Storm Damage: Commercial vs Homeowners Claims
Most of us don’t ever deal with an insurance claim. If we do, we expect the insurance company to send somebody out right away, get our money and move forward with our life. If our business has a break-in, that’s pretty much what we can expect. If we were in the path of a hurricane it’s different.
Catastrophes that impact a whole bunch of people all at once stretch the insurance adjusting business thin. Homeowners companies respond by sending hundreds of adjusters to the impacted area. Usually, the adjusters go armed with checkbooks and settle claims on the spot. So, you and I get really frustrated when we wait for the adjuster for our business.
The difference is, commercial insurance companies don’t have an army of adjusters that work directly for them. That’s because adjusters have to be licensed in the state they’re working. Those insurance companies don’t do enough business in each individual state to afford their own adjusters. They hire independents and share them with all the other insurance companies. In a catastrophe, there just aren’t enough of them to go around.
To get your claim settled as fast as possible:
Take lots of pictures
Protect your building to stop any new damage (tarp, board up, replace what you need to)
Keep as much of the damaged stuff as you can for the adjuster to look at when they show up
Keep receipts
If you have an agent that will call the insurance company every few days, have them do it, otherwise, put it on your schedule to do
Document the date, time and name of everyone you talk to
If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them whether you’re my client or not. Most importantly, stay safe. Check out our Coffee and Coverages video on this topic below!
