When something happens where you need to file a claim with your insurance company, there are some mistakes that can cause your claim to be denied. The following are some of the more common mistakes you can make when filing an insurance claim.

Not Hiring a Public Adjuster

A public adjuster is your best advocate in an insurance claim. They are experts in their field and they know how to handle your insurance company to get you the maximum payout you are owed. A public adjuster will help you with all of the paperwork and make sure everything is put together properly for your insurance company. They are trained to navigate an insurance policy and on how to negotiate with an insurance company. Without a public adjuster, you may end up getting lowballed by your insurance company and not getting anywhere near that amount you are owed.

Making Repairs Before Documenting Damages

When something has happened to your home, you might want to move quickly to get those repairs underway, which is understandable. However, starting repairs before you have your damages fully documented can cost you a lot of money. If you cannot prove to your insurance company what was damaged because you got a head start on your repairs, your claim could be denied or delayed.

Before you make any repairs, you must take the time to photograph and/or take videos of the damages. Without proper documentation, you may not be able to prove the damages properly, and your insurance company may deny your claim for prejudicing their opportunity to investigate.

Procrastinating Filing Your Claim

No one wants to deal with their insurance company, and the claims process is known to be a headache, so you may be tempted to put it off for a little while. The problem here is that it is easier to get your claim going when the damages are fresh. Even if you document the damage thoroughly, the insurance company might make things difficult if you wait, since they cannot see the damages shortly after they occurred.

Not Retaining Damaged Property

You probably want to throw away something that has been damaged after you file your insurance claim, but your insurance company may want to inspect it again later on. If you throw it away, they cannot do that. This is harder to do if it is your entire house that has been damaged and you need to clear away the debris before you can begin to rebuild. However, it is easier to hold on to things if your home is vandalized or a window breaks during a storm resulting in damaged furniture or other household items. If you are unsure if you can throw something away, speak with your public adjuster before doing so; they will be able to tell you if you should hang onto something or if it is likely safe to get rid of.

Paying Out of Pocket on a Third-Party Claim

Let’s say you’re a business owner and a customer gets injured on the premises, and the injuries do not seem too severe. You may think it is okay to just pay out of pocket for their expenses instead of filing a claim with your insurance company and waiting around for them to process it. You absolutely should not do this.

Injuries that seem minor in the beginning might end up being something more serious that is noticed later on down the line. If you did not file with your insurance when the injury first happened and the injured person is suddenly needing more expensive medical bills covered, you may run into some trouble with your insurance company. Not filing as soon as possible can result in delayed or non-payment.

The deadlines for insurance claims are rapidly approaching, especially for people still waiting on their Hurricane Irma claims and the California 2018 wildfires, along with other claims. The coronavirus has led to stay home orders all over the country, making it difficult in some areas for someone to continue fighting an insurance company over a claim. This is especially true if the claim is now in legal proceedings since non-essential court cases have been suspended for the time being.

With this in mind, the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) called on state insurance commissioners across the country to extend the deadlines on insurance claims, “including deadlines dealing with sworn statements required for a proof of loss, replacement costs, construction restrictions, examinations taken under oath, claims reporting and miscellaneous arbitrary deadlines.”

President of NAPIA, Jeff O’Connor said in a statement: “Due to the catastrophic impacts of COVID-19 to the entire population and specifically insureds, insurance companies, adjusters, investigators and every vendor associated with representing the insured or insurance companies, NAPIA urgently requests your response be broadened to further protect property owners.

“While a few states have included the property claims process in their COVID-19 responses, many have not. Today, we ask you to consider extending insurance claim deadlines for property insurance claims and to clarify with more specificity in bulletins that lack clarity as to their scope. The reason for the request stems largely from the combined logistical challenges presented in the claims process requiring physical examination of loss, possible illness of stakeholders and convalescence period all nearing the season for increased property claims due to weather-related events.”

Some States Respond

Some states have extended deadlines, either before or after O’Connor’s statement, including Oregon, California, Texas, Maryland, and North Carolina, but until more states get on board with this, many homeowners may face challenges getting their claims resolved by their approaching deadlines.

