Top 10 Most Used Home Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics
If you have Home Insurance for your sweet home, you should know about the claim adjuster’s secret tactics that might sometimes be thrown at you. Everyone who has preferred Home Insurance goes under the impression that they are in safe hands and, god forbid – if anything happens to their lovely home – their Home Insurance Claim will come to their rescue.
But not everything is as easy and simple as it looks. Home insurance claims might go in the opposite direction, and even after paying regular premiums, you won’t be entitled to compensation and damage repair costs from the Insurance company.
To ensure you don’t end up being at fault, even when it’s not your fault – get to know everything about the Top 10 Most Used Home Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics here:
Top 10 Most Used Home Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics:
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Blame and Trick You Into Admitting Fault
This is the most common tactic that a home insurance claim adjuster uses to blame you, the insurer, him/herself. They will start their argument with an unexpected opening trick of blaming you. Their main purpose is to get you into wrongly admitting your fault, and then you won’t be entitled to receive any damage/ repair or other kinds of compensation.
They might make it look like it was your fault that you didn’t lock a specific window, which is why your house flooded. You are already in a vulnerable position as you just witnessed your home getting damaged through such a huge incident, and on top of that, they start doing such. Remember not to get into tricky questions or arguments with a home insurance claim adjuster.
2. Trying to Find Loopholes in Policies
We all know how complicated an insurance policy’s terms and conditions can be. Especially those tiny, barely readable last hefty pages of any insurance policy, which none of us goes on reading most of the time, and all we do is do the signature.
We all should try and change that while selecting an insurance policy. It is because such long and boring documents often have many loopholes that will surely come out when expected the least.
The claim adjuster will point out and try to get your claim thrown out of the window by saying, “this specific kind of property damage is not covered in your insurance policy,” and so on. Be aware of such false and deceptive tactics that your claim adjuster might use.
3. Often Delaying Pre-Planned Meetings
It is normal human nature to get frustrated and angry when one faces a delay in the same meeting more than once, let alone multiple times. You will face this if you have raised a claim in your home insurance for the damage and repairs.
Moreover, when homeowners face such difficult times, claim adjusters should be helpful and not be ill-disposed professionals. They might try to delay the meeting, then send you emails stating the meeting has been canceled, and so on. Do not get frustrated or get tired of anything. Stay determined to get the compensation that you truly deserve.
4. Demands Unnecessary Documents
You are already tired of even those required documents; they will demand unnecessary documents for your claim. If you have already filed a claim, you do not need to provide additional documents to the insurance company or the claim adjuster.
You can politely tell them you have already submitted all the necessary documents. Even after they disagree with you, get them all the documents from your side so you are not at fault. Then see what they do after they have received all the “unnecessary” documents. They are legally obliged to pay you your claim as per your policy. Just be calm and cooperate.
5. Giving False Deadlines
This is the main goal that claims adjusters have in their minds. They keep giving false deadlines and will do nothing when the deadline is reached. Doing such a non-sense thing is because they want to waste your time. And to get you angry and upset. So let’s understand this tactic in-depth and do not let them get in your head when they do such.
This is just a scare tactic to get you to accept a lower offer than you originally deserved. Be aware of it, and do not go on settling for a lower offer from the claim adjuster.
6. Tell You, “Do not hire an Attorney.”
Insurance companies prefer that you do not have a personal attorney. Because if you do, they won’t be able to negotiate with you at a lower price range. Also, an attorney is a well-experienced and well-informed individual who handles such claim adjustments.
Hence, be smart and hire an experienced and skilled attorney who handles such cases. When your attorney represents you in such a claim-adjusting meeting, you already have won half the battle. So, relax because your insurance attorney will handle everything on your behalf. And you never know; you might go on getting even more than your damage and coverage!
7. Give You a Low Ball Offer
Even after knowing all the damages to your home, the claim adjuster will annoy you by giving you a lowball offer. So low that it might not cover even half of what you have lost in the disaster.
But be sure not to give in to such settlement offers from the claim adjuster. Try and explain all your losses, and do not settle until you have received what you lost nearby. Property claim adjusters know all the properties and their damage and repair costs, but they will try and look like they don’t know. That is just a tactic to get you to settle for less.
8. Fake “care” For You
While making a settlement offer, the claim adjuster might get emotional and say words like they know how you “feel” or they are “helping” you. They will try to befriend you, but be aware they are not here to be friends with you but to trick you into getting a low offer and settle you for less than you deserve.
Never underestimate a claim adjuster; they are just doing their job – and nothing more. All you are is another settlement file on their list of daily job responsibilities. They are trained to get you to settle for lesser amounts.
9. Those Long and Time-Wasting Compensation Negotiations
Claim adjusters often stretch the compensation negotiations meetings as long as possible. Their only goal is to make it boring and tedious for you so that after such a long and tiring meeting, you would say yes to any offer they just have offered.
This is also one of the tactics to get you to admit that you are ready to settle for way less than what you came prepared thinking of. At first, they will not go anywhere nearby the actual figure of compensation, but if you are patient enough, they will reach there. It is slow but steady progress – so keep calm and sit throughout the meeting without showing any difference in your behavior.
10. False Promises
Do not believe your claim adjuster’s words unless it is written and signed off on official documents with the insurance company seal and a signature from the adjuster. They often go on making false promises to the customers, and later, when they get asked why they didn’t do what they said, they will reply – it was just something they said and it didn’t mean anything.
Hence, be aware of such serious tactics from your claim adjuster, and whatever they say, get them to write it and sign it on the official documents. Only after that, believe it.
Bottom Line
When making a property damage claim for your home insurance, be sure to have your attorney with you throughout the procedure — starting when you file a claim through all the adjuster meetings. Because if you are alone – the claim adjuster and the insurance company might get you to settle at any of the offers, even lower than you have thought. So, be aware of such tactics and do not fall for kind words from the claim adjuster’s mouth.
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