FW: Do you have any rights to arbitrate a claim if you don't agree with the adjustor?

I always suggest that before you have a claim, you should meet with your agent and discuss with them what happens in the settling of a claim. What's the process? What if I don't agree with what the adjustor says? What if who I'm having do the work says you have a loss and the adjustor says you don’t. Who is right? Do I have any recourse or am I stuck with what the company says?

Let me share with you what I find is best.

1. Talk with the adjustor and find out why they're saying what they're saying. Sometimes you may misunderstand what they're saying because they're speaking in some insurance jargon or lingo.

2. Once you get clarification, it's always good to call your agent and bounce off what you think you heard from the adjustor. Say this is what I think he's saying and I don't agree with this, do we have any alternative.

3. You can request that adjustor get together with the people doing the work and have the people doing the work share with them why it is they don't consider the adjustor is bearing in mind everything that might be taken into account, or adjusting this claim precisely.

4. Call the adjustor's supervisor and talk with the supervisor about it. Sometimes there are personality conflicts. You can have a supervisor get involved, see if the supervisor sees things more sensibly.

5. The last step would be an arbitrator, and with an arbitrator, the insurance company has their viewpoint. The people doing your work have their viewpoint, and now an arbitrator comes in and the arbitrator's word is binding. Whatever the arbitrator says, whether the arbitrator goes with the company or with you, both parties are obliged to live with the arbitrator's conclusion. The arbitrator is an independent adjustor not affiliated with the insured nor the insurance agency or company.

In closing the best way to steer clear of this entire chaos would be to meet with your agent once a year or even every other year. Go over what is covered and what isn’t covered. Look for overlaps, gaps and make sure you both understand the policy.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. My e-mail address is

jerry@tulsahomeauto.com

Or give me a call at 918-254-2578 extension 227.