Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:40 pm Post subject: Great tip to anyone with Homeowner Insurance
There is a great site for anyone who has made a claim for Property Insurance mysmartclaims.com. My roof was damaged in a storm I called the insurance company but the estimate they were rewarding was less than the estimate the contracter was asking to repair. A friend of mine told me about the site so I checked it out. Turns out they gurantee a higher estimate for only $300 bucks. So I gave it a try I sent all the paperwork to my insurance company and in a few weeks they settled with me for a $1000 than my original claim. It was great. I think anyone who is making a claim should at least consider it befor seeing an adjuster or just accepting the insurance comapay's offer.
Actually, they guarantee that the increase amount from the insurance company will be more then the $300 charged, or your money back.
Insurance companies will make sure that their payment is sufficient to have the work done that is required. We all know if you have 5 people give you estimates that you will get 5 different amounts. Why is that? because people charge different amounts. It's not saying that any estimate is incorrect... just like the insurance companies appraisal is not incorrect. Again, you simply need to ask your carrier to contact the contract you'd like to have do the work in order to work out the details. Or simply give the contract a copy of the insurance companies appraisal and see if he/she can do the work for that amount (they almost always can).
In the case of the OP, it sounds like the actual cost to make the repairs was $1000 more, the insurance company issued the payment for the difference and the OP spent $300 out of his/pocket to get there. I'd recommend calling the carrier and you will probably see that they will handle the situation and it won't cost anything.
Interesting website/service. I found this comment from a happy customer:
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I had the same problem as Citizen Jmaximus with my insurance company and was finally able to do something about it! My home got hit from Wilma here in Miami and the insurance company didn't want to pay for all the damages and initially I agreed. But about 6 months ago I found out about a website called mysmartclaims.com and I re-opened the claim myself. I plugged in the estimate that the insurance company submitted to me when we settled almost 2 years prior and mysmartclaims.com generated a new estimate of loss with proof of loss that I had to have notarized, I sent those documents with a cover letter, also generated by mysmartclaims.com, to my insurance company. They haggled with me but ultimately ended up agreeing to more than double what we orginally settled on. The cost for mysmartclaims.com was $299 and I ended up getting another $12K! Now I can fix the roof the way it was suppose to have been if the damn insurance company had been fair in the first place.
To some extent I agree with tcope. The OP has evaluated the gain on its face value only. He has actually received $1000-$300= $700 more towards the claim. I guess a discussion with the insurance carrier would have increased the claim value by that amount.
This kind of services are not rare. However, taking their services all the time may not worth it. But definitely getting a third party valuation may not harm when their is gross undervaluation of the claim by the insurance company. _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:41 pm Post subject: Does this really work?
I went to site mysmartclaims[at]com and googled some information on it. Looks very interesting. I have a claim on damage to my home and the insurance company adjustment is far short of what the total repairs will come to. I have contemplated using a public adjuster but the two I contacted wanted 35% and 40% respectively. I am afraid that after they take their cut, I will end up with even less than what the insurance company is presently offering. Does the mysmartclaims[at]com site really work? I guess if the guarantee is for real there is nothing to loose. Anyone's insight that have used this site is greatly appreciated.
I have to question any poster who's 1st post is supporting someones business....
Anyway... Andyman, have you shown the contractor a copy of your carrier's appraisal and asked if he can match it. Have you submitted a few bids to your carrier to show them that the cost is higher? These things are 100% free and I'm betting will solve the problem.
Odd that you write out the URL of the website several times in your 1st post. That must be tiring.
I have to question any poster who's 1st post is supporting someones business....
I agree and I'm just sure it's spam, but left it hoping/thinking there could be a pro and con discussion regarding public adjusters...
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Odd that you write out the URL of the website several times in your 1st post. That must be tiring
I agree...
Andy if you are for real...follow T's advise rather than end up with less than you started with. _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
No, I have not. First claim I have ever made with my insurance company. Great idea, I will get the contractors estimate and use that. Hopefully that will get me what I deserve. I just didn't want to use a public adjuster but need something that I can use when re-adressing the matter with the insurance company's adjuster. Contractor is great idea. Thanks.
Andyman, I'd recommend giving the contract your insurance companies appraisal and seeing if he can make the repairs for the amount listed. If not, you can ask him why and then you can discuss this with your insurance company. You can then also supply the contractors estimate to them.
Question... if you got 5 estimates for the damage would each be for a different amount? I'm betting, yes. Why? It's because contractors can charge whatever they want. It can be twice as much or can be for next to nothing. Many times it's the highest amount they think they can get. Or perhaps they have 5 other jobs lined up and ask for a great amount as they don't care if they loose the job to someone else. Perhaps the contractor was more accurate then the insurance company. But all of this should not leave you out in the cold. Simply talk it over with your adjuster to see what can be done.
It's not spnt days on the web looking for information about public adjusters and the like this is info I got from a really good fried that I thought would be insightful to others. I am in no way forcing anyone to use the service just to check it out. _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 5:16 pm Post subject: I used the site...
and it worked GREAT for me!!
A few weeks ago I received the final settlement on a claim I re-opened with Allstate. They intially settled with me at $6,800 and the mysmartclaims.com claim came in at $52,000. Today's settlement was $28,000!!!
They have an article up about it (sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-flzwebclaims0720sbjul20,0,3941651.story )
Everyone should check it out! _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
