WHAT THE PUBLIC ADJUSTERS DO:

The Public Adjusters, with offices in Houston and Galveston, will commit an entire team of experts to your Hurricane Ike case including licensed and bonded insurance adjusters, building engineers, cost and valuation engineers, construction consultants, financial consultants, contents specialists and lawyers in order to provide the most comprehensive support for your claim. Our trained professionals take a proactive approach to your insurance claims process. We don’t wait for your insurance company to act. We take swift action on your behalf – then we show the insurance company what they owe you. The Public Adjusters are ready to serve your public adjusting needs in Florida, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Louisiana, California and Mississippi.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO US

At The Public Adjusters, with offices in Houston and Galveston, our clients are not just cases. We see more than damaged property or an insurance claim. We see people struggling with loss and the possibilities of their recovery. We see business restored to their former condition and families living happily in homes filled with belongings they cherish. Our team understands that preparing the best possible claim package is only part of the support you’ll need to get there. That’s why we promise to be available every step of the way to answer your questions, keep you informed and build up your will to bounce back. The Public Adjusters – The money to rebuild. The strength to recover.

We provide insurance claim help for hurricane insurance claims, windstorm insurance claims, condominium insurance claim, apartment insurance claims, commercial and homeowner Insurance claims. We also estimate damages for property insurance claims, arson claims, personal property insurance claims and flood claims

As insurance claim consultants, we provide insurance claim help in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina and California and Florida.

We are licensed, bonded and insured in all the states listed above as well as in Galveston, Houston, New York City, Miami, Los Angeles,Mobile, Baltimore, New Orleans, Biloxi, & Raleigh/Duram NC and many other cities and states throughout the United States. 

After three fourths of a year waiting on insurance settlements, and delaying the beginning of the rebuilding process, some Hurricane Ike victims with insurance claim are beginning to finally hear some good news. One such victim just received a $143,000 settlement increase after hiring The Public Adjusters, an independent public insurance adjusting firm, to document, negotiate and settle their insurance claim dispute.

One Galveston County resident was offered an initial insurance claim settlement amount of $58,000 for the wind damage done to his residence by Hurricane Ike.  The intense storm made landfall in the early morning hours of September 13, 2008, and has been tagged as the third most costly hurricane in our nation’s history.  Dissatisfied with the amount he was offered, the owner sought the services of The Public Adjusters to assist him in addressing issues surrounding his claim. 

Initially, the homeowner thought his Hurricane Ike insurance claim should have been in the neighborhood of $80 - $100,000. “I was out of my league dealing with these adjusters and insurance company executives,” said the homeowner, “but I knew what they had offered me was not right.  I could not even begin to rebuild my home with that amount of money.”  The Galveston County resident said he researched the available personnel and firms that could help him and chose The Public Adjusters based on their excellent track record in previous disasters.  “The Public Adjusters has a 100 percent success rate in re-opening and dealing with these types of claims.”

The Public Adjusters reviewed all pertinent facts and found hidden damages that had not been included.  “Several additional areas of the structure had sustained damages,” said Kenneth Browne, P.A., and chief operations officer of The Public Adjusters.  “A complete inspection made of the property, along with the insurance company’s representative, brought these items into discussion.”  Because of intense training, years of experience, and diligent attention to detail, The Public Adjusters was pleased to be able to increase the settlement offer to $201,000, thus making it possible for this family to rebuild their home and return to their normal standard of living.

People affected by Hurricane Ike still have time to go after additional money from insurance companies.  In the state of Texas, people have two years to file a supplemental claim for damages.

A public adjuster is an insurance claims adjuster who is an advocate for and is paid by the policyholder in the negotiation of an insurance claim.  Aside from attorneys, public adjusters are licensed by state departments of insurance to legally represent the rights of an insured person during the insurance claim process.

Senate Bill 14 (SB14) also known as the “TWIA Bill” came out of the Senate and is currently being held in the insurance committee in Austin and a huge fight is taking place in the House regarding whether this bill will be passed or not.  The insurance committee is getting a tremendous amount of pressure to move this bill.  What this bill does is it provides immunity to Texas Windstorm Insurance Association for any damages beyond the policy benefits.  This is a horrible bill that will harm millions of people in Texas.  In other words, there will be no penalties, interest, attorney’s fees, extra-contractual damages, anything other than the policy benefits that can be obtained in a lawsuit against TWIA by their insured.  If this bill passes it will contain the most restrictive language of any windstorm policy in the entire country. 

We ask that you call your state representatives, including Craig Eiland and Larry Taylor (out of League City), so your voices will be heard.  Call anyone you know that might be able to help stop this bill in the House of Reps.

If this bill passes it will be detrimental to everyone who has TWIA insurance as well as their rights later on if they have to fight their insurance company in Court. It is immunity from all forms of bad faith and fraud.  We need to stop it at all cost. 

