The Consumer Services Division of the Department of Insurance provides consumer information and investigates complaints about companies and producers. They handle most insurance problems involving home, business, auto, health, HMO, life, credit, dental, etc. Those problems may include coverage issues, claim disputes, premium problems, sales misrepresentations, policy cancellations, and refunds, just to name a few. They will also investigate a complaint against a public adjuster.

The Consumer Services Division will not:

o Give you legal advice or act as your attorney;
o Recommend an insurance company, agent or policy;
o Resolve a dispute when the only evidence is your word against the word of the adjuster, producer or company;
o Make determinations related to the facts of a case. For example, they will not conclude who is at fault in an accident or determine the disputed value of damaged or stolen property;
o Resolve complaints against service providers, like body shops and restoration contractors unless the complaints involve the action of the insurance company. For example, they could resolve complaints against a restoration contractor that the insurance company required you to use;
o Make medical judgments.

The Department of Insurance recommends:

o Read your policy carefully. It is important to know what your policy covers prior to having a loss. If you have questions on the coverages you have purchased have your Agent provide you an explanation.

After a fire, tornado or other natural disaster, you’ll need to file a detailed list of all the contents in your home or business to receive your insurance settlement. If you had prepared a personal property inventory prior to your disaster, in most cases you’ll be able to file your claim quickly and receive an equitable settlement.

But if you don’t have an inventory, how will you remember everything you owned? The stress and emotion you’ll experience will make it even more difficult. Should you hire an inventory service or a a1 public adjusters to get the help you’ll need?

The difference between the two is in the service and cost.

Inventory Service

As an inventory service provider, I can share what happened with one of our customers when he endured a total loss from a fire. Thirty days after the fire, he still had done nothing to begin his claim process. The stress was overwhelming. After we completed his inventory, he told us that we included thousands of dollars worth of items he wouldn’t have bothered listing or would have completely forgotten about. His higher dollar claim more than covered the cost of the service. He also received assistance which gave him relief from some stress and allowed him more time to continue to run his business and give much-needed time to his family.

An inventory service’s role is to help the disaster victim create a fair and honest inventory. Being an independent 3rd party, they do not represent either the insurance company or the policy holder. They help the disaster victim pull all the information together, plus provide the time-consuming task of researching replacement values.