Biller Associates Public Adjusters takes care of the commercial insurance claim for you by communicating with your insurance company, coming onsite with the latest in technology to do a thorough contents inventory, providing a detailed estimate of repairs and getting the maximum settlement for your commercial insurance claim. We handle the entire claims process so you can focus on your employees, customers and operating your business.
Since 1949, Biller Associates Public Adjusters has been a trusted source in helping you take on the; for-profit, multi-billion dollar insurance industry. We leverage experience, the latest in technology and are experts in insurance claim negotiation.
The number one question we are asked by our commercial clients is; what is the process for handling and negotiating commercial claims?
#1. Safety – you may have heard our tagline “Call 911 then Biller”…lets make sure all of your employees and customers are safe first.
#2. Damage Mitigation – we help you take immediate action to avoid additional damages to your property. For example, we either help or secure companies to help our clients board up and tarp up to name only a few key examples. However in large commercial fire situations like we had recently, employees were seeking to get their tools to assess damages and find belongings. We have the knowledge to ensure you and your employees do what is right to ensure you and your employees get fair compensation for damages. Most importantly with damage mitigation, policyholders are required to protect their property from incurring additional damages and we eliminate the stress of what to do and when to do it.
#3. Iron Out a Solid Plan – commercial claims can take time depending on the severity and we know where to look and how to interpret complex policies to create a rock solid plan moving forward such as temporary locations so you can keep your business open, interruption loss, employee retention and much more.
#4. Coverage Review – Biller Associates Public Adjusters will review your policy cover to cover and make sure you understand key details. This process separates the experienced from the newbies and having a public adjuster that has experience with commercial claims is paramount. It goes beyond understanding, we will arm you with the knowledge of complex T&C’s, coverage amounts, hidden exclusions, limitations of coverageThe policyholder should understand the terms and conditions of the insurance policy and simple things that are often overlooked such as time-sensitive deadlines for form completion.
We are only scratching the surface here and if you already feel stressed, don’t be, remember; we work for YOU, NOT the insurance company.
#5. Contents Inventory and Documentation – is a another key step in the process that if not done properly will make or break your claim. Experience, technology and having the reliable team at Biller Associates Public Adjusters will generate the most accurate documentation, speed up the claims process and reduce the number of policyholder breakage claims as we will capture all pre-mitigation damages with our immediate onsite scan. Our technology provides accurate documentation that serves as a single source of truth and 3D walkthroughs provide accurate, easy-to-use documentation that can serve as a single source of truth from initial policy decisions through claims handling.
#6. Negotiation – once we have submitted the claim, your insurance carrier will review the documents we prepared with their experts. As we stated above, the for-profit insurance industry will attempt to make adjustments to the claims amount. In larger claims, many adjuster meetings will take place and the more accurate the documentation and the knowledge of how they want the information compiled, the quicker the negotiation moves. Sure, they will review details, attempt to make adjustments to their favor, but we will be prepared to negotiate on your behalf.
#7. Claim Payment – while this may seem like the finish line and exciting, having a firm like Biller Associates Public Adjusters on your side is once again, paramount. If you think the insurance company is going to hand you a check for $10,000 or $3,000,000 and wish you well with your repairs, unfortunately, this is not the case.
Claim payments come in phases.
- You will first receive an initial payment for the undisputed amount called “Actual Cash Value”.
- The deductible will be taken from the claim and it is your responsibility (the policyholder) to pay any and all contractors.
- Recoverable depreciation. First off, what is it? An ACV (Actual Cash Value) policy or RCV (Replacement Cost Value) policy determines how or if depreciation is accounted for in your payout. Simply put, ACV takes depreciation into account and RCV provides enough money to replace your lost or damaged items at today’s prices. Once your work is completed, the contractors will send in final invoices for completed work. With an RCV policy, if and only if you spent all the claim funds, your insurance company will release the recoverable depreciation
- If your mortgage company is listed as a co-payee, the payout process may include them depending on the total dollar amount of the claim.
