If you have suffered significant damage to your home or business, you will quickly need to become familiar with the insurance claim process.

As the policyholder, the first step in this process may be to identify whom you can hire to represent you.

An ‘independent adjuster’ may at first sound like what you need, but in reality, ‘independent adjusters’ work for the insurance companies – not you. Their bottom line is to represent their employer, the insurance company. They legally represent only the rights of an insurance carrier.

Independent adjusters are paid by insurance companies to adjust the claim on their behalf, whereas ‘public adjusters’ work exclusively for the insurance policyholder. ‘Public Adjusters’ help policyholders with many of the complex provisions and processes involved with a typical insurance property claim. Many claimants hire public adjusters to help document, expedite, file their claim, and to assist them through the entire claims process.

Most importantly they represent the policyholder to the insurance company to ensure that the claim is handled fairly, quickly, and with maximum financial restitution.