121002 final the hidden secrets to your property insurance
DESCRIPTION
A Public Adjuster who is licensed and bonded in 2 states shares the secrets to getting a property insurance company to treat you fairly and pay you enough to cover ALL of your covered damage.TRANSCRIPT
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 1
“The Hidden
Secrets to Your
Property
Insurance…
Your Insurance
Company Is Scared to
Death You Will Learn!”
Scott J Melrose
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 2
“The Hidden Secrets to Your Property
Insurance…
Your Insurance Company Is Scared to Death You
Will Learn”
Copyright © 2012 by Scott J Melrose
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means
without written permission from the author.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 3
Forward
Scott hit the nail right on the head. As a Real Estate investor, I have to deal with insurance companies all the time. In my experience, they will do everything they can to pay you as little as they can get away with. Scott understands the plight of the homeowner and the business owner when they have damage to their property. He gets you the maximum settlement possible. His book will open the eyes of a lot of people. It’s a shame so many homeowners don’t realize they could and should get more than the insurance company paid them. Bottom line is you should never file an insurance claim without using someone like Scott. Read his book and you will never file a claim without Scott or a Public Adjuster again. Great book thank you.
Paul J Da Costa
Realtor and Real Estate Investor.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 4
Dedication
Thanks to so many people:
- My colleagues and trainers who have taught
me so much;
- The insurance companies who create the
opportunities to make a living by helping
my clients get what they deserve in the first
place;
- My beautiful and wonderful wife Sue for her
support and understanding as I established
myself in this business and wrote this book;
- Most of all, my past, present and future
clients who put their trust in me to get the
insurance companies to treat them fairly and
pay them enough to cover their damages.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 6
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?
CHAPTER 2 12
“JUST WHAT IS A PUBLIC ADJUSTER ANYWAY?”
CHAPTER 3 16
“WHAT DOES MY POLICY COVER?”
CHAPTER 4 30
“HOW MUCH SHOULD THE Y PAY ME?”
CHAPTER 5 42
“WHAT ABOUT THE REASONS TO NOT CALL A PUBLIC ADJUSTER?”
CHAPTER 6 65
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE SPENDING ANOTHER DOLLAR ON PROPERTY INSURANCE
CHAPTER 7 79
“WHAT ABOUT MY COMMERCIAL PROPERTY?”
CHAPTER 8 85
“OK HOW DO I CHOOSE MY PUBLIC ADJUSTER?”
CHAPTER 9 90
EPLIOG
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 6
Chapter One
What Made the Difference?
In a nice neighborhood in your
town, two families bought homes on
the same street. The homes and the
families were very much alike.
They were smart, educated, and got
along well with all the other
neighbors.
Their homes were very much
alike as well. In fact, they were
the same model and built in the
same year. Both were tastefully
updated and kept in beautiful
condition.
Then last summer came “the
storm”. Like many other homes,
“the storm” pelted both homes with
large hail and tore off shingles,
siding and fence sections with the
high winds that came with “the
storm”. The damage to each home
was similar as well.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 7
But, there was one big
difference. One of the homeowners
got a check for thousands of
dollars. The other homeowner was
“denied” and received… nothing. In
fact, the second homeowner even
lost their “claim free discount”
just for trying to get the money
they felt they deserved.
Have you ever wondered, just
what makes this kind of difference
in the outcome? It isn’t always
the amount of damage or even that
one has a “good” insurance company
or a “good” agent. In fact, this
happens all the time.
It happens when neighbors have
the same policy with the same
company. It happens when they have
the same agent. It even happens
when the insurance company sends
out the same adjuster on the same
day.
The difference comes from what
people know and how they use that
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 8
knowledge – the hidden secrets to
their policies.
Getting paid fairly for your
damage doesn’t have to be random.
Some people know who to call and
ask to help them. Those fortunate
people get what the insurance
company should pay them. They use
it to get thousands or even tens of
thousands of dollars in
settlements, while neighbors get…
the treatment.
And that is why I am writing
this book about how thousands of
homeowners can benefit by hiring an
advocate to work with their
insurance company. For that is the
whole purpose of the service: To
give homeowners knowledge and
representation – representation
that will get them the ca$h their
insurance company should be paying
them.
You see my service as an
advocate for the homeowner is a
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 9
unique service. It’s about a fancy
word in the insurance industry,
indemnify. Indemnify is one of
those fancy words the insurance
companies use to confuse homeowners
– even those with Ivy League
educations.
The Barron’s Dictionary of
Insurance Terms defines indemnify
as, “Compensate for loss”. Well
that’s fine, but just what does it
mean in your case? Just how do you
figure out exactly how much you
should get for your damage?
Each day, I represent
homeowners on a broad range of
properties, types of damage, and
coverage issues. I assist the
homeowners, no matter which type of
damage or which insurance company.
Not just storms and fires, but
any kind of damage that is sudden
and accidental; whether leaky
pipes, damaged floors, fireplace
mishaps, broken furnaces,
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 10
vandalism, leaky roofs, and dozens
of other types of damage.
Right now, I‘m thinking of
some of the stories of past
clients. One lady got a denial
from her insurance company for hail
damage – even though many neighbors
got money. Then she replaced the
roof out of her own pocket. You
will be shocked when I tell you how
I was able to get her the money to
pay for the roof.
Every type of damage is in
those stories: storm damage, fire
damage, smoke damage, cracked
tiles, gouged hardwood, stained
carpet, stained hardwood, leaky
pipes, water damaged laminate
floors, water in cabinets, and
dozens of others.
So, what’s so special about me
that allows me to get my clients
thousands – or even tens of
thousands – of dollars that their
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 11
insurance companies would not pay
them?
Well, it comes down to a
specific license, training,
experience, and the commitment to
fight for my clients. What makes
it all possible is the license I
hold for a position that most
people have never heard of.
I’m a licensed and bonded
Public Adjuster.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 12
Chapter Two
“Just What Is a Public Adjuster
Anyway?”
Public Adjusting has a long
history in the United States. One
of the early Public Adjusters was
also one of our founding fathers…
Benjamin Franklin.
It’s not surprising at all
that Dr. Franklin was a skilled
negotiator for his clients.
Knowing his skill as a negotiator,
I’m sure he helped people get good
settlements.
States began setting up
Licensing structures for Public
Adjusters in the late 1800’s. So,
public adjusting has been around in
a formal structure for well over
100 years.
As I write this book, 44
states and the District of Columbia
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 13
have a licensing structure or
regulation set up and operating.
Virginia’s law goes into effect
January 1, 2013.
Once the Virginia law goes
into effect only Alaska, Arkansas,
South Dakota and Wisconsin will
have no licensing structure or
regulation set up.
Alabama is a special case.
While it does have a licensing
structure, only an attorney
licensed in Alabama is permitted to
hold the Public Adjuster’s license
in that state.
