May 7, 2007, fire at 1884 Memorial Church Road, in Fremont, claimed the lives of Shannon Minshew and her 77-year-old, bed-ridden grandmother, Mayola Waddell. Read the rest of this entry »
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(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
Property Damage Claim – The insurance sector declared record gains since 2004. According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), property insurers net income had grown $24 billion dollars from 2005 to 2006. In 2005, the industry earned profits of $49 billion; across 2006, the number accelerated to $73 billion! Keep in mind that such profits were obtained within two of the most costly hurricane damage years in history – 2004 and 2005. These particular statistics are leading several to wonder, “Why are insurance company revenues so substantial?” Read the rest of this entry »
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(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
Insurance Claim Help for Homeowners – Money Magazine published a good article relating to how insurance carriers suppress related information from property owners when they suffer from insurance damages. The particular article reports — “An insurance company that wants to hold down payout costs has several ways to do that. One involves the software designed to help assess financial damages.” Read the rest of this entry »
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(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
Some insurance advice should just not be ignored. When anyone suffers property damage, they should first notify their insurance company or their agent. Policyholders can call to initiate a claim or many companies now allow claims to be submitted through their websites. However, it’s always a good idea to submit your property claims via postal mail.
(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
Property damage claims that are a result of fire, windstorm, tornadoes, water, flooding, hurricanes, and even theft are tragic on there own. It’s worse when the insurance company sends an unqualified insurance adjuster to assess your damages.
In many situations the insurance adjuster who inspects a property damage claim is not, nor has ever been, a contractor. For this reason the policyholder is now faced with an insurance company estimate that is missing many property damage repair items, or the item prices are lower than those required to complete the actual repairs.
As a result, the insurance company’s estimate and the contractor’s estimate can be thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars apart. In reality, most insurance adjusters take classes to learn about insurance policies – and classes to lean about building materials… but have never been a roofer, carpenter, painter, or carpet installer. They have very little or absolutely no hands-on experience, no on-the-job experience, or any experience with the materials or procedures for the property damage claim they are estimating.
They lack the hands-on experience and knowledge of a person who has many years experience repairing or replacing such damages. It’s easy to see how disputes can arise from property damage insurance claims.
Property Damage Claim Scenario
Many policyholders run into situations that go something like this. The insurance company sends an adjuster to the property damage location. The adjuster seems to spend very little time inspecting the claim and determines the property damage to be $150,000. However, the policyholder has several bids from different contractors with estimates of repair for $250,000 and higher. Many times it seems the insurance company is trying to repair or clean damaged items and the contractors have provided pricing to replace them. It’s not long before a dispute between the cost of repairs begins and an agreement on the costs of property damage cannot be reached.
Property Damage Appraisal Clause
When such a dispute arises there is a clause in most insurance policies called Appraisal. The insurance appraisal clause is usually a new term to most policyholders. However, more and more policyholders find themselves disagreeing with their insurance company adjuster’s estimate of their property damage claims. Those who do; should educate themselves on the insurance appraisal clause, how to use it, when to use it, and why to use it. For many property damage claims the only available option to resolve a dispute is the clause buried in the “Conditions” or “What to do after a loss,” sections of their policy. It’s called The Appraisal Clause – also know as The Appraisal Provision.
Property Damage Appraisal By The Insurance Carrier
In most cases the insurance company invokes the insurance appraisal clause more often than policyholders do. Only because they have a better understanding of the terms and conditions of their property damage policies. If your insurance company has invoked appraisal on your claim, or if they advised you that if you disagree you can invoke or demand an appraisal, you’re in the right place. Even if you’re just searching for information on what your options are if you disagree with them – you’re still in the right place. It may seem like a fancy clause that would take a law degree to understand. The simplest way to understand it is that it’s the insurance industries version of an arbitration. However, a property damage appraisal is not actually an arbitration, it’s just similar to one.
(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
Simple insurance advice after a fire, flood or tornado is critical to obtaining a fair settlement.
Unexpected events really do occur, in spite of our natural tendency to anticipate or prevent them. Dealing with damages caused by fire, water or tornadoes is one of those unpredictable incidents that no one wishes to endure. Due to their unforeseen nature, such events are the most alarming and destructive, both from a financial point of view and from a generally human one. Flooding, due to astronomically influenced phenomena such as high tides and heavy rainfall, while fire damage mainly occurs in deadly combinations of grease, open burner fire, water and electricity that causes heat combustion. In most cases, these incidents can be accidental, or involuntary, even premeditated. Tornadoes are more unpredictable. No matter what form or fashion, these events can be catastrophic.Read the rest of this entry »
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(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
The majority of policyholders who have ever been a victim of a fire or has suffered damages to their property (home, business, etc.) from fire damage claims will make costly mistakes during and after the claim has been settled. Unfortunately there always seems to be one grossly expensive mistake that most all policyholders make. It’s so simple that it’s hard to believe that people don’t even realize they have done it. Can you even imagine that many policyholder’s who has suffered a fire will rely solely on the insurance company adjuster’s opinion? They allow their adjuster to inspect their property, evaluate and process the claim, and create an estimate for the entire fire insurance claim… Without Any Questions. Read the rest of this entry »
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(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
A house catching fire can be a life changing event that no homeowner should ever have to endure. If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, it’s very important to advise your insurance company of the fire as soon as possible. Here are five critical steps you should know and take after suffering fire insurance claims. Read the rest of this entry »
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(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.
Many of my articles, posts, webpages, etc. start off with “Most people believe…”. I’ve tried to think of other ways to explain to people that things are not always as they seem – or appear as they should. Well, with insurance policies, insurance claims, and the insurance industry – many people find themselves scratching their heads with disbelief when they finally suffer damage to their property.