California asked insurance companies to relax deadlines by at least 90 days after the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency has ended. This is following the California Department of Insurance saying they have “received complaints from consumers and local and state officials that certain residential property insurance companies are insisting that insureds (who suffered losses in the November 2018 wildfires) must continue to repair and rebuild their homes during the COVID-19 crisis to obtain full replacement cost and Additional Living Expense (ALE) benefits.” With the stay home order, many homeowners cannot even get a construction crew to continue working on their homes right now.

With California calling for this extension partially because of an event that was declared a state of emergency at that time, perhaps this will help encourage Florida to extend their deadline for Hurricane Irma insurance claims.

Taking the time to send your local insurance commissioner a letter on this subject to help show them that the people want and need insurance companies to extend their deadlines may be helpful!

References

Jackson, James. “State Calls on Property Insurance Companies to Push Back Fire Claim Deadlines.” NBC Bay Area, NBC Bay Area, 3 Apr. 2020, www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/consumer/state-calls-on-property-insurance-companies-to-push-back-fire-claim-deadlines/2267183/.

NAPIA. “NAPIA Asks State Insurance Commissioners to Extend Deadlines for Insurance Claims.” Get RSS 20, Naylor Association Management Software, 31 Mar. 2020, www.napia.com/blog_home.asp?display=30.

Do you hire a realtor to buy or sell a property? Do you hire an accountant to prepare or file your taxes? Do you hire a contractor to rebuild your home?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you may understand why you should hire a public adjuster when you need to file a property insurance claim.

If an incident occurs and you need to file a claim with your insurance company, you allow their adjuster to inspect your damages, you fill out all of the paperwork, give the insurance company all of the documents you think they need, and then you cross your fingers hoping they come through for you.  Hope is wonderful, though wouldn’t it make sense to have more hope after hiring an expert that represents YOUR interests??  A skilled public adjuster can help you file your claim, show your insurance company all the true damage, and negotiate your settlement in its entirety without the emotional burden that comes along with having a devastating event ruin your property you’ve worked so hard to upkeep.

It IS about the MONEY $$

One of the most important things that you might miss out on without a public adjuster is your settlement amount. It’s no secret that insurance companies have been known to low-ball you with their first offer. Since the claims process is complicated, you may decide to just take what you can get and leave it at that.. You may choose to fight your initial offer, but you might take the next one they propose that is slightly higher even though it’s still not actually what you are entitled to based on your damages.

Public adjusters are experts in their field, and they will negotiate with your insurance company on your behalf to make sure you receive the full amount your insurance company owes you.

Insurance policies are complicated, and you may not be able to determine whether you have coverage for something. If the right language is not used in your claim, you could end up getting denied on a technicality. 

Some of these include:

“I have mold.” Claim Denied. Instead, say “I have water damage from a broken pipe that then caused mold.”

“I had a flood in my house.” Claim Denied. You might mean that you had a pipe break that caused water to damage throughout your home; this feels like a flood to you, but homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover floods, so using that language can get your claim denied instantly.

“This was leaking for sooo long.” Claim Denied. If your pipe burst on Saturday night, and you could not get the plumber to come fix it until Monday morning, that may feel like forever to you, but your insurance company may interpret that it was leaking for months, which means you were negligent and they can deny your claim.

“There is damage from the sewer overflowing.” Claim Denied. Since the damage sounds like it was not caused by something directly in your home, some insurance companies may not be willing to cover those damages. However, if there was a drain pipe that collapsed inside your own, that then caused the toilet to overflow, most policies would cover this claim. 

Your insurance company has the advantage

Insurance policies are lengthy and complicated and so is understanding what needs to be done to actually repair your damaged property. Unless you are an expert at reading and understanding legalese AND construction and restoration, it’s difficult to get the insurance company to pay out what’s actually needed.

If you are left confused by your insurance policy OR what your property damages truly consist of, you’re probably giving your insurance company the advantage with your claim.  As an average property owner, you have no way of knowing whether or not you got a fair deal from your insurance company unless you have someone with years of experience, on your side representing your interests, every step of the way during all inspections and negotiations.

