If you are in Morristown, NJ and neighboring areas and your property recently suffered fire, smoke, wind, malicious damage, water, broken pipes, or other damage, take note:

The way your claim is handled will have a big impact on how much money you receive in settlement and how promptly. Depending on how your claim is managed, you could either be put back in the position you were in prior to the loss or you may sustain a large financial loss and end up paying for a large portion of the repairs out of pocket.

When you, the policyholder, make a claim, it is your duty to present your case to the insurer. That is, you must put a dollar figure to the loss, you must show evidence to support it, and you must be able to defend it if questioned.

In reality, however, the majority of policyholders go through one major loss in their lifetime. What this means is that for the most part, policyholders do not know how to navigate the claim process. So while you’re dealing with the debilitating effects of property loss on your daily life, you are blindly navigating the murky seas of the claim process. It is far from ideal and usually results in a very low settlement for the you, the insured.

Therein lies the problem. fortunately, there are many things you can do to get a much better settlement.

1. Immediately after the loss, you must take every action to ensure you are mitigating the loss i.e., preventing further damage to the property.

For example, following a fire or a collapsed roof, you must board up your property to avoid looting. If a pipe has burst and water has escaped to various parts of your home, you must contact a mitigation service provider to dry out your home as soon as possible.

2. If there was damage to your personal belongings, you should take photos and videos and create an inventory of damaged items as soon as possible. The longer you leave it for later, the more items you will forget. You must also be mindful that damage could extend far beyond the obvious areas. For example, if a fire damaged your kitchen, you might just think about the things that were burned in the kitchen, forgetting that smoke also causes significant damage that extends well beyond the immediate region of the fire, like the attic and adjacent bedrooms.

However, what would you do if your insurance company denies your claim and produces an expert report, such as one from an engineer, to support the denial?

And what if your insurance provider stopped returning your calls and emails and you are no longer able to afford the temporary housing you had to use because your home was uninhabitable?

What would you do if your insurer sent you a $10,000 settlement offer, but when you asked a contractor how much it would cost to make the repairs, you got a quotation for $60,000? Would you merely accept the discrepancy?

Unfortunately, the last 3 scenarios happen all too often. These are just a few examples of situations where a combination of elements, such as your inexperience as an insured filing a claim for the first time, the difficulty of the procedure, and some insurance tactics, could really stress you out and lead to a settlement that may be significantly less than what you are entitled to.

Fortunately, assistance is within reach. JF Public Adjusters NJ are here to guide you, policyholders, through the convoluted claims procedure and secure a fair insurance claim payment.

If you have suffered property damage, give us a call. We’ll visit the site to inspect the damage and review your insurance policy to determine whether the damage should be covered by your insurance.

By using JF Public Adjusters NJ, you can be confident that your claim will be processed quickly and that you’ll receive a reasonable settlement. Throughout the process, we’ll keep you informed so you know how your claim is progressing. Call (732) 709-9711 or send a text.