In researching health insurance, I ran across an "insurance evaluator" who helped homeowners after recent California fires. The court notes prove helpful for both homeowners and service providers.
A lot of the monies that will be available for recovery and remodeling after a disaster result from getting the paperwork right! And it starts BEFORE the fire. And it continues AFTER the fire...and BEFORE work begins.
This excerpt of the court documents points to some best practices for both homeowners as they gather information for risk management -- and service providers who need to provide helpful estimates and evaluations:
In late October 2004 Allstate provided Kacha's attorney, Peter Lawrence, and Dawson with a draft form appraisal award. The form included several pages of damaged items Kacha claimed were covered under the policy, such as kitchen cabinets and flooring, garage cabinets and flooring, and carpet and interior walls. For each item, the form provided: "Damage, if any, to the [e.g., kitchen cabinets] attributable to the fire of October 26, 2003." The form included a line for the entry of a dollar amount for each item.Insurance services cover a range of helpful information management opportunities to "meet in the middle" of fair settlements that help homeowners manage their risk. Professional Insurance Evaluations is just one of the companies that provides a wide range of such services to sort through the complications of insurance and recovery:
The appraisal was held at Kacha's home, on November 15 and 16, 2004, and January 4, 2005. Allstate presented an appraisal brief that stated, "[T]his is not your standard appraisal where value of the loss is the only issue; there are still many issues regarding the existence and scope of damage that have not been resolved between the parties. This is due in large part to the insureds' prematurely demanding appraisal without coming to an agreement upon a scope of loss or even providing Allstate with the specifics of their claim." The brief asserted that damage to numerous items was not caused by smoke or heat from the Cedar Fire.
On November 15, Allstate provided the panel members with its draft appraisal award form. The parties had not yet agreed to the form, however, and Judge Joseph instructed them to do so before the conclusion of the hearing.
On November 16, the parties stipulated in writing that the appraisal panel "should utilize replacement cost value less depreciation to determine the actual cash value of the loss." The parties also stipulated to the amount of loss for certain items, including interior light fixtures and cleaning of windows, HVAC ducts and "[o]zone." The same date, Kacha increased the value of his loss to $858,393.87, and that prompted Judge Joseph to schedule the third hearing day.
Claims Recovery
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Fire Insurance Claims
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Business Interruption Claims
Business interruption insurance protects policy holders from losses due to the interruption of business operations. Time element losses of business income, extra expenses, loss of rents or additional living expense are measured and valued.
Expert Witness
An insurance expert witness provides support in a legal case by having knowledge about insurance, claims handling, and insurance policy coverage analysis that can be relied upon in litigation of disputed claims.
Catastrophe Expert
Professional Insurance Evaluations is an expert in insurance policy claims resulting from catastrophe property damage. General adjuster, Kevin Dawson worked on insurance claims resulting from Hurricane Katrina, the San Diego Cedar Fire, and California wild fires and many other catastrophes during his long career serving policy holders and insurance companies.
Water, Smoke, Storm, Vandalism, Vehicle, Explosion Damage Claims
Professional Insurance Evaluations can help recover insurance policy holder claims resulting from water, smoke, storm, vandalism, vehicle, and explosion damage to property and time element losses.
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