Property owners do not know how to fight, who to fight, or even what they need to fight for. This leaves you at a tremendous disadvantage.

Another problem you may run into is that sometimes an insurance company will intentionally draw out the length of your claim. Their hope is that by the time they finally do give you a settlement amount, it has been so long that you will take it, simply because you are tired of fighting.

Public adjusters can help make sure your forms are submitted properly the first time and that no “stone remains unturned” when it comes to the damages. They also know how to handle insurance companies who intentionally draw out claims so they can get away with paying less.

Bottom line

At the end of the day (and the beginning of it) there is an inherent conflict of interest between an insurer and their insured. Whereas many insurance adjusters aim to be fair, are they equipped, educated, or authorized to a degree that enables them to provide payment to the maximum benefits for every policyholder’s claim? Is it in your insurance company’s best interest to pay every claim to the MAXIMUM of its merits?

Even if your insurance company grants coverage for your property claim, the average property owner has zero idea how to read the repair estimates carriers must legally provide along with settlement payment. Did the insurance company pay for everything they were supposed to? Are you to trust them when they say “everything was paid for”? Who determines that??

Public adjusters can level the playing field for you. PUBLIC ADJUSTERS and attorneys are the only individuals licensed by the state to represent policyholders during their crucial times of need. Attorneys can be great, but representing “in the field” isn’t their forte’. They do best, once there has been wrongdoing by the insurance company, perhaps months, or years after the incident or loss occurs. Public adjusters, on the other hand,  are there from the start,  guiding policyholders during the stressful and grueling claims process. As a result, PUBLIC ADJUSTERS are typically able to minimize or even eliminate, simple mistakes, underpayments, and insurance company wrongdoing altogether, while ultimately maximizing settlement recovery.  

Most insurance companies have excluded pandemics from their policies, so you cannot get your business disruption insurance to cover your losses from the Coronavirus. Since that is the case, when the first Coronavirus lawsuit was filed recently in Louisiana, they took the stance that the virus caused physical damage to the property. This case is likely going to set the precedence on how other Coronavirus lawsuits will be handled.

This virus is so dangerous that the government has ordered businesses that are not considered “essential” to shut down, and everyone is supposed to be cooped up in their house if they do not have to do something that is considered necessary. The Coronavirus lingers on surfaces for about 48 hours, and anyone else who contacts it in that time is exposed; this had led to the thoughts that this is damaging the property. “If the non-dangerous teenage pranks of ‘egging’ or ‘TPing’ a house are acts of vandalism and property damage, the dangerous virus on my business property certainly is property damage.”

Problems with Claims

One difficult part of calling this property damage is that you need evidence that it has damaged your property. This means you have to have regular testing on your site to prove the presence of the virus. Without some sort of evidence that the virus has indeed damaged your property, your insurance claim may get denied instantly.

There is some speculation that since COVID-19 is a pandemic, not merely a communicable disease that is specifically listed in policy language, there may be some leeway in getting insurance to cover it that way.

There has also been speculation that the Coronavirus counts under the “Act of God” defense for insurance coverage, which “usually covers unforeseeable natural phenomena like floods, fires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, as well as businesses that were affected in the aftermath of 9/11.” This clause is complicated and can be difficult to use.

Political Pressure

Politicians have been putting pressure on insurance companies to cover this, leaving them scrambling, not wanting to have to pay out what could end up being a crippling sum of money by the end of this. There is a growing outcry in Washington of people who have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to their insurance companies over the years who are now being told their business disruption insurance will not cover their losses.

“Business owners everywhere — not just restaurants — are flabbergasted that they’ve been paying on a timely basis thinking they’re covered if something bad happens only to find out it’s not the case,” said Jason Berry, co-founder of Washington-based KNEAD Hospitality + Design. Berry himself has been paying $100,000 per year to his insurance company for his restaurants, and his insurance denied his claim in four days.