Many states follow a model law
that has been approved by the
National Association of Insurance
Commissioners – NAIC. That model
law describes a public adjuster as:
"any person who, for compensation or any other
thing of value, acts on behalf of an insured”
Each state has its own nuances
in the law it adopts. For example,
my home state of Illinois actually
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 14
requires anyone who negotiates with
the insurance company for someone
else to be a licensed Public
Adjuster.
Violating that law is a
misdemeanor in Illinois. On the
other hand, many states allow
contractors to negotiate with
insurance companies. They work to
get payment for repairs they are
making.
Part of the Florida law forced
property owners wait for 48 hours
after having damage to hire a
Public Adjuster. The Florida
Supreme Court struck down that part
of the law in 2012.
Some states have what are
called “fee caps”. A “fee cap”
limits the percentage of a
settlement the Public Adjuster may
receive.
The “fee cap” ends up keeping
property owners from getting the
help they need on smaller claims.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 15
You see the amount of work it
takes to help a homeowner with
claim is about the same until you
get into very large claims. The
work becomes much more extensive at
say $50,000 or so.
When the percentage of a
settlement the Public Adjuster can
receive is limited, it’s no longer
worth it to work on a small claim.
Many Public Adjusters won’t work on
claims under about $30,000 – even
in states without a “fee cap”.
The insurance companies love
fee caps because they end up not
having to pay on many claims that
could get the homeowners thousands
of dollars. The homeowners in most
cases don’t even realize they could
collect money on the damage at all.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 16
Chapter Three
“What Does My Policy Cover?”
The insurance industry created
the first standardized homeowners
insurance policy in 1943. It was
called a standard policy.
The standard policy was
limited compared to current
policies. It covered only fire and
lightning. Not surprisingly, banks
played a big role in creating the
standardized homeowner’s insurance
policy.
I will give both the banks and
the insurance companies their do.
The post-WWII housing explosion in
the United Sates would not have
been possible with the homeowner’s
policies. Even though the standard
policy was created, so the banks
cover their own butts.
Current policies come in three
different types: Basic, Broad or
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 17
Special. The special is also
called “all risk” or “all peril”.
The type that you have can make a
tremendous difference in how much
you get paid for damage.
The basic policy is rarely if
ever sold to home owners these
days. You can still find it for
rental property though.
The basic policy covers 9
named types of damage. The
industry uses the word “peril” for
a type of damage. Those 9 perils
are:
- Fire
- Lightning
- Explosion
- Windstorm and hail
- Riot or civil commotion
- Vehicles (not driven by
owner)
- Smoke
- Volcanic eruption
- Vandalism or malicious
mischief
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 18
Some of these types of damage
can come from unexpected causes
though. Smoke in particular is an
under claimed cause of damage.
You see, smoke can come from a
cooking mishap. It can come from a
fireplace mishap. Smoke can even
come from a damaged furnace.
We’ll go over the impact of
that smoke damage when we discuss
some actual clients.
The broad policy adds an
additional 7 named perils to bring
the total to 16. Those 7 perils
are:
- Falling objects
- Weight of ice and snow
- Accidental discharge of
water
- Tearing apart, cracking,
burning or bulging (of
HVAC)
- Frozen pipes (when building
is properly heated)
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 19
- Artificially generated
electrical current
- Collapse
Now we come to the type of
homeowner’s policy that the
vast majority of people have.
It’s the special or “all risk”
or “all peril” policy. The
industry name is “HO-3”.
In the all-risk policy, it
covers any damage that is
sudden and accidental as long
as the policy does not
specifically exclude it up
front. What’s excluded? Here
is a good start on common
exclusions in an all-risk
policy:
- Flood (you can get flood
coverage from the federal
government in a specific
policy though)
- Earthquake (called ground
movement)
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 20
- Damage from most types of
pests (especially insects
and members of the rodent
family)
- Wear and tear (including
most damage caused by pets)
- Negligence
- Mold (unless caused by a
covered peril)
- Ongoing damage that is not
addressed (mitigation is
important)
- War (when the Japanese bomb
your town, that’s not
covered)
While that looks like a lot,
those exclusions leave many types
of losses that are covered that
most people don’t realize. My
colleagues and I have gotten
homeowners paid thousands or even
tens of thousands of dollars for
the following types of damage:
- Cracked ceramic tile
- Gauged hardwood floor
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 21
- Water damaged hardwood
floor
- Damaged laminate floor
- Soaked carpet
- Stains or spills on carpet
- Toilet overflows
- Broken pipes
- Tub or shower overflows
- Water damaged sub-floor
- Water back-up from sewer or
sump pump(requires
endorsement)
- Building code updates
(check your policy)
- Damaged personal property
- Damaged clothing
- Damaged granite counter
tops
- Smoke damage from a cracked
heat exchanger
- Smoke damage from a faulty
water heater
- Smoke damage from a
fireplace in the garage
- Stolen computers
- Stolen furnace
- Stolen water heater
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 22
- Stolen cabinets
- Damage from break in
- Damage from tenants
- Damage from raccoons (one
of the few types of pest
damage that is often
covered; raccoon droppings
are treated as hazardous
waste)
- Cars driving into the house
(your homeowner’s policy
will pay much more than
going directly through the
driver’s auto policy)
- Stolen copper pipes
- Stolen wiring
- Garbage truck hitting
garage
- Eggs on siding
- Dent from baseball in
siding
- Melted siding from a hot
grill
- Stolen jewelry
- Stolen property while
traveling
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 23
- Loss of use of home or
business property
- Tear out and repair when
pipes burst or break
- Frozen pipes
- Damage caused by the
homeowners themselves.
And I could add many more types of
covered damage. But, you get the
idea by now.
Here’re a couple of things
most people are missing. First,
dozens (maybe hundreds) of types of
damage are covered. Still most
homeowners only even consider
filing for damage like a large fire
or major storm damage.
Second, payment for damage can
add up a lot quicker than people
realize. It happens because the
policy is designed to pay enough to
bring the property back to pre-loss
condition.
Here’s where that fancy word
we used back in Chapter 1 comes in.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 24
The fancy word is indemnify. For
the homeowner it means to pay
enough to put the property back in
pre-loss condition.
So, how does that work
exactly? Let’s look at a common
type of loss that homeowners almost
always overlook – cracked ceramic
tile.
An important characteristic of
ceramic tile is that it is made by
laminating a high definition photo
onto the visible surface of the
tile. The appearance of the tile
varies by lot.
Usually that same exact tile –
often the same manufacturer’s lot –
is no longer available. In that
case, the insurance company must
pay to replace all of the tile.
They pay to replace all of it, even
if in more than one room.
What if the tile runs under
cabinets? Those cabinets must be
removed and re-installed.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 25
What if the cabinets have
granite counter tops? The granite
counter tops need to be removed and
re-installed.
What if the tile runs under
appliances? The appliances must be
moved (by professionals) and re-
installed.
You see how it can all add up.
Here’s an example. One of my
clients in Hazel Crest, IL had a
hailstorm go through her
neighborhood.
Many of her neighbors were
able to get some kind of payment
from their insurance company. Her
insurance company denied her claim
for hail damage to the roof.
