Professional Representation for your Commercial Loss Claim
When faced with commercial claim for commercial property losses due to fire, flood, theft, vandalism or other disasters, as a business owner you may be overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation – revenue losses, damage mitigation, employee and customer retention, and so on. Having insurance coverage in such instances is comforting, and most insureds assume their losses will be fully reimbursed.
However, that is not a given fact. The amount of the settlement for a commercial claim will, in the end, be affected by many factors, including the type of insurance, the actions you take to meet your responsibilities under the insurance policy, your communications with the insurance company, the documents you file, your inventory of the loss, and many others.
Commercial property loss claims are particularly involved, first because business losses are themselves complex, and second, because business insurance policies are less standard and customized to the business needs. They may include provisions, terms, and conditions that are not easy to decipher; at the same time, the insured has responsibilities under the insurance policy that need to be timely met in order to not jeopardize the success of the commercial claim. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the business insurance policy, its terms and provisions, it’s critical to the success of the business loss claim and recovery of the losses.
To mitigate their own losses, insurers usually delegate their best, most experienced professionals to work on commercial insurance claims. Thus, when filing the loss claim without professional assistance from a public adjuster, the insured party has a serious disadvantage right from the start.
At the same time, the business owner focus needs to be on business continuity and recovery. Most businesses can’t afford to wait too long for payment from the insurance company. They need the cash fast, to rebuild, recover and get back to “business as usual.” Insurance companies know about the pressure the insured party is under and may take advantage of this situation by offering a less than adequate settlement.
However, when working with a public adjuster company, the business had its own advocate in the insurance claim process. The public adjuster will be there to help interpret the policy, estimate losses accurately, communicate with the insurer throughout the claim process, and assure all documentation is filed accurately and on time, relieving the business owner from time-consuming tasks and securing the best chances for a full and timely settlement.