Please call your Craig Eiland, and Larry Taylor to tell them to stop this bill. They can be reached at:

Craig Eiland, Capitol office: (512) 463-0502

Larry Taylor, Austin office: (512) 463-0729

The Public Adjusters- Providing the Strength to Recover and the Money to Rebuild.

With offices in Galveston and Houston, The Public Adjusters has Texas licensed independent public adjusters ready to assist you with your Hurricane Ike insurance claims. The fight is not over. If you have a Hurricane Ike property claim and are unsure if you received a fair insurance settlement for your Hurricane Ike claim, please give us a call to speak to a licensed public adjuster.  We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (800) 572-7914

A blog written by a  forensic meteorologist

Is a hurricane only wind and water?

I have been collecting and analyzing meteorological data from Hurricane Ike for the past several months.  The actual date of my research and analysis began on September 14, 2008, the after Hurricane Ike hit southeast Texas.

Everyone talks about the maximum wind speed, the highest wind gust, the storm surge and how all of it fits together as part of Hurricane Ike.  What puzzles me is why aren’t more people focusing on many of the other weather elements found within Hurricane Ike (and other hurricanes) that routinely cause ground damage, most of the time hours before a storm surge hits the coastline.

Hurricanes are more than just high winds and water.  Hurricanes also spawn tornadoes, microbursts, straight line winds, extreme ground turbulence and phenomena that have the definite capacity to destroy houses, rip off roofs, uproot trees and do lots of damage.  There are also induced dangers such as funneling winds and wind maxima areas (an area where two wind bands converge together to form a small area of increased wind speeds).  These meteorological elements occur during hurricanes, yet everyone focuses on the highest wind speeds and storm surge heights.

Some of these mentioned elements can be detected and measured by the latest weather technology, but most of what I mentioned can not be measured, but it doesn’t mean that the phenomena didn’t occur or can not be proven.  I’ll start with mesocyclones.

As defined by NOAA/NWS, a mesocyclone - A storm-scale region of rotation, typically around 2-6 miles in diameter and often found in the right rear flank of a supercell.  The circulation of a mesocyclone covers an area much larger than the tornado that may develop within it.  In other words, mesocyclones have the capacity to spawn tornadoes. 

Another specific point about mesocyclones as defined by NOAA/NWS - Properly used, mesocyclone is a radar term; it is defined as a rotation signature appearing on Doppler radar that meets specific criteria for magnitude, vertical depth, and duration.

This means that if all the physical characteristics of a mesocyclone are present, but it doesn’t meet ALL the specific criteria based on magnitude, vertical depth and duration, this phenomena will not be detected by NEXRAD.  This is why some people state that NEXRAD may miss as many mesocyclones as it detects.  The same goes for NEXRAD detected tornadoes.  If NEXRAD doesn’t detect it, the meteorological event can still happen. 

For example, the NEXRAD Doppler weather radar located in Houston and operated by the National Weather Service (NWS) detected numerous mesocyclones moving across Bolivar peninsula, the Sabine Pass area, northwest Houston and along Galveston Bay.  If you apply simple statistical data, 30% to 50% of all mesocyclones develop tornadoes.  If there were 60 mesocyclones, that results in 18 to 30 tornadoes spawned by the mesocyclones.  This is solely an example; not what may have occurred on Bolivar peninsula.

Just because there were no “confirmed” tornadoes doesn’t mean there were not any tornadoes.  You have to understand the limitations of the NEXRAD radar, the rules, guidance and responsibilities pertaining to the National Weather Service and what you should do in the event you spot a tornado during a hurricane (or any other time).  This is another subject for a later blog.

First, please accept that no technology is perfect.  The NEXRAD radar is a great upgrade from what meteorologists had before as the dedicated meteorological radar.  NEXRAD provides all types of data and information used at all times by the NWS and National Hurricane Center (NHC), but it is not perfect.  NEXRAD products are the visual results of algorithms.  There is no algorithm for any meteorological event that can cover all possible scenarios.  Even algorithms have limitations.  Due to these limitations, NEXRAD can not detect each and every meteorological element that occurs.

Some people think the workers at NWS/NHC should be responsible for providing weather data for all people at all times.  The NWS/NHC workers are already overworked, undermanned and unfunded and to have the inferred responsibility of having to provide weather information that applies to each person at any chosen time in a specific area is unrealistic.  It’s impossible!

As for the rules and responsibilities of the NWS and NHC; these are dictated by people at high levels of government that really don’t have a clue as how a real weather situation creates more work than anyone could possibly expect.  We expect miracles from the NWS/NHC and complain when miracles don’t occur.

From what I see as an impartial observer, The NWS and NHC are doing exactly what is mandated by higher headquarters and the government.  Their job is to protect and warn the public, not determine the winds specifically at 123 ABC Street in Anywhere Texas.