Since she replaced the roof
with money out of her own pocket,
it was too late for me to help her
directly with the hail damage.
However, while performing the
damage audit, I found a cracked
ceramic tile.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 26
I was able to get her a
settlement that was over $12,000.00
for that cracked tile because of
the factors I just listed. It was
a large floor that ran under
cabinets with expensive counter
tops. She even had commercial
grade appliances.
Let’s look at a couple of
things that happened to me before I
knew about Public Adjusters and
just how policies work.
I dropped the battery from my
cordless drill and gauged the
hardwood floor in my brand new
home. Not knowing any better, I
ran out to the big box home
improvement store and bought a can
of wood repair glop. Glop is a
technical term by the way. ;-)
Over a weekend, I filled the
gauged area with several coats of
glop. I carefully made it level.
Then I masked off the good part of
the floor while sanding the
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 27
hardened glop to be level and
smooth.
Once I had that looking OK, I
got some magic markers. I colored
in the hardened glop to match the
rest of the floor as closely as I
could. I made the best of it, but
the floor has never been quite the
same.
I didn’t understand back then
that the policy covers that damage.
Not only would the policy cover,
but also it would pay to repair and
refinish the entire floor – in
three large rooms.
Another time I left the plate
out from under a potted plant in
the family room. By the time my
wife caught it, water getting
through the dirt and the metal pot
created a huge rust stain in the
middle of the carpet.
Not knowing any better, we
just lived with the damage. The
policy covers that damage as well
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 28
though. The policy would pay to
replace all of the carpet, and the
pad. If the sub floor were
damaged, it would be covered as
well.
One of the people who trained
me as a Public Adjuster has a young
son. While he was giving his son a
bath, he got a phone call. While
on the phone call, his son decided
to see how quickly he could empty
the tub with his toy bucket onto
the floor.
Some of that water even got
into the vent. That water went all
the way down to the basement and
damaged the furnace. Yes, it’s a
covered loss. The owner got enough
money to make all of the repairs.
So, what made the difference
between the damage the homeowner
has to “live with” and damage that
the homeowner gets paid?
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 29
The difference is access to a
licensed and bonded Public
Adjuster.
You see, as a Public Adjuster,
my job is to get the homeowner the
highest settlement possible under
their policy. The policy is a
contract. When all conditions of
the policy are met, that contract
directs the insurance company to
indemnify – pay – the homeowner.
You may be wondering about
fairness to the insurance
companies. You may be asking, “If
everyone gets that kind of
settlement, what happens to
insurance rates?”
We’ll go over how insurance
companies pay in the next chapter.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 30
Chapter Four
“How Much Should They Pay
Me?”
We ended Chapter 4 by looking
at how a small bit of damage to one
ceramic tile can trigger a 5-figure
payment from the homeowner’s
policy. Does that type of claim
treat the insurance company badly?
Well, first of only a small
fraction of people who have similar
damage ever report or get paid for
it. Those who report most of the
types of damage I listed on their
own will be lucky to get any
payment at all. The lucky few who
do will get a pittance.
Why does that happen? We’ll
talk about it some more later, but
it comes down to the conditions
required for payment and presenting
the damage properly to the
insurance company.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 31
Right now, let’s go over
the general state of payments for
damage by insurance companies.
Since the mid 1990’s the
insurance industry has been hiring
high-powered management consultants
to teach them how to be able to pay
out less on damage claims.
The insurance companies have
turned this into a science. You
can read about it in a book titled,
Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance
Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What
You Can Do about It by Jay Feinman.
The ISBN is 9781591843153.
Or you can view the 2007
PBS/Bloomberg Markets program,
“Insurance 9-1-1, The Insurance
Hoax” hosted by David Brancaccio –
a Walter Cronkite Award Winner.
You can purchase it from PBS. Or
you can find it on youtube.com – in
three parts.
Both the book and the video
will show you just how serious the
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 32
insurance companies are about
paying as little as they can. But,
you already knew that or you
wouldn’t still be reading.
Brancaccio and two reporters
from Bloomberg Markets Magazine
review how the insurance companies
have made a systematic effort to
reduce their payments on claims.
That effort happened at the same
time their profits skyrocketed.
Also, Smart Money Magazine
interviewed a former insurance
company adjuster. That adjuster
told Smart Money Magazine that 80%
of the former employer’s clients
ended up with 25 to 40 cents on the
dollar. The comparison was against
homeowners who got an independent
estimate – from say a Public
Adjuster.
Then there is the Florida
study. After one of the bad
hurricane seasons in the early
2000’s, two of the largest
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 33
insurance companies decided not to
write new policies in parts of
Florida.
Florida told them to either
write new policies in the whole
state or write none. The two
companies chose… none. The two
companies have over half of the
market. When they pulled out, it
created a mess in Florida.
Florida wanted to fill the gap
and create some choice for their
residents. Florida created a state
run insurance company. It’s called
Citizens Property Insurance
Corporation.
This company was new and not
used to the higher settlements when
a Public Adjuster helps the
homeowner. Citizens Property
Insurance Corp. was alarmed by the
difference between payouts when a
Public Adjuster worked on the
claim. So, they demanded an
investigation.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 34
The Florida Legislature’s
Office of Program and Policy
Analysis & Government
Accountability studied over 72,000
claims. OPPAGA found that the
Public Adjusters were not doing
anything wrong. The Public
Adjusters were just being more
thorough to document everything the
policyholder should get.
So just how much more were
homeowners getting when they used a
Public Adjuster? The OPPAGA study
of the 2005 hurricane season found
that using a Public Adjuster
increased the settlement from an
average of $1391 to $9379 when no
named storm was present. That’s a
574% increase.
If a named storm was involved,
the difference was even greater.
Then the average settlement went
from $2029 without a Public
Adjuster to $17,187 with a Public
Adjuster. The difference for the
claims with a named storm was 747%.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 35
See figure 1 on page 34.
Now the numbers we just looked
at are for storm damage. What
about other types of damage? Let’s
talk about fire then. We sometimes
work together with a large
restoration company. I’m leaving
out their name because they do get
business directly from insurance
companies.
They like to work with Public
Adjusters when they can. One of
their people said that when they
work with a good Public Adjuster,
the Public Adjuster gets a
settlement over two times what they
would bill out when working with
the insurance company directly.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Working with a Public Adjuster will
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 36
Figure 1: How Much More $$$$$
Can You Get Using a Public Adjuster?
Florida Data:
Source: FL Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability
http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/reports/pdf/1006rpt.pdf
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
20000
CAT Event ($) Non-CAT Event ($)
Without PA
With PA
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 37
get the homeowner a settlement
twice as high as dealing directly
with the insurance company and
their restoration company. That
observation comes from a key person
working for a major restoration
company.
By the way, all the numbers
and stories I just shared
understate the impact of a Public
Adjuster on settlements. You see,
all those numbers and most of the
stories don’t reflect people who
were wrongly denied. Many of my
own clients would get literally
nothing without help.
