No one is ever ready for the devastation a natural disaster can bring. Whether your home has just weathered a flood, fire, tornado or hail storm, it’s impossible to prepare or prevent against the damage these events can do to your home.

And while it’s a smart idea to file a claim with your insurance provider following one of these events, you can’t be certain that your insurance company will give you the settlement you need. In many cases, insurance companies pay homeowners much less than the amount of their homes’ damage.

Because of this, many homeowners turn to public insurance adjusters — qualified individuals who adjust the amount of money paid out in a claim settlement.

In addition to all the usual questions you should ask while seeking out public adjuster services, here are three additional — yet no less important — things you should ask of any public insurance adjuster before hiring him or her to work on your claim:

Will you be handling my insurance claim personally?

This is a big one that many people forget to ask. Before hiring a public adjuster, you want to be sure he or she will be the one actually handling your claim. In some cases, the person you think is a public insurance aduster is actually just a sales representative who will ultimately hand off your claim to someone else who you’ll never meet. If personal rapport and interaction is important to you, hire a public insurance adjuster who will handle your claim personally.

Will I still be able to contact my insurance provider?

Some public insurance adjusters don’t allow their clients to communicate with the insurance provider throughout the claim process. If being involved in your claim is important to you, it’s a good idea to make sure you’ll still be permitted to contact your insurance company.

How many claims are you currently handling?

Before hiring any public insurance adjuster, be sure to see how many claims he or she is handling in your area. If the public adjuster is handling a large number of insurance claims, you might not get the one-on-one attention you need as you file your own claim.

Want to know more about what public adjuster services can do for your flood damage or fire damage claims? Ask us anything by leaving a comment below.