Besides mesocyclones, there were numerous microbursts during Hurricane Ike.  A microburst can best be described as strong downward (vertical) winds that result from a strong thunderstorm cell collapsing.  The outflowing wind pattern is omni-directional, creating an elongated horizontal vortice along the leading edge of the winds.

This diagram obtained from the Internet (generated by the 45^th Weather Squadron, USAF) depicts the wind pattern of a microburst as it hits the ground.

XXX

Please note how the outflowing winds create what appears to be a horizontal tornado-like vortex.  This phenomena is extremely dangerous and destructive.  Microbursts are a major cause of airplane accidents every year.

It is not the responsibility of the NWS or NHC to pinpoint every small scale feature hidden within a hurricane.  The NWS and NHC do their job extremely well, but if individuals want to know what occurred at their specific address, then it is the responsibility of the property owner to acquire the expertise of a professional meteorologist.  You have the responsibility to hire a meteorologist that can make a detailed analysis of the meteorological situation and determine what weather elements (if any) were present on your property.  It’s your property and your responsibility.

Please remember that hurricanes are tremendously powerful storms and contain many more weather elements than high winds and storm surge.  Perhaps there should be more emphasis on the entire hurricane than just determining the highest wind speeds and depth of a storm surge.

For questions regarding this blog please email: Rocco@mesowx.com

THE PUBLIC ADJUSTERS PRESENT…

A panel discussion concerning your Hurricane Ike insurance claim

Panel members scheduled to speak and answer questions are insurance claims experts, a meteorologist and world- renowned structural engineer. Each panel member has extensive experience in dealing with hurricane insurance damages and insurance claims issues.

• Were there tornados on Bolivar during Hurricane Ike?
• Was ALL of the damage caused by the storm surge?
• Were there any witnesses who saw tornados?
• Why am I only being offered 11.2% from TWIA?
• Can I recover enough money from Insurance to rebuild my home?

For answers to these questions and more, please plan on attending this informative event.

Saturday, April 4^th, 2009

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

CocoNuts Restaurant

Highway 87 @ Jacks Road, Crystal Beach, Texas

Hors devours & Refreshments to be Served

*For Information about The Public Adjusters or the April 4th event contact the corporate office at: (800) 572-7914 or info@ThePublicAdjusters.Biz

Sooner or later, most home or business owners will file a property insurance claim. Whether or not one chooses to handle the insurance claim process alone mainly depends on past experience.

Last year, Renee Wood’s home in Milton, MA caught fire and she didn’t attempt to file the insurance claim by herself. “Many years prior my mother’s home in Florida was damaged by a hurricane and that experience taught us how difficult it is for people to deal with insurance companies during the claims process.” Wood immediately retained the services of a public adjuster after the fire to her home.

A public adjuster is an insurance claims adjuster who is an advocate for and paid by the policyholder in appraising and negotiating an insurance claim. Public adjusters are licensed by state departments of insurance and are the only type of claims adjuster that can legally represent the rights of an insured during an insurance claim process, aside from an attorney.

According to Ronald F. Delo, President and CEO of The Public Adjusters Inc. in Houston, there is typically a discrepancy in what the insurance company wants to pay and what they must  pay under the terms of each policy of insurance.

Following a loss, a public adjuster should scan insurance policies to identify all policy entitlements which would seek to maximize the settlement. According to Delo, “The very first thing a reputable public adjuster will do is track down extensions of coverage and policy endorsements which will typically wind up covering much more that what appears on the surface of the claim.”

With representation from a reputable public adjusting firm, claimants should collect larger settlements. “My firm has several documented cases of  settlement increases in excess 400% of the carrier’s original offer prior to representation from us,” Delo stated.

Public adjuster fees vary from state to state but are typically a small percentage of the collected settlement.

“I am sure that the small percentage I paid my public adjuster was paid for many times over by the increase in settlement I was able to obtain with his representation,” said Wood. She added, “ If the time comes again when I must file an insurance claim, my public adjuster will be the first person I call.”

One should do his or her due diligence when deciding to retain the services of a public adjuster. “As a rule of thumb you should verify the public adjuster is licensed and bonded by the appropriate governing agencies, has been in business for at least a few years and has solid referrals,” Delo advised.

For more information on how The Public Adjusters Inc. can help you with your Hurricane Ike insurance claim, call (800) 572-7914 ext. 703– 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak to a licensed Hurricane Ike public adjuster.

The Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) is delighted to announce the addition of The Public Adjusters as a part of the Price of Business and Houston Business Daily Team. Kevin Price, Host of the program, indicated that “I am delighted that a major public adjusters firm has joined our team. We needed a company that covered this important area to be a part of our Hurricane Ike Recovery team. Simply put, most groups were too small or lacked the resources to join us. The Public Adjusters will be an excellent addition.”