The insurance companies
regularly deny people for claims
that could and should be paid. I
help get those people paid by
presenting the claim properly.
It could be a homeowner with a
broken pipe in the basement, who
tells the insurance company he has
a “flood”. If you remember, flood
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 38
is one of the exclusions to all of
these policies.
I like to refer to flood as
the “f-word” because it trips up so
many homeowners. Words such as
“accidental discharge” or “water
back-up” or “overflow from a
blockage” work so much better.
Also, the numbers don’t
reflect a situation one of my
colleagues worked on. A homeowner
had a whole house fire. She had
contacted the insurance company
before working with my colleague.
Her insurance company’s
adjuster “forgot” to remind her
that she was covered for the loss
of use of her home. Instead of
staying in a hotel that was direct
billed to the insurance company,
she and her children were sleeping
in her car in the driveway.
The homeowner did stay in a
hotel – after my colleague took
care of the situation.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 39
Another trick insurance
companies like to use after a large
loss is the “Trojan Dumpster”. You
remember the story of the Trojan
horse? That’s the story of the
Greeks failing to take the city of
Troy.
The Greeks made a show of
breaking up their camp and leaving.
Just before boarding ships, they
left a huge horse outside the gates
of Troy.
The Trojans thought they had
successfully weathered the storm
and brought the horse inside the
city gates as they celebrated. The
Trojans did not count on the small
group of Greek soldiers hiding
inside the horse.
Once the Trojans were
exhausted from celebrating, the
Greeks hidden in the horse emerged
and opened the gates to Troy. This
allowed the Greek army, which had
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 40
stayed nearby to finally conquer
Troy.
Often after a large fire or
major storm, the insurance company
will quickly send out a dumpster.
The homeowner finds the dumpster
handy to get rid of all the things
that have been ruined.
The insurance company adjuster
will show up after the dumpster has
been removed. When the homeowners
try to get paid for those damaged
items, they are at the mercy of the
insurance company adjuster.
You see, one of the seven
conditions we have been discussion
is that the insurance company has
the right to inspect any damage
they are paying for.
Pictures are not enough. They
have the right to inspect the
damaged items. If you can no
longer produce those items for
inspection, they don’t have to pay
for them.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 41
That’s true even if the
insurance company sent the dumpster
you used to dispose of the items.
So beware before throwing out
damaged items from a fire or other
large loss.
I spoke with a lady who had
tornado damage. She and her
husband had already tossed their
large swing set/play center in the
dumpster the insurance company
happily provided.
I warned her about the need to
have the actual swing set available
for examination by the insurance
company adjuster. She was less
than happy with my news. I do hope
that she and her husband pulled it
out of the dumpster so they could
be paid properly for it.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 42
Chapter Five
“What about the Reasons to Not
Call a Public Adjuster?”
Now for those of you who are
not yet convinced, there can only
be seven reasons. Let’s go over
them:
First, you may be thinking,
“My damage looks small. I can just
live with it or make a minor repair
myself. I’ll wait until something
really big happens to call the
insurance company.” Well, only a
trained professional can truly tell
whether damage that looks small can
give you a big payment or not.
“Is MY Damage Big Enough?”
Often damage that looks and is
“small” can cause the insurance
company to pay a lot. With the
right person, telling them in the
right way sometimes the insurance
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 43
company will pay to replace an
entire surface because the surface
is no longer repairable.
That surface can be a floor
(tile, hardwood or laminate), a
roof or siding. There are dozens
of ways for this to happen, so get
a professional – a Public Adjuster
- to see if your damage is a lot
bigger than it looks.
Also, often we need to address
damage under the surface that you
may not see by looking at the
outside. A good Public Adjuster
will make sure the insurance
company addresses ALL of the
damage.
Even if the damage looks small
and you can “fix” it with a small
inexpensive repair, you may be
jeopardizing the very thing you are
trying to preserve. You see a
small patch job on one part of the
house can allow the insurance
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 44
company to pay you a lot less once
you do have “big” damage.
Almost daily I see people who
have cost themselves thousands of
dollars because they made a “small”
repair themselves. It’s so sad
when they could have gotten a much
better outcome by making one simple
phone call.
Another part of this objection
is when people are afraid that the
insurance company will jack up
their rates for filing a claim.
Insurance is regulated on a
state-by-state basis. So, there
are some differences from state to
state.
For the states that I
currently am licensed (IL & IN)
insurance is regulated by the
Department of Insurance in that
state. Those same departments
issue my license in each state.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 45
It is against the regulations
of the Department of Insurance for
an insurance company to:
- Drop a homeowner
- Choose not to renew a
homeowner
- Raise the homeowner’s
premiums.
The one thing that they can mess
with for filing a claim is a
“claim-free” discount.
The “claim-free” discount is a
small bribe the insurance company
offers in return for not filing a
claim. It typically is about $150
or so.
When you file a claim, the
insurance company will withhold
that discount for 3 years. The net
effect is like adding about $500 or
so to your deductible.
Therefore, it just means your
deductible hurdle is a little bit
higher. I take it into account
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 46
prior to any recommendation on
filing a claim.
“Hey Melrose, I’m Pretty Smart Myself”
A second reason you might not
be convinced yet, is that you think
you can do this yourself and save
the fee. Yes, Public Adjusters do
charge a fee for their services.
Licensed and bonded Public
Adjusters have to maintain a
license. That includes continuing
education. Being paid for the
service is Public Adjusters feed
their families.
However, remember the data on
how much more people end up with
when they use a Public Adjuster?
The state of Florida data says that
homeowners who use Public Adjusters
get 574% to 747% higher settlements
for their claims.
Also, remember the Smart
Money Magazine interview with a
former insurance company adjuster.
She said her insurance company’s
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 47
clients routinely ended up with
much less. They got only 25 to 40
cents on the dollar - compared to
those who got an independent
appraisal.
In the 2007 Article by David
Dietz and Darrell Preston of
Bloomberg Markets Magazine, “Home
Insurance Secret Tactics Cheat Fire
Victims, Hike Profits”, the two
authors document funny business by
multiple insurance companies.
Dietz and Preston quoted an
email from a manager at a major
insurance company to “…resist the
temptation of paying more just to
move this type of file.” They also
quoted Jo Ann Katzman, a former
claims adjuster at a major
insurance company. Ms Katzman told
about pep talks to keep claim
payments down and prizes awarded to
adjusters who deny fire claims by
blaming the fire on arson.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 48
Yes, you can go up against the
insurance company on your own if
you want to. But, consider this:
If you were deciding this in court,
would you let the insurance company
hire an attorney to represent both
of you? I didn’t think so. Why do
that same thing now when there
isn’t even a neutral judge present
to protect your rights?
Those who are truly smart know
when to bring in a specialist.
They hire someone who works in the
field every day. They know it’s
not worth the time to keep up with
something they use once every
decade or so.
They also know spending the
time and hassle to grind out a
payment from the insurance company
will cost them in their own
productivity. Or it could cost
them in time they would rather
spend with friends and family.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 49
How often do you want to say
to a loved one, “I’m sorry? I’ll
miss your event because I have to
stay home for the contractor to
come out for an estimate. Maybe
I’ll make it next time.”
