Insurance adjusters find storm a bonanza

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11242/1170842-258-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml


As he walked the length of the twin home's basement in Elkins Park Monday, Seth Straff took stock of the damage Hurricane Irene had wrought -- destruction far beyond the mud squishing under his feet. It included a three-foot-long crack in a load-bearing wall and a totaled furnace, hot-water heater, washer and dryer.

Upstairs, he noted the laminated floor buckling in the kitchen, which he attributed to the moisture in the basement below, where the nearby Tookany Creek had forced its way in to a depth of 4-feet, 9.5-inches. The garage door? A total loss too, as well as the saturated contents -- including a freezer -- it was unable to protect from the not-to-be-stopped flood waters.

"This could be over $100,000 easily," Mr. Straff said of the damages.

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Typically hired by policyholders, adjusters serve as their advocates to squeeze as much as possible in damage compensation from their insurance companies. Adjusters incentive for success is very bottom line: They get paid a percentage of what they recover.

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For the industry as a whole, Irene could be a sizable payday. Some estimates have put the storm's cost to insurers at $2.6 billion.

[DURHAM D]

1. That is a misleading article.

Insurance companies generally used their own employees or independent adjusters to determine loss. The full amount of the claim is paid out to the insured - if the insured agrees with the assessment.

This article appears to be about private adjusters hired by the individual who sustained the loss. That individual then has to pay the private adjuster a percentage of what they recover. This method is guaranteed to leave the victim in the hole.

I am not saying these private adjusters are not valuable sometimes but immediately following a disaster they just strike me as opportunists that are probably working hard to confuse the claimant. This is just another form of Disaster Chasing for Profit.

[AngryAmish]

2. Then the private adjuster steers the client to a construction firm connected to the adjuster

[DURHAM D]

3. Yep.

When the recent tornado went through part of NC I noticed all sorts of postings on Craigs List after the event advising people which contractors NOT to use. I found it interesting and helpful.

[madrchsod]

4. my son worked for a adjusting firm

he basically went to the home or business measured the damage and gave a inflated quote.

my other`s son`s house was hit with hail. about a 100 hail dents on one side of the house.the adjusted wrote it up so he could get the whole house sided.

yup, these firms have made 100`s of millions on the storms this year across the midwest and now the east coast.