Conclusion

Currently, we are looking at a lot of unknown factors where insurance and the Coronavirus are concerned. There are certain angles to attempt in an insurance claim for business losses, and with political pressure mounting, insurance companies may be forced to pay out for business losses and disruptions as a result of the virus.

References

Fantozzi, Joanna. “Here’s What Your Restaurant Business Insurance May (or May Not) Cover during the Coronavirus Pandemic.” Nation’s Restaurant News, 26 Mar. 2020, www.nrn.com/finance/here-s-what-your-restaurant-business-insurance-may-or-may-not-cover-during-coronavirus.

Merlin, Chip. “Corona Virus and Physical Damage-The Louisiana Case Law That Will Be Relied Upon in the First Coronavirus Case Filed: Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog: Merlin Law Group.” Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog, 22 Mar. 2020, www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2020/03/articles/insurance/corona-virus-and-physical-damage-the-louisiana-case-law-that-will-be-relied-upon-in-the-first-coronavirus-case-filed/.

Sams, Jim. “Restaurant Suit Tests Business Interruption Insurance for Coronavirus Shutdowns.” Insurance Journal, 19 Mar. 2020, www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2020/03/19/561638.htm.

Warmbrodt, Zachary. “Insurers Scramble to Avoid 9/11-Style Coronavirus Backlash.” POLITICO, 26 Mar. 2020, www.politico.com/news/2020/03/26/insurers-avoid-9-11-style-coronavirus-backlash-149462.

“Will Business Disruption Insurance Cover Losses from the Coronavirus?” United Claims Specialists, 20 Mar. 2020, www.ucsfl.com/will-business-disruption-insurance-cover-losses-from-the-coronavirus/.

The National Flood Insurance Program’s Write Your Own (WYO) Program is a collaborative program between FEMA and the private insurance industry. It allows insurance companies to write and service flood insurance in their names. Through the WYO Program, “The [insurance] companies receive an expense allowance for policies written and claims processed while the federal government retains responsibility for underwriting losses.”

There have been a number of flood insurance adjusters over the years who have been accused of underpaying claims after a flood disaster. In 2015, Congress conducted an investigation into why there were so many underpayments after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, in which they acknowledged the habit of underpaying, also known as “running and gunning,” but they did not call out the practice as the exact cause of the lowballed insurance claims.

Instead, the report said it was “theoretically possible” for adjusters to make more by running and gunning, but they found “no evidence to support the hypothesis that engineers working in the NFIP reflexively downplay flood damage because that is what they are accustomed to doing in other insurance lines.”

Senate Democrats rejected this assessment, saying that the investigation “relied on questionable data, concluded too quickly and ignored evidence of widespread underpayments from the more than 2,000 lawsuits filed after Sandy in federal court.” The investigation was four months long and relied on FEMA’s data, which is known for having problems with record keeping.

An independent adjuster for a WYO is given incentives to adjust as many claims as they can without overpaying on any of them, for fear that an overpayment will be covered out of their own pockets. “rather than accurately estimating one or two losses in a day which may total $200,000, a FEMA percentage paid field adjuster will estimate 8 claims a day for a total of $1,000,000. So long as none of the individual estimates are overestimated, which results in a back payment to FEMA, the field adjuster has the financial incentive to estimate as much possible in total rather than as accurately as possible. If any of the estimates are found later by FEMA to result in an overpayment, the field adjuster may contractually pay out a lot more money from his own pocket than what he may have made in an entire catastrophe.”

This practice is along the same lines as “churn and burn,” which occurs after a major storm when independent adjusters are sent out to assess the property damages. They are paid based on the number of estimates they write, so they will try to hurry through each one, aiming to 10 every single day, to earn as much as possible in the wake of the disaster.

Keep in mind that ethical independent adjusters do exist, and will properly assess the damages and give the insurance company a reasonable estimate, they are just not talked about on the same level as the unethical adjusters who only care about how to make a quick buck off your disaster.

References

U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. “Assessing and Improving Flood Insurance Management and Accountability in the Wake of Superstorm Sandy.” 22 Jun. 2015,  https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Majority%20Staff%20Flood%20Insurance%20Report_2015.pdf

“Churn and Burn Insurance Adjusting.” United Claims Specialists, 10 Mar. 2020, www.ucsfl.com/churn-and-burn-insurance-adjusting/.