“What Am I Paying the Agent For?”
Some people just call their
agent when they have damage. It
“seems” logical. After all, “He’s
the guy I’m paying for this policy.
He should know.” Sadly, that’s
rarely the case.
Agents get lots of training –
on how to SELL insurance. The
companies conveniently skip the
dozens of types of damage that
people do get paid for. Agents
don’t even learn how to use the
software that generates claim
estimates.
In fact, the agents who want
to get paid top dollar on their own
personal claims know who to call.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 50
It’s NOT their own company
adjusters.
One of my colleagues was
called out to a house for a water
stain on the ceiling. The stain
was small. There was no opening in
the roof. The walls and floor were
undamaged.
My colleague had to
reluctantly tell the client that
the damage was not large enough to
submit to the insurance company.
When he was walking down the
stairs to leave, he noticed a huge
blue stain in the carpet. He
missed that stain because he had
been looking at the ceiling. The
carpet ran throughout the first
floor and up the stairs.
He asked the homeowner,
“What’s the deal with the blue
stain?” The homeowner told an
interesting story about the stain.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 51
When the homeowner’s son does
laundry, he piles up the laundry
basket until its overflowing.
Next, the son puts the detergent
bottle on top of the pile of
clothes. Then he drags the basket
down the stairs, letting it bounce
on each step.
One time the bottle of
detergent fell and cracked. It
tumbled to the bottom of the stairs
and dumped out all the detergent
while the son stood there
dumbfounded. As much as he tried,
the homeowner could not get out the
huge blue stain.
My colleague responded that
the stain was sudden and accidental
damage. Therefore, it would be
covered by the homeowner’s policy.
After my colleague wrote up
the claim, he was about to leave –
for a second time. The homeowner
said, “By the way I’m a (well known
insurance company) agent.”
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 52
My colleague replied, “That’s
OK, I don’t discriminate!” And the
homeowner said, “No, no, you’re not
getting it. I had no idea that
damage was covered.
If the insurance companies
don’t even tell their own agents
about what is covered? How are the
homeowners supposed to know?
If the insurance companies did
share all of these secrets with
their agents, the agents would tell
the homeowners. Telling the agents
would cost them a lot more money.
That’s one big reason why you
need a Public Adjuster to level the
playing field.
The Two-Step; Does It Work?
You might be thinking, “I’ll
get my offer from the insurance
company’s guy and then call Melrose
to see if he can improve the
offer.” Does that actually work?
It depends. Is your objective to
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 53
pay the lowest amount possible for
any service you use?
Or, is your objective to end
up with the most cash possible in
your own pocket?
How Do You Get the Most Ca$h for Your
Damage?
When it comes to dealing with
the insurance company and their
expert adjusters, those are two
different matters. You see a
homeowner can torpedo their claim
with ONE WRONG WORD.
There is one word in
particular that you NEVER want to
say to the insurance company. Know
what it is? It’s that “f-word” we
talked about earlier – flood.
In the hundred of policies
I’ve reviewed for homeowners, I
have met… one… who had a flood
policy from the federal government
program.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 54
Even he was using it in a way
that would not get him paid though.
We’ll talk about that more when we
discuss what endorsements should be
included in your policy.
Also, your policy has seven
conditions that you need to meet
before they will pay. If you have
skipped a step, it could be big
trouble for you.
When the insurance company
adjuster shows up, the adjuster can
reduce or even deny the claim for
that alone. Some of those I can’t
help once the insurance company
adjuster has his own set of
pictures or his notes on what he
saw before the homeowner fulfilled
their obligations under the policy.
Be careful when you talk to
anyone at the insurance company
about your claim. You see,
anything you say can and will be
used against you. What you say can
and often does allow the insurance
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 55
company to reduce or even deny your
claim.
Even if you say everything
correctly, you need to give the
insurance company an estimate. To
get paid fully, you need to use the
same format the insurance companies
use. It’s called Xactimate.
If you meet the insurance
company adjuster by yourself, the
adjuster usually will make that
lowball offer of 25 to 40 cents on
the dollar. He’ll then inform the
insurance company of the amount.
And, the insurance company
expects to get away with the
lowball offer. Once you make that
misstep, getting full payment
becomes a fight.
“But Scott, They Already Gave Me a
Check!”
Another reason you may not
have already called me for an
appointment is that they already
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 56
gave you a check. Maybe you cashed
it too. Well, it’s not too late to
help you. Even if they denied your
claim, it’s not too late to call in
a Public Adjuster.
Often a Public Adjuster can
still help. You’ll need to talk
about the details to see. In most
states by law, a Public Adjuster
can “re-open” your claim up to 365
days after the date of your loss.
I won’t sugar coat this. It’s
a lot tougher to get you ca$h in
this case. It can and does happen
though. So, what are you waiting
for? Talk with a Public Adjuster!
Even if they gave you what you
think is a “good” settlement, you
can have damage they did not
address that is worth THOUSANDS to
you!
Remember the restoration
company we looked at earlier? The
one who also does insurance work.
Even though they get much of their
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 57
business directly from the
insurance company, they LOVE to
work with a Public Adjuster when
they can.
One of their top guys shared
the reason with me. He said that
when they work with a Public
Adjuster, we get the homeowners
twice what the insurance company
would pay out. This contractor is
NOT a cut-rate contractor either.
“A Nice Man Came to the Door and It’s So
Convenient!”
When a big storm hits,
construction companies send out
salesmen to go door to door to sign
up business. Those companies can
seem like such a good option. They
will promise to get your work taken
care of and guarantee that you
don’t have to come out of pocket.
I’ll admit it’s a tempting
offer… on the surface. It’s
convenient and takes a lot of the
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 58
hassle out of getting your damage
addressed.
Did you know though that your
insurance company is not required
by law to listen to them or respect
their estimate? In fact, very few
of them use the state of the art
estimating software – Xactimate,
the gold standard of the estimating
industry – that Public Adjusters
use.
“My Contractor Is Not Acting Legally?!?!?”
In at least one state
(Illinois), representing a
homeowner on insurance settlements
without the proper license – Public
Adjuster – is not even legal. Yes,
that includes contractors. It
especially is meant for “storm
chasers”.
Don’t take my word for it by
the way. Ask the contractor (in
IL) if he is complying with 215
ILCS 5/1510 and 215 ILCS 5/1605.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 59
Not complying is a Class A
misdemeanor under 215 ILCS 5/1610.
So why would the insurance
company even talk with them? It’s
simple really. How much leverage
can a contractor who is not acting
legally have over the insurance
company?
If you answered, “Not much.”
You’re right. The insurance
company is typically willing to
talk with contractors. Why? It’s
because they KNOW they can get away
with paying less money than when
you have the proper and legal
advocate. Guess who? A licensed
and bonded Public Adjuster can do a
much better job of representing
YOUR interests.
