In most cases, Sill public adjusters will begin working with a property owner who is dealing with a loss within just a few days of the incident.
In fact, we highly recommend it as the earlier that Sill’s professionals get involved in a claim, the more we can steer and affect the result. That said, in a recent significant loss claim, Sill was hired by the property owner more than 18 months after fire damaged an apartment building.
(Since this loss claim is still active, it would not be appropriate to disclose the property name or insurance provider.)
After a brief consultation with Sill, the property owners (holders of multiple properties who had some previous experience in handling claims on their own) initially decided to handle the loss claim by themselves.
This led to an adjustment that had continued for more than a year and a half and both parties having a significant difference of opinion in both the scope and damages to the building.
With no end in sight, the property owner reached back out to Sill, inquiring whether we believed we could still affect the result and help bring an acceptable settlement.
Sill, answering positively, was retained at that point and Sill’s public adjusters were brought in to support the property owner, but also guide the negotiation process through to closure.
Re-visiting the damage estimate previously prepared by the insurance company, Sill’s expert team was able to find several areas in which they were able to meaningfully increase the claim, bringing the loss claim to settlement within 30 days of being retained!
“When we were hired over 18 months after the loss, the Insured and the insurance company adjuster were at odds and they were far from reaching any settlement so we gathered all the information available, inspected the loss site, discussed the loss in detail with the insurance company adjuster and the Insured then got to work. Through our policy knowledge, problem solving skills, and negotiation experience we were able to effectively communicate with the insurance company adjuster and reach an outstanding settlement for the Insured (our client) in less than 30 days being hired.” said Mike Hickle, Vice President and Manager of the Adjusting Department at Sill.
Sill handles hundreds of loss claims each year, ranging from homeowner claims to highly complex claims in excess of $100,000,000. Our team has the expertise and experience to understand the fine print in your insurance policy, help structure a claim strategy that best serves the insured’s interest and goals, prepare damage estimates to your building, contents, and even business income loss, if applicable, and manage the entire claim through negotiation and final settlement with your insurance company. Sill public adjusters always represent the property owner, and never the insurance company. In this case, Sill increased the loss settlement by 38% over what the insurance company had last offered the insured.
While we never recommend that an insured wait over a year following a loss to engage us, this is another successful example of how Sill has represented the interests of our clients for more than 90 years. Sill is the nation’s leading public adjusting firm. Contact our expert team today if you need assistance with any type of property loss claim.