Merlin, Chip. “National Flood Claims Do Not Get Paid Properly Because the Only Incentive Is to Underpay: Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog: Merlin Law Group.” Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog, 7 Jan. 2017, www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2014/07/articles/insurance/national-flood-claims-do-not-get-paid-properly-because-the-only-incentive-is-to-underpay/.

Ryan, Joe. “Schumer Rejects Insurance Program Findings.” Newsday, Newsday, 24 June 2015, www.newsday.com/business/schumer-rejects-findings-of-senate-committee-on-flood-insurance-1.10572850.

“The Write Your Own (WYO) Program.” The Write Your Own (WYO) Program | FEMA.gov, 19 Dec. 2019, www.fema.gov/write-your-own-wyo-program.

If you run your business from your home — which is becoming more common as the COVID-19 pandemic forces more and more people to work remotely — you may be wondering if your homeowner’s insurance will cover your business. According to the Insurance Information Institute, a standard policy usually only offers coverage for about $2,500 of your business equipment, which may not be enough coverage, depending on your specific business.

Depending on your business type, you will likely need some sort of liability insurance, and if you make food products or personal care products, you may need a special policy. There are three basic choices for insuring a business from your home, depending on your specific business type and your insurance company.

Homeowners Policy Endorsement

This is an endorsement that you add to your existing policy to cover your standard equipment. It usually covers about $2,500 for a business, which is perfect if your business does not need anything beyond a couch and a laptop. You may also have the option to increase the coverage amount to $10,000.

You may also add liability to this coverage, which you will need if you have people visiting your business. If someone slips on the icy stairs entering your home business, they can sue you, and that is where the liability comes in handy.

In-Home Business Policy/Program

If your business is much more than a couch and laptop, and you need more comprehensive coverage, this is the ideal policy for you. If you are trying to decide if you need more coverage than a homeowners policy endorsement, there are some questions you can ask yourself to help make the decision:

•         “Do customers or clients come to my home?
•         “Do I keep inventory or supplies in my home or at off-site job locations?
•         “Would I lose income if I had to close my business because of damage to my home?
•         “Do I have employees working in or outside of my home?
•         “Do I maintain client or employee records on my computer?”

If you answered yes to these questions, you may want to consider this type of insurance instead of relying on the homeowner’s insurance.

This type of policy will vary depending on your insurance company and your specific business. The liability coverage is usually broader in these policies, to offer you better protection. This policy also usually covers business materials stored in another structure on the property, like a shed or garage.

Some will cover business interruption if your home becomes damaged in a natural disaster or a fire, as well as extra operating expenses in a temporary location. Some will also cover up to three full-time employees.

Businessowners Policy

This is for a small or mid-sized business that will cover your business property and equipment, loss of income, and liability. Coverage may even extend to your business property outside of the home if you open a small office or rent a storage unit for backstock.

It does not include worker’s compensation or insurance for health or disability. You will need separate policies for these if you have employees.

References

“Home Based Business Insurance.” The Hartford, www.thehartford.com/home-based-business-insurance.

Insuring Your Home-Based Business. Insurance Information Institute, www.iii.org/article/insuring-your-home-based-business.

After your home has sustained damages, large or small, you are going to contact your homeowner’s insurance company and file a claim so that you can get the money you need to move on with your life. You need to make repairs and replace things that were damaged, so you may be willing to take the first check your insurance company offers you, but there are some reasons why you should not do that.

Hidden Damages

Depending on exactly what type of loss you suffered, there could be damages that were not instantly visible, so the independent adjuster could not factor them into your settlement. Until the work begins, you may be unaware of damages inside the floors or walls, or mold and mildew popping up from water damage. These can be expensive to repair, and you will not be able to get your insurance company to give you more money from the claim since you already cashed the check.

