FAQ
What is a property Claim?
A property claim is any damage that occurs to your home or business and is cover under your insurance policy. For example: water, fire or smoke damage, broken or blocked plumbing lines, burglary or theft, etc. Typically, when damage occurs to home or business, the homeowner or business owner could call their insurance company (much like car owners do then they get into an accident). The insurance company will create a claim and dispatch an adjuster to the home or business to evaluate.
What is an Adjuster?
There are three types of insurance adjuster that could be involved in the processing of the insurance claim. The three types of adjusters are follows:
1. Public adjuster - This individual is not associated or employed by your insurance company. He/she works for you, the insured, to assist in the preparation, presentation and settlement of your claim. You hire him/her by signing a contract and agreeing pay them a fee or commission based on a percentage of the settlement, or other method of compensation. Public adjusters are required to be licensed, bonded and tested by the State of California.
2. Company adjuster - This individual is an employee of your insurance company. He/she represents your insurance company and is paid by your insurance company. He/she will not charge you a fee and is not typically licensed or tested by the State of California.
3. Independent adjuster - This is an individual hired on a contract basis by your insurance company to represent the company in the settlement of the claim. He/she is paid by your insurance company. He/she will not charge you a fee.
How is a public adjuster compensated?
You pay absolutely nothing out of pocket. Our compensation is a small percentage of the total claim once it is settled. However, it is important to note that were are able to help you take full advantage of your policy's benefits in such a way as to make up for our fee, which is more than covered by the larger settlement we obtain for you. Remember, if there is no settlement, there is no fee whatsoever.
If I hire Mission Public Adjusting and have to pay a percentage of my recovery, I will then be short on money, right?
NO. This is the biggest misconception. Since our recovery is usually 40% to 90% more than what you can get on your own, it basically makes our service free. We handle the claim and get you more money, which more than absorbs our fee.
How long will it take to settle my claim?
Our goal is to expedite your claim so as to put you back to the way things were prior to your loss. At Mission Public Adjusting we are trained ,experienced professionals who know how to put your claim together far more quickly than someone who has never suffered a catastrophic loss before. If there is any delay in settling your claim, more often than not, it has to do with the insurance company's lack of urgency regarding claim payments, and we are well-versed in dealing with such delay tactics.
At what point in the claim process should I hire Mission Public Adjusting?
We strongly recommend that you hire Mission Public Adjusting before you call in your claim to your insurance company or agent. Doing so ensures that you'll get the professional help you need immediately. However, you can enlist our services at any time ( before you place your claim, during your claim negotiations, and even after your claim has been closed). Basically, it's never to late. REMEMBER, the longer you wait to hire Mission Public Adjusting, the more challenging the insurance company will be during the claim adjusting process. Once the insurance company had dug its hands in the claim, it gets more difficult to contest their position.
I have already received a payment for my claim from the insurance company. its a low amounts , is it too late to reopen my file?
No. As long as its not over a year, public insurance adjuster can re-open and and start renegotiating with your insurance company towards a higher settlement. Again, once you have been paid, it just gets little difficult. This is why you want to hire Mission Public Adjusting from the beginning.
My claim was denied, am I entitled to a second opinion?
Yes. At Mission Public Adjusting we will look at your claim file and will request proper documents from your insurance company to make sure the claim was denied for the right reasons. By looking at your claim we can tell if you have a valid claim
Do Public Adjusters have to be licensed or certified?
State of California requires public adjusters to be licensed by the California Department of Insurance.
What steps do I need to take to hire Mission Public Adjusting?
You can call our office at 818-273-2497 or email us at info@missionpublicadjusing.com. One of our representatives will visit you to start the claim process. In addition, you can directly call the owner of the company Edvard Yagubyan at 818-640-6181.
You will need a copy of your insurance policy on hand. If you do not have it available, you can usually obtain a copy from you insurance agent with a simple phone call. If the agent is not available we can call the insurance company together to obtain the basic coverage for your policy. During that time, once we have your policy, we will advise you whether or not a Public Adjuster is needed. If we find out your coverages are limited and we will not be able to assist, we will walk away with no obligations or demands for services rendered. At Mission Public Adjusting we will let you know if it is in your best interest to hire a Public Adjuster.
Will I be denied or canceled if I hire a public adjuster?
NO. A Public Adjuster is a licensed professional. The California Department of Insurance states that it would be a violation of your rights if any insurance company denies or cancels your policy based on hiring a Public Adjuster. You have the right to hire a Public Adjuster to help you settle your claim with your insurance company.
We have a lot of building contractors and restoration companies knocking on our door, wanting to do our work and help us file our insurance Claim. Why should I hire a Public Adjuster to do this instead?
Many policyholders have developed confusion between Contractors, Salesman and Public Adjusters. Salesman and building contractors have begun presenting themselves as being qualified to help you with understanding the intricacies of your insurance policy, as well as claiming to have expertise in helping you to get the insurance company to pay for your repairs and cleanup. In reality, in most cases these people are not licensed to act as claim adjusters, nor do they possess the necessary training. Often they are breaking the law in California by trying to represent themselves as Public Adjusters when they are not. Contacting Mission Public adjusting ensures that you have a licensed and trained representative to help maximize the settlement of your claim.
Most important, the only two people that can negotiate a property claim are a LICENSED PUBLIC ADJUSTER or an ATTORNEY.
Is it a good idea to go ahead and get everything cleaned right away by professional restoration services, instead of waiting for the insurance company to stop by?
NO. As a policyholder this is probably the single biggest mistake you can make. The reason for this is once the process has begun, the cleaning bill reduces the amount of coverage you have left to replace what has been destroyed or damaged in your loss. Also, nothing can be touched in the house because the place has not been tested for the presence of harmful chemicals by a professional company. Before anything can be touched your Public Adjuster needs to photograph and document the loss. Mission Public Adjusting will document your loss and create a case to present to your insurance company.
What happens to my personal contents burned and not burned?
Properly defining and documenting personal contents is a very critical area in the loss determination process.
Burned contents: Mission Public Adjusting will go through your burned content and will create a list. This list will include everything that can be identified by our company. This list will have the name, age, and price of the product and where it can be acquired.
Non burned items: non burned items will be documented and photographed. We will have a professional content company put together an estimate for the house to be packed up (boxed item by item). Once we have the estimate in place, it will be submitted to your insurance company for payment. When the insurance company verifies and approves the estimate, the packing can begin. Mission Public Adjusting wants to make sure the homeowner never gets stuck with a payment that was not agreed to by the insurance company.