How Do You KNOW How Well Your
Contractor Is Performing?
So then, how can the
contractor still work and get
enough money so they don’t go
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 60
broke? Well, if they addressed
everything that a thorough
Xactimate estimate would call for,
they wouldn’t. They would lose
money.
So how do they make up for not
getting enough money from the
insurance company to cover the
costs for a true repair? The only
way they can make that up is skip
parts of the repair that are in a
good Xactimate estimate.
So am I saying you’re getting
a “bad” repair? It depends. Some
contractors are skilled enough to
skip things that may not matter to
getting the repair “functional”.
Are they doing everything to bring
the property back to pre-loss
condition though? They can’t.
The only way to get ALL of the
damage properly addressed by the
policy is to get an estimate in
Xactimate by someone trained and
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 61
incentivized to get you the most
money possible under your policy.
That’s a licensed and bonded
Public Adjuster.
“Will I Have Enough Money to Make the
Repairs?”
Again, it depends. One more
place where it helps to have a
Public Adjuster instead of just a
contractor is when you have a
complex job with damage to the
interior and the exterior. You
see, when the damage is that
complex, a Public Adjuster can get
the insurance company to tack on
the funds to pay for a general
contractor (overhead, profit,
taxes, permits and insurance)
whether you hire one or not.
Adding on the general
contractor’s fee can add up to 25-
30% to what you would get. Again,
you are not required to hire one if
you don’t want to.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 62
Now anyone can go out and
spend the kind of money for a
repair that the folks who have more
money than brains spend. If you
hire one of those companies that
are all over the TV channels, you
probably will spend more money than
you need to.
Just Who Should You Hire?
Contractors are scrambling
right now. It’s a very good bet
that a contractor who has been
working in your town for many years
with a good reputation is available
at a reasonable price these days.
A Public Adjuster’s job is to
get you the money for your repairs.
We stay neutral among reliable
local contractors. You are going
to have to do some shopping. Check
references and check with your
local government and supply houses.
You Just Want Your House Fixed – and
Fixed Right!
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 63
The seventh and final reason
you may be thinking of not calling
is that you may be concerned about
how much hassle and time this will
take. Well, the path to the least
hassle – other than putting your
head in the sand and letting the
damage just sit there for eternity
– is to call a licensed and bonded
Public Adjuster.
You see, a Public Adjuster can
keep the insurance company from
making you jump through lots of
unnecessary hoops. You won’t have
to give the insurance company 3
estimates from contractors who are
like herding cats. The contractors
know the insurance companies are
going to force you to accept the
lowest bid.
They know up front, that they
are bidding against each other to
cut corners the most – and get paid
the least…
or
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 64
putting in a few hours of work
for no pay whatsoever.
When you call a Public
Adjuster, you won’t be stuck with
getting only the money from the
lowest bid. That’s the guy willing
to cut the most corners by the way.
You won’t have to play phone tag
with the insurance company either.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 65
Chapter Six
What You Need to Know Before
Spending Another Dollar on
Property Insurance
This chapter is based on a
process I perform in homes hundreds
of times each year. It’s called a
policy analysis.
In the home, I translate a
homeowner’s policy into English so
the homeowner can understand their
coverage. Out of the several
hundred policies, I have examined
only one had all the bases covered.
The first thing I look at is
the type of policy. I strongly
believe that a homeowner’s best
value for the money is in the “all-
risk” or HO-3 policy. You pay a
little bit more for it than a Broad
or HO-2 policy. But the all-risk
policy gives you so much more in
coverage that it is one of the true
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 66
bargains in financial services
available.
If you own a house that you
are no longer living in, see the
chapter on commercial policies.
Once you no longer live in the
house, it becomes a commercial
property and requires a commercial
policy
The change to commercial
policy applies even if you have
family members living there. I
have met owners who thought their
agent was doing them a favor and
saving them a few bucks by keeping
the policy a homeowner’s policy.
In fact, those agents are
putting the coverage in jeopardy.
I have worked with an owner who
received nothing from a whole house
fire because his family lived in it
while he lived elsewhere.
Sadly, he contacted me too
late in the process to help him at
all. The insurance company already
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 67
had many recorded statements and
written responses that doomed his
chances to collect for the damage.
Another thing to check is
whether the homeowner has a “forced
place” policy. The lender imposes
these policies when the homeowner
allows their policy to lapse.
Forced-place policies are
limited in their coverage. I have
seen some that specifically exclude
weather. That means lightning is
not covered. The forced-place
policy that excludes weather is
weaker than even the standard
policy – which has been extinct for
many years.
Also, the forced placement
policy costs a multiple of what a
normal homeowner’s policy costs.
And to top it off, the forced-place
policy is designed to pay off the
lender for a total loss – not
allowing the homeowner to rebuild.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 68
If you have one of these
forced-place policies, I urge you
to replace it with a normal
homeowner’s policy as soon as you
have 2 nickels to rub together.
One of the most important
numbers in the policy is your
amount for the dwelling coverage.
It’s shown as “Coverage A” under
many homeowner’s policies.
The Coverage A number has two
jobs. Each one comes into play if
you have a total loss. The type of
loss we concerned with here could
be a whole house fire or a tornado
carrying the house off to Kansas.
If, God forbid, you have that
total loss, the amount of Coverage
A needs to be large enough to:
- Pay off any mortgage(s)
- Pay enough to totally
rebuild from the ground up.
The lenders are pretty good at
keeping their butts covered, so I
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 69
don’t concern myself with checking
that out. I do mention it to the
homeowner though in case they want
to check it out.
Being able to rebuild though
is a bigger concern. The Coverage
A amount needs to be large enough
to pay to totally rebuild the house
from the ground up. That number is
typically higher than what the
house would sell for.
In my area at this time, $130
per square foot is a typical number
contractors tell me they need to
rebuild completely. Check on you
area and for your type of house.
In nicer neighborhoods in my
area, it might take $150, $200 or
even more per square foot. Check
for your metro area and your
neighborhood. It varies a lot.
Another thing to check on that
is a bit beyond what I look at in a
policy review is the issue of “full
replacement value” versus “extended
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 70
replacement value”. The reasons I
haven’t been directly involved with
are:
- This issue has not been an
issue in my markets to date
- You should look at the full
policy to make sure what
you have.
The episode of NOW hosted by
David Brancaccio we discussed
earlier spends much of the episode
on this specific issue. Prior to
the southern California fires of
2003, many insurance companies
quietly changed the language of
their policies.
After the change to the
“Extended Replacement Value”, many
homeowners lost about 60% of their
coverage in the case of a total
loss. Some owners reported
noticing the change and asking
their agent.
According to the homeowners,
the agents told them that it was
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 71
the same or even a better policy.
Unfortunately, that turned out not
to be the case.
The next part to look at in a
policy review is an endorsement for
“water back-up”. An endorsement is
additional coverage for a specific
peril or risk that the insurance
company can offer.
When you have water back-up
through the sewer or sump pump,
that water has traveled through the
ground outside. Therefore, the
water is contaminated by whatever
is around the outside of your home.