They Start Low

Insurance companies are in the business to make a profit, and to do this they do not want to pay out the maximum amount you are owed right away. Instead, your insurance company will try to lowball you, in hopes that you will just be happy they are giving you anything and walk away. The amount offered may not even be enough to complete the repairs you need. The first offer is always much lower than you are owed.

You Do Not Have the Full Costs Yet

Your insurance provider will be offering you money based on their independent adjuster’s assessment, which does not take into account the full costs yet. Their assessment of the costs may differ greatly from the costs your contractor is quoting you. Sometimes an insurance company will offer you a contractor who can do the work at their price, but this is a huge risk. Oftentimes, you end up with a poorly done job and the damage will happen again as a result. A big example of this is roof leaks. If they are not fixed properly, you may find out the next time it rains.

Appraisals Are Opinions

After the independent adjuster has evaluated your damages, your insurance company will give you a settlement offer. The offer is based entirely upon the opinion of the adjuster. This means that there is a chance that a different adjuster can get you a different number, and possibly better results. You can challenge this opinion and reject that first offer, fighting to get the amount you deserve for your settlement.

Conclusion

If you find yourself in need of help with your insurance claim, a public adjuster is here to help you. They will negotiate on your behalf with your insurance company to help you get the settlement you deserve, which is often significantly higher than their original offer. Public adjusters can be your best ally when you are fighting your insurance for an appropriate claim amount that will actually cover everything. 

When disaster strikes and you suddenly lose all or part of your home, you are probably feeling overwhelmed and devastated. You have made your payments faithfully over the years, so they should cover everything with no hassle, right? Unfortunately, that is rarely the case with an insurance company. They will try to give you less than the maximum payment you deserve for your losses, and you may not be certain how to fight them. That is where public adjusters come in. There are many benefits to hiring a public adjuster for your insurance claim though these are the top few…

They are Trained Professionals

Insurance policies can be confusing if you do not have a deep understanding of the industry, making filing your claim difficult sometimes. Public adjusters have to go through training before they can become licensed to ensure they fully understand the complex insurance industry. They are well trained and will fight for you against your insurance to help you get what you are owed. Having a public adjuster working on your claim also means you will have a witness if your insurance company is acting in bad faith and a more drastic measure is needed to get your claim paid.

Your Insurance is Lowballing You

You already filed your insurance claim and they are offering you an amount that will not cover even a fraction of your losses. If you want to fight your insurance company, a public adjuster can step in and negotiate on your behalf. They will work hard to get your insurance to pay you what you deserve. Studies have shown that a public adjuster often increases an insurance claim payment by 747 percent.

Time Savers

An insurance policy is complex and can be confusing, and you may not be sure what exactly your insurance company wants from you. A public adjuster can go over your policy with you and help you organize everything you need for your claim. You can work on moving forward while your public adjuster keeps your claim moving with your insurance company.

They Only Get Paid if You Do

Most public adjusters are paid a percentage of the payout you receive from your insurance company, so you are not paying them hourly and losing money while you wait for your insurance payment. Since they do not get paid if you do not, they will work even harder to help maximize your claim and see the claim through to the end.

Some may suggest using a lawyer, but that should be your last resort. A skilled Public Adjuster can navigate the claims process and typically obtain an excellent settlement for you without an attorney. 

They Have Your Interest at Heart

A public adjuster cares about their clients and wants to make sure they receive what their insurance company owes them. Public adjusters will handle your claims as efficiently as possible and work diligently to make sure you have a positive experience and the outcome you deserve for your claim. 

References

Public Adjuster Representation in Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Claims Extends the Time to Reach a Settlement and Also Increases Payments to Citizens’ Policyholders.  Jan. 2010, https://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/MonitorDocs/Reports/pdf/1006rpt.pdf.

When you receive your insurance policy renewal information, you may discover your premium has gone up and be wondering why, especially if you have not filed any claims recently. There are a number of reasons why your rate may have gone up, which may is usually never explained in your renewal information.

Actuaries assess the risks of insurance policies, using math, financial theory, and statistics to forecast the probability and costs of an event. “In the insurance industry, actuaries spend a lot of time trying to predict how likely customers are to file a claim. The higher the probability, the more they can justify charging you higher insurance premiums.” This is one of the reasons your insurance premium might be going up.

