A public insurance adjuster in MO represents local property owners who are insured rather than the insurance companies themselves. PAs are skilled professionals who know how to investigate the scope of an insurance claim, document and estimate your loss, and then negotiate a fair adjustment with the insurance company. PAs are typically licensed by the state. Some states forbid PAs from ever representing an insurance company. Think of your PA as a counterpart to an insurance company’s adjuster.

Insurance companies have their own independent and staff adjusters they use to inspect and settle the loss for as little as possible. Property owners and policyholders hire public adjusters. PAs work to negotiate the true amount of loss with the insurance company, comprehensively.

There are all sorts of qualities that matter in this profession. Here are a few things to look for next time you need a public insurance adjuster in MO:

• Experience: Advocacy is a skill that requires experience in the field, preferably having worked for insurance carriers before becoming a Public Adjuster. Experience reading and understanding insurance policies, and extensive knowledge of building and the trades that perform the work, is extremely helpful.
• Advocacy: Is our PA aggressive about settling your claim? Are they persuasive? A public adjuster is an advocate. The more knowledgeable and persuasive the person, the better the advocate, and that's the Public Adjuster you need. That's ACI.
• Even simple claims are more complex than most people realize. Claim settlement involves all kinds of details from documentation and paperwork to items to value and estimate.

"Duties After Loss" is a provision in property, casualty, and automobile policies that sets forth the responsibilities of the insured when a claim is filed. Remember, they are designed to be intimidating and fraught with traps to keep them from paying what is owed. Duties After Loss are REQUIRED of the insured in order to abide by the policy provisions. Duties After Loss will read something like the following:

In case of a loss to covered property, please follow the Duties After Loss below:

1. Give prompt notice to the insurance carrier's claim or insurance agent.
2. Notify the police in case of loss by theft or other criminal activity.
3. Protect the property from further damage. If repairs to the property are required, you must: a) Make reasonable and necessary mitigation or repairs to protect the property from further damage, and b) Keep an accurate record of any and all repair expenses.
4. Cooperate with the insurance company in their investigation of the claim including providing records, documents, and the submission of a Sworn Proof of Loss.
5. Prepare a detailed list of damaged personal property showing: quantity, description, age of the item, the value of each item; the total amount of loss. Provide bills, receipts, and related documents that justify the figures of the loss to personal property.

Allow the insurance carrier access to inspect the damages to the property and show the damaged personal property if able to reasonably do so.

1. Provide records and documents as requested and permit the insurer to make copies.
2. Submit to an examination under oath, while not in the presence of another "insured", and sign the same.
3. Submit a signed, sworn proof of loss which sets forth, to the best of your knowledge and belief the specifics of the damages and loss sustained.
4. Provide receipts for any and all Additional Living Expenses (ALE) you incur and provide records that support fair rental value.

That list is daunting, right? Duties After Loss are important, and required. Remember, the policy reads promises that they the insurer will do in case of a loss, but those same policy provisions also detail that they don't have to do so unless you do what you promised, which is pay your premiums, provide notice of loss and handle your duties after a loss. With Allen Claims, your public insurance adjuster in MO will help guide you through the process and help you coordinate and help keep you in compliance with your policy and your Duties After Loss policy provisions.

Utilizing a Public Adjuster has been studied and proven to be smart and effective. According to Statista, 17% of health insurance claims were denied due to missing or invalid claim data between the years 2016 and 2020 alone. At Allen Claims, we have been on the other side working for the insurance companies, and now we work with you, the insured. Our clients hire us for typically one of two reasons:

1) They know better than to handle their claim. This is typical of commercial clients who know their claim is expansive and won't be adjusted correctly without the aid of Allen Claims Public Adjusters.

2) They're a policyholder or contractor who's stressed from the ongoing "Deny, Delay, Defend" attitude, knowing progress is unlikely without us representing them.

You're a professional in your field, and likewise, we're professionals in claims. As much as I wish the following weren't true, sadly it is.

Many insurance companies' claims departments and their adjusters follow this very simple rule of thumb:

D3 = Delay. Deny. Defend.

Delay the claim to frustrate the policyholder so they eventually give up pursuing the claim.

Deny coverage of the claim and insureds covered damages, frustrating the insured further.

Defend denials until the insured eventually gives up pursuing the claim.

For all these reasons and more, is why you should hire Allen Claims as your expert public insurance adjuster in MO. Call us today to learn more.

Yes, we specialize in commercial claims for hotels, storage unit complexes, industrial buildings, churches, apartment complexes, and more. We've handled commercial losses for over 14 years and have an extensive background in commercial construction as well. We maintain contacts for commercial construction and experts we can call upon to help make your claim a success. If you're in need of a public insurance adjuster in MO, we're well-equipped to help.

This is always the question. The answer is never clear upfront. It could take a day, a month, a year, or more depending on how badly the insurance carrier wants to fight against doing the right thing and paying what you're owed. Most claim losses, when settled amicably with the help of a public insurance adjuster in MO, close within one to six months.

Emphatically, YES! Not only do you want to protect your property from further damages, but you also want to follow your Duties After Loss, which is a provision in your policy. This ensures you have done your part to abide by the “rules” of the policy provision, which allows you full indemnity. To learn more about what you can do after damage to your home, give us a call. As the public insurance adjuster MO relies on, we're happy to answer any of your questions.

Absolutely. Before you do anything, or ideally right after the damages occur, we recommend that you photograph and record EVERYTHING. Don't just take up-close images! Be sure to include overviews as well. When taking photos, ask yourself, “Does this photo tell the story of the damage?" If you're wondering whether your evidence is adequate, contact us for a consultation. As the public insurance adjuster MO residents have worked with for over a decade, we can ensure you have what you need.

This can be policy-specific as well as mandated by the state, but ideally, you want to report your loss right away. It's understood that you may not readily notice the damage, such as in the case of hail damage to the roof, which is a common example. When you hire ACI, we'll document the damages for you and present the documentation to your insurance company on your behalf, explaining the timeline between the date of loss and the first notice of loss. Working with a public insurance adjuster in MO means having experts on your side who know how to communicate your specific circumstances.

It's impossible for us to answer this as the human dynamic is just that: dynamic. Speaking from when we worked on the insurance claims side, the script we were fed was that the insurance claim was always right, and the PAs and contractors were wrong. I can promise you that culture and mentality are the furthest things from the actual truth. Insurance carriers keep sales and claims personnel separate for several reasons, but they all tend to think you should just take whatever paltry sum they offer.

From a human standpoint, we think it would be pretty messed up and revealing if your agent were upset with you for seeking justice. If you’re being treated unfairly, wouldn’t the right thing be for others to want to see you cared for and treated fairly? If your agent becomes upset over you seeking proper indemnity, then maybe you have the wrong person as your insurance agent.

If you're feeling uncertain about the dynamics of turning to a public insurance adjuster in MO, we'd be happy to talk more about it. We understand that these are likely uncharted waters, and we appreciate your concern!