Those contaminants can be
fertilizer, animal droppings,
pesticides and herbicides – just to
name a few. The water from such a
back-up is deemed hazardous waste.
The industry terms are Category 3
or “black water”.
No, black water is not just a
song by the Doobie Brothers. It
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 72
can cost you big money without the
proper coverage.
When black water is in the
home, the settlement for a proper
clean up of an unfinished basement
is usually around $10,000. Most
insurance companies will sell this
coverage in increments of $5000 or
$10,000.
A finished basement will need
a minimum of around $20,000 to re-
build. That’s even if “partially”
finished.
When buying insurance for my
own home with a finished basement,
I would get as much coverage for
water back-up as they would sell
me. If they will only sell me
$10,000, I would change insurance
companies.
I know that sounds awfully
strong. However, I have talked to
many homeowners who have no
coverage or inadequate coverage for
this type of loss. Unfortunately,
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 73
they didn’t talk to me until after
they needed it.
Another coverage to look at is
one called “All Laws and
Ordinances”. The way this
endorsement works comes down to the
type of damage you have.
Let’s say you have damage that
affects one of the systems in your
house. For example, you could have
a small fire in the kitchen that
damages the electrical system.
When you get your permits to
have the work done, your local
government will make you bring that
system up to the current code. If
you have the right endorsement,
that repair is covered. If you
don’t have it, or don’t have
enough, then it’s out of your
pocket.
How much is enough? The best
way to figure that is to consider
how old your house is and what
systems have been updated recently.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 74
One owner I worked with has a house
that is over 80 years old.
Half the house still has the
original wiring. He has the kind
that runs bare wire along
insulators that are attached to the
rafters. It would take him tens of
thousands of dollars just on that
system alone.
What about plumbing systems?
What if some damage forced you to
update the entire plumbing system?
Damage could also affect items
like stair width, stair slope,
window size, or how high a window
is off the floor. Imagine what it
takes to cut a hole in a brick wall
to make a window bigger.
One town in my metro area a
special requirement any time a
house in the older part of town has
a major rehab. Those houses must
comply with ADA - the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 75
For a major renovation in that
area, you are looking at changes
like:
- making all doors wider
- possibly installing a
bathroom on the first floor
- installing grab bars
- adding lifts
- adding ramps
- many more changes
Do you want to be the one footing
that bill?
Another coverage that few
people think of is for their
jewelry. Even the all-risk policy
has limits of $1500 per piece of
jewelry to $2500 maximum for all
jewelry (and furs).
By the way, that coverage only
applies if you can provide a police
report for the loss – stole. If
you can’t provide a police report
for the loss – lost or damaged –
there is no coverage.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 76
At many of my appointments,
the jewelry the wife has on her
hand dwarfs that coverage. One
lady had a large diamond ring on
her finger.
She explained that she thought
they didn’t need additional
coverage on her ring because her
husband “only paid $450 for it – in
1962.” I’m no expert on jewelry,
but it looked like a $10,000+
replacement cost to me.
The right way to address the
jewelry issue is with a “schedule”
for the specific pieces of jewelry.
You tell your agent which pieces
you have and what it would cost to
replace them – at today’s prices.
Once you have the schedule,
your jewelry is covered wherever
you take it. If you travel to
Tibet and the jewelry turns up
missing, it’s covered.
Of course, each of these
additional coverages will cost some
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 77
money. The coverages I recommend
are for losses that could be quite
expensive if self-insured. Most
people don’t realize that they are
self-insured for those losses.
They find out the hard way after
it’s too late.
Whether you invest in the
coverages I suggested is a business
decision for you. Do you want to
take the risk for those types of
losses?
One final item for the policy
review is the “claim-free
discount”. We discussed it back in
Chapter 5 and should re-visit it
here.
Remember, the claim-free
discount is a small bribe the
insurance company may offer to
persuade you to not file a claim
that could get you thousands or
even tens of thousands of dollars.
In effect, it becomes an add-on to
your deductible.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 78
When you file a claim, the
insurance company will withhold
that discount for three years. To
figure it in to your decision,
multiply your yearly discount by
three and add it to your
deductible.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 79
Chapter Seven
What about My Commercial
Property?
Commercial properties bring in
some different wrinkles from the
homeowner’s policy.
If you are a landlord, you
need a commercial policy. If you
used to live in the property and
decided to rent it out after
moving, make sure you change the
policy.
That’s true even if:
- You have a friend or family
member staying there
- You are not collecting rent
- The agent is going along
with it
To repeat what we went over
earlier, without the proper policy,
you could well absorb any major
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 80
loss totally out of your own
pocket.
If your property is a
residential building with 1 to 4
units, your policy will be similar
to a homeowner’s policy. It will
be a “DP” - dwelling policy –
instead of an HO on the paperwork.
If you do own such a property
that you no longer live in, you are
better protected with a DP-1 (Basic
– 7 named perils) than an HO-3
(all-risk). The reason is that the
insurance company can choose to not
pay at all if you have the HO-3 and
you don’t reside in the property.
If you have commercial
property that is anything other
than residential with 1-4 units,
then you have a bit of a different
animal. The commercial policy is
made up of dozens of endorsements.
We went over a few key
endorsements for the homeowner’s
policy. Well, for commercial, the
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 81
endorsements are pretty much the
whole ball game. The endorsements
giveth and the endorsements taketh
away.
Getting to the bottom of
commercial policies requires
analysis by a commercial policy
specialist. I’ll show you a way to
get a complementary review of your
commercial policy at the end of
this chapter.
A contractor once presented
that over 50% of businesses that
have a large loss due to insurable
perils never re-open their doors.
I’ll confess that I lack hard
statistics on that issue. I
believe it’s in the ballpark
though.
Even if that 50% stat is
double the real number, it means
that when you set up your
commercial insurance, you are
betting your business on what you
get.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 82
One commercial loss a
colleague of mine worked on shows
this. A multi-story hotel had its
sprinkler system freeze and burst.
The burst pipes created an
indoor waterfall in the middle of
winter. Initially, the insurance
company denied the claim.
My colleague was able to get
the insurance company to take over
the responsibility for the
mortgage, so the owner did not get
wiped out while going through the
process.
In time, it was a huge
settlement. The endorsement to
have the insurance company take
responsibility for the mortgage was
huge in being able to get through
the process though.
So, if you agree or even
suspect that you have bet your
company on your commercial
property, what do you do? If
you’re a good businessperson, you
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 83
get an analysis of that policy by a
commercial property specialist so
you at least know what risks you
are really taking.
You may be interested in a
service that will
- Analyze your policy and
translate it into English
for you so you can make an
intelligent decision about
future coverage
- Document and file your
building structure and your
contents so they’re ready
to go to the insurance
company in case of a loss
- Have accountants who talk
with yours and set up files
that have your baseline
numbers to establish loss
of use/loss of business
- Represent you at pre-set
rates based on the size of
your loss that are
aggressive in the industry
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 84
- Bring in a resource that
will document all of your
emergency shut-offs (gas,
electricity, water, etc)
into a convenient form for
you (How much damage does
an extra 5 minutes to find
and get to the water shut
off valve cost you when the
sprinkler system has
frozen?)
