Insurance Claim Help

Claim Management Adjusters (CMA), a full-service public adjusting firm committed to helping families and businesses recover from insurable property damage and loss, is expanding its nationwide services to include appraisals for restoration contractors.

“Having served restoration contractors and insureds for nearly a decade, we are confident in adding appraisals to our offerings,” said CMA’s Jeremy Walls. “We know we have the skills, network and processes to add value and get results.”

Established in 2009, CMA is well-versed in the claims and appraisal process. The new appraisal division provides contractors and third-party estimating and supplementing partners a seamless, scalable escalation process for:

• Roofing Claims
• Fire & Flood Claims
• Water Mitigation Claims

With affiliate appraisers located across the U.S., CMA is able to process appraisals at high volume, anywhere in the country—even during large-scale disasters.

When to Bring in an Insurance Appraiser

Oftentimes, an initial insurance claim offer is much lower than is needed to repair the damage. When this happens, the contractor or a third-party claim manager will dispute the offer on behalf of the policyholder and, ideally, reach a formidable settlement. However, in cases where the parties “agree to disagree,” the contractor or claim manager can choose to bring in an appraiser to calculate the amount of loss from a neutral perspective. This is especially helpful for contractors, who prefer to focus on growing their business and serving customers rather than negotiating with insurance companies.

How an Insurance Appraisal Works

An insurance appraisal is a form of alternative dispute resolution—much faster and far less costly than going to court. The appraisal process allows both parties (the insurer and the policyholder) to choose their own independent appraisers. The appraisers then agree on an “umpire” to act as the arbiter before conducting separate appraisals.

The umpire will not be involved if the appraisers can agree to a fair, binding settlement based on their itemized calculations. If they are not able to agree, the umpire is brought in, and the decision agreed to by two of the three parties will stand (again, legally binding).

Why a Public Adjuster Makes a Great Appraiser

As an experienced public adjusting firm, CMA is well-versed in documentation, evaluation, negotiation and other key aspects of insurance disputes. Our appraisers are trained and qualified to analyze, investigate and assess damage from fires, floods and other perils. We are here to support our fellow industry professionals and advocate for the consumers they serve.

Contact us for a free consultation.

I have never seen such an amount of proof of the corruption many insurance companies participate in while they “help” their customer through the claim’s process.

I know it might seem hardly believable if you are a good citizen who has been paying premiums on time and to a highly-rated insurance company. However, I guarantee nearly all people felt the same way prior to seeing it with their own eyes. I’ve seen it with my own eyes and feel compelled to openly share my experience in hopes of encouraging you to have your claim reviewed by an experienced public adjuster early on in the process.

As the operating COO of Claim Management Adjusters, one of my main duties has been to craft and launch the estimating service we provide contractors, other public adjusters and nearly anyone busy with insurance claim settlements. To date, I have never been exposed to the inner-workings of more estimates any other time in my professional career.

Here are a few before & after examples:

These examples are taken from homeowner insurance claims I’ve personally witnessed where the insurance adjuster gives the customer an estimate based on their scope of loss, and then upon CMA’s review, a new estimate outlining what the customer is actually owed is presented.

Ex 1: Louisiana Residential Flood Insurance Claim

Original estimate completed by the insurance company: $99,200
Estimate completed by us: $135,200
A difference of $36,000

Ex 2: Indiana Residential Fire Insurance Claim

Estimate completed by the insurance company: $44,000
Estimate completed by us: $89,000
A 200%+ increase the insured can now use for making repairs

Ex 3: Indiana Roof & Exterior Insurance Claim

Estimate completed by the insurance company: $13,800
Estimate completed by us: $22,000
$8,200 missed by the insurance company

I hope this shows you a little of what I see each day. There is no doubt in my mind that every home and business owner who suffers an insurable loss should at least have their insurance claim reviewed by an experienced public adjuster as early in the insurance claim settlement process as possible.