Who's Working on Your Home?

If your home has recently been damaged and you have filed an insurance claim with your homeowners insurer, chances are your insurance company will recommend a contractor whom the adjuster or the company itself prefers. But in California you, the consumer, have a number of property claim settlement rights. Among these is the right to choose your own repair contractor. In fact, insurance companies are not even allowed to suggest a referral to you unless you 'expressly request' one, or unless they advise you in writing of your right to choose your own repair entity. Consider the following from the California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations:

Section 2695.9. Additional Standards Applicable to First Party Residential and Commercial Property Insurance Policies

(b) No insurer shall require that the insured have the property repaired by a specific individual or entity.

(c) No insurer shall suggest or recommend that the insured have the property repaired by a specific individual or entity unless:

(1) the referral is expressly requested by the claimant; or

(2) the claimant has been informed in writing of the right to select a repair individual or entity and the insurer shall cause the damaged property to be restored to no less than its condition prior to the loss and repaired in a manner which meets accepted trade standards for good and workmanlike construction at no additional cost to the claimant other than as stated in the policy or as otherwise allowed by these regulations.

So never feel pressured into thinking you have to use the contractor suggested by the insurance company. Indeed, unless you 'expressly request' a referral, they are not even allowed to "suggest or recommend" one. Further, while insurance company adjusters may prepare their own estimate of repairs, or obtain an estimate from one of their preferred contractors while evaluating your claim, they are ultimately required to "reasonably adjust" any estimates you obtain in connection with your claim:

Section 2695.9. Additional Standards Applicable to First Party Residential and Commercial Property Insurance Policies

(d) If losses are settled on the basis of a written scope and/or estimate prepared by or for the insurer, the insurer shall supply the claimant with a copy of each document upon which the settlement is based. ... If the claimant subsequently contends, based upon a written estimate which he or she obtains, that necessary repairs will exceed the written estimate prepared by or for the insurer, the insurer shall: ...

(3) reasonably adjust any written estimates prepared by the repair individual or entity of the insured's choice and provide a copy of the adjusted estimate to the claimant.

If you need assistance with your claim adjustment, you might consider contacting a reputable public insurance adjuster. Public adjusters represent you, and you alone, and they will make sure you know your property claim rights and that they are protected throughout the claim.

For more information on choosing a repair contractor and a public insurance adjuster, as well as for helpful informaton about the property claim adjustment process in general, see my book, Property Claims Adjusting: A Complete Guidebook for the Consumer, California Homeowners Edition (Murrieta, CA: Premier Claim Consultants, 2007).

For more information about public adjusters, expert witness services, property claims adjusting, appraisals, and litigation support, visit our website at www.premier-claim-consultants.com.