- Develop and document a
calling plan to alert
emergency services when you
have damage
- Do all of the above for an
upfront fee of…
- ZERO dollars
To learn more call the toll-
free hot line 24/7 at (855) 387-
4448. Press “1” during the
greeting. Then say you want to
learn about commercial services and
leave your contact information.
I’ll get back to you shortly.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 85
Chapter Eight
OK, How Do I Choose My Public
Adjuster?
Choosing a Public Adjuster, is
a lot like choosing any other kind
of professional. Unfortunately,
you don’t have access to the same
kind of information you can get to
choose the members of your fantasy
league team.
No one compiles stats on
winning percentage or size of
settlements. No one really knows
who does the best in tough
situations.
As proud as I am about my own
success rate, I truly do not know
what anyone else’s really is.
Some people might just throw
up their hands and say, “If I can’t
tell whether I’m getting someone
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 86
who is any good, why bother at
all?” I’ll tell you why.
Let’s consider a legal
situation. Would you even consider
going into a legal negotiation and
allowing the other person to have
his attorney speak for both you and
him?
Would you make that choice
without even an impartial judge to
protect your rights?
As crazy as it sounds, that’s
the choice most people make when
dealing with the experienced
experts at their insurance company.
Therefore, I’m going to say
that any licensed and bonded Public
Adjuster will do a better job of
protecting your rights and getting
you as much money as possible for
your damage than not having one.
Just having your own Public
Adjuster will influence the way the
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 87
insurance company treats you during
the process.
The whole purpose of this book
is to help guide you into selecting
the Public Adjuster who will be the
best fit for you. So here are some
things to look for:
- Is the license current? In
most states you can check
this online. For example,
you can review my IL
license status at:
https://sbs-il.naic.org/Lion-
web/jsp/sbsreports/AgentLookup.jsp
- Does the Public Adjuster
belong to an industry trade
group like the American
Association of Public
Insurance Adjusters?
(AAPIA)
- Does the Public Adjuster
train other Adjusters?
- Does the Public Adjuster
use Xactimate software for
his estimates?
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 88
- Does the Public Adjuster
network with other
Adjusters to keep up to
date on current trends?
- Does the Public Adjuster
Display the license when
they show up at your home
or property?
- Does the Public Adjuster
dress professionally?
- Does the Public Adjuster
offer to translate you
policy into English?
- Does the Public Adjuster
have access to thousands of
settled claims to use as
precedents to get the most
from the insurance company?
Additional criteria for commercial
property owners:
- Does the Public Adjuster
offer you a complementary
policy analysis?
- Does the Public Adjuster
provide a resource for a
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 89
complimentary emergency
plan?
- Does the Public Adjuster
offer to file data for your
structure, contents and
baseline business activity?
- Does the Public Adjuster
operate in all of the
states you do?
For the complementary services I’ve
discussed, call the 24/7 toll-free
hot line at (855) 387-4448.
During the greeting press “1”.
At the tone please share the issue
to discuss and your contact info.
I’ll be in touch shortly.
I wish you good luck and big fat
checks from your settlements.
Scott J Melrose
October 2012
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 90
Chapter Nine
Epilog
Let’s return to those two
families and the two houses we met
in Chapter One. One set of owners,
we’ll call them Mr & Mrs. Smart got
a full settlement for their damage.
The Smart family got that
settlement because they hired a
Public Adjuster. Their Public
Adjuster was able to develop an
estimate in Xactimate ahead of the
meeting with the insurance company
adjuster. The Public Adjuster then
educated the insurance company
adjuster about the full extent of
the damage.
The Public Adjuster’s estimate
also showed how much the insurance
company adjuster should expect to
pay the Smart family for the
damage. In fact the insurance
company adjuster decided to save
himself some time and just cut and
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 91
paste the Public Adjuster’s file
into his own file for the claim.
The Smarts got their check
from the insurance company in a few
weeks and was able to negotiate
with several local contractors
directly. They found those
contractors from those who had done
a good job at a fair price for
their friends and neighbors. Some
of the contractors even do sub-
contracting for the big name
contractors who charge an arm and a
leg.
The Smarts were able to work
with a reliable local contractor
who was able to work comfortably
within their budget and complete
the work properly.
The Smarts lived happily ever
after.
Their neighbors, Mr & Mrs.
Doh, were already behind the eight-
ball when we met them. The Doh
family had decided to contact the
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 92
insurance company directly. The
agent was nice enough. But, when
the insurance company’s adjuster
gave the Dohs a lowball offer, the
agent was not able to help them get
more money.
The Dohs did share their
frustration with the Smarts. The
Smarts told the Dohs how happy they
were with their settlement. The
Smarts also told the Dohs that
their contractor was completing all
of the repairs within the budget
they set.
The Dohs finally decided to
call the Public Adjuster who had
helped the Smarts. The Public
Adjuster was able to re-open the
claim and increase the amount the
insurance company paid them.
Sadly though, the Dohs ended
up with less money than the Smarts.
They were faced with the choice of
coming out of pocket to make up the
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 93
difference or skimp on their
repairs.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 94
Resources:
Brancaccio, David “Insurance 9-1-1, The
Insurance Hoax” by PBS NOW. The program
is available for purchase from PBS.
Dietz, David and Preston, Darrell
Bloomberg Markets “Home Insurers' Secret
Tactics Cheat Fire Victims, Hike Profits”
August 2007 Web link:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid
=aIOpZROwhvNI
Feinman, Jay Delay, Deny, Defend: Why
Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and
What You Can Do about It Portfolio – a
member of the Penguin Group New York, NY
2010 ISBN 9781591843153.
For a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your damage, call the 24/7 toll free hot line at (855) 387-4448 and during the greeting press 1 to leave your contact info.
If you are in IL or IN ask about the 57-point damage audit
Page 95
About the Author
Scott Melrose is a licensed and bonded Public Adjuster
licensed in IL & IN.
Scott is a member of the American Association of Public
Insurance Adjusters (AAPIA) and the Mokena, IL Chamber of
Commerce.
Scott is a past ambassador for the Mokena, IL and Orland
Park, IL Chambers of Commerce.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Chemical
Engineering) from the Cleveland State University and an
MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at
Northwestern University.
Scott has been a Certified Quality Engineer by the American
Society of Quality and has held several licenses in the
financial, insurance and legal services industries in past lives.
Scott and his wife Susan live in Mokena, IL. They have four
grown children and three grandchildren.
Scott is a member of St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr Catholic
Church in Tinley Park, IL. He serves as a lector and a
catechist for the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. He has
also served as a catechist in the religious education ministry.
Scott has been a regular panelist on the internet radio talk
show “Got Damage, Get Your Claim’s Worth” and has
appeared on the WLS AM 890-morning show with Don Wade
and Roma.