Recent Claims

Have you filed any claims lately with your insurance company? Depending on the type of claim and its cost, your insurance premium may have gone up because of this. Your rate may eventually go back down if you do not have to file another claim within a certain period of time. This is one of the most common reasons for an insurance premium to go up. You should know, however, that most increases because of claim history primarily relate to liability losses. 

Weather Events

The number of hurricanes, storms, wildfires, and tornadoes — along with other extreme weather events — has been rising over the last few years. As these become more frequent, insurance companies may increase their rates too, so they can keep up with the insurance claims for a large and damaging disaster. This is something that the actuaries help calculate.

Increase in Property Value

If you have done any renovations or updates to your home since your last policy renewal, they may have increased your property value enough to where you need to increase your insurance coverage limits. This will, of course, increase your insurance premium as well.

Crime Rate Increase

Another thing actuaries will calculate is if there have been increases in your local crime rate, as well as the likeliness of becoming the victim of a burglar or vandal. If they determine that it is likely enough, your insurance premium will go up to reflect the higher risk for insuring you.

New Big Purchases

If you have made any new expensive purchases that you need to add to your coverage, like new furniture, gym equipment, an expensive new TV, or a computer. This kind of thing may increase your premium so that it will be adequately covered if you suffer a loss and need your new, expensive equipment replaced.

Life Changes

Other things that may increase your premium include merging households with a significant other and updating your insurance to make sure the new belongings are covered.

Having a new baby may also increase your premium since you will likely be making some measures to increase safety in the house.

Conclusion

These are just some of the things that could impact your insurance premium. If you are not aware of any of the things listed here occurring in your area, you can contact your insurance company to ask for more information. Sometimes, the insurance company will simply cite inflation as the reason for the increase, if nothing else can be applied.

When you need to file an insurance claim, a public adjuster is one of your best allies and they can be your greatest advocate. A study showed that there was a 747 percent increase in insurance payouts when someone hired a public adjuster to help negotiate their claim.

There are some cases though, where in order to help you collect the maximum amount your insurance company owes you, where a public adjuster and a lawyer need to work together to take your claim to court. Most of the time, the case can be settled without going to trial, but there is always that stubborn exception that will not budge on their offer. If your insurance claim has escalated to this point, you will need to be prepared to defend your claim in front of a jury.

I Filed in State Court, Why is it Now in Federal?

Even if you file your case with a state court, your insurance company still may choose to request the case is seen by a federal court instead. There are several reasons the insurance company may wish to do this: “First, federal courts often have greater resources to move a case to completion. For example, most federal judges have a full staff of law clerks—lawyers that help the judge research legal issues, delve into the evidence, and draft opinions. Second, federal courts frequently decide cases without oral argument, relying solely on the litigant’s written work product. Third, the civil procedure rules in federal court are well-established and lead to predictable results on important pretrial issues. Finally, some insurance defense lawyers may think that federal court gives them an advantage to win the case.”

Insurance Companies Responses

When the insurance company receives the formal complaint attached to the lawsuit, they have a few ways to respond to it. The insurance company can answer it and say if the allegations against them are true or false; more often than not, they will say the allegations are false and they did not act wrongfully.

They can file a motion to dismiss the allegations, usually citing that “the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. This motion argues that even when taking the complaint’s allegations as true, the insured did not adequately plead that the insurer violated the policy or the law.”

If your insurance policy has the appraisal or arbitration provision, they can invoke that in response to you filing a suit against them, which will cause the court to stop the proceedings and send the case to a panel to make a decision on what is owed. This is becoming a common provision in insurance policies, so it is a good idea to check and see if yours has this so you will not be blindsided by them invoking it.

Before Trial

Often the court will ask the policyholder’s and insurer’s lawyers to meet one last time before a case goes to trial and try one last time to reach a settlement. If a settlement still cannot be reached, the case will move forward into a trial with a jury; if you reach this point, your attorney and your public adjuster can work together to help prepare you to fight for your claim.