JF Public Adjusters Exposes the True Scope of Water Damage

In this blog post, we talk about how JF Public Adjusters exposed the true scope of water damage to a multi-storey Staten Island home, taking the claim from $6,500 to $196,000.

Damage to the HVAC system in the attic caused water damage to a multi-storey Staten Island property.

Immediately after the damage was discovered, the homeowner hired a mitigation and restoration company. This initial contractor that attended the site identified damage to the following areas only:

• attic
• basement
• kitchen
• utility

The contractor prepared and sent an estimate of $6,500 to the insurance company, which was accepted and paid.

Feeling that there was much more to the claim, the insured then went ahead and contacted JF Public Adjusters for a claim review and consultation.

After hearing about the circumstances surrounding the damage and the initial assessment of the damage, Joel proposed an inspection of the property. Joel, along with one of the trusted restoration providers that we work with frequently, attended the premises. Knowing that the damage originated from the HVAC system and that damage was found all the way to the basement, they knew that there was unscoped and undocumented damage to the rest of the house.

As Joel had suspected, there was extensive water damage to practically all of the rooms of the home. Here is a side-be-side comparison of the initial damage scoped versus the damage scoped by the JFPA Team.

The homeowner made JF Public Adjuster their official representative by signing a Letter of Representation. The JFPA Team then immediately got to work and prepared a comprehensive estimate that included all of the damage that was determined to be caused by the insured event.

The insurer reviewed JFPA’s estimate and after their review, proposed a settlement of about $130,000.

Joel reviewed the settlement offer and discussed it with the insured. Joel explained that the offer was not sufficient to cover the cost of repairs/replacement. After a series of back-and-forth with the insurance company, JFPA settled the claim at $196,000, much to the delight of the very satisfied homeowner.

By using JF Public Adjusters, this insured was able to maximize their insurance claim. The client decided to use the restoration provider that had attended the premises with Joel and repairs are well underway.