Updated On: February 12, 2011
An Independent Insurance Adjuster is an adjuster that works on behalf of the consumer and does not work for the insurance company. If you are looking for an Independent Insurance Adjuster you may find titles such as Claims Adjuster, Independent Adjuster, Adjuster, Public Adjuster, they are all the same thing, just a different way of saying it. Their process and approach is very similar to a law firm although they are not attorneys. Once you have retained an adjuster, do not speak to the insurance company without the adjuster present. They cannot give you legal advice they can only inform you of your rights. Would you sue someone and then allow the other parties attorney to tell you how much you are entitled to. This is what happens when you allow the insurance company to determine how much you are awarded.
Insurance companies are first and foremost a business and as such they top priority is to operate as a successful business, which means they need to show a profit at best and breakeven at worst. Because there is also insurance fraud the insurance companies can be very difficult to deal with and often times they are looking to catch something untoward and at the very least payout the minimum they can get away with. According to some people that have access to certain information, insurance companies only pay out a portion of what they really could; if the consumer had an Independent Insurance Adjuster representing them they are more likely to receive more than the 25% to 40% that is typical of an average payout.
You may wonder how this is possible. As a consumer did you know that the burden of proof is on you and not the insurance company? Chances are that at most as an ordinary consumer you may have only claimed on your insurance once or twice during your adult life whereas; obviously the insurance companies are doing this all day long. With an Independent Insurance Adjuster acting as your advocate you are in a much better position than on your own. Like the insurance companies an Independent Insurance Adjuster is also doing this all day long and is just as familiar in the process as the insurance company.
If you are wondering what exactly an Independent Insurance Adjuster does besides advise you of your rights, they will go over your policy and explain the different clauses to you as well as look at the coverage you have and the limitations of that coverage. They will also show you how to present the proof to the insurance company in a way that the insurance company will have very little rebuttal if any. It has been determined in a study recently that claims where an Independent Insurance Adjuster has been used have raised from 547% to 747% with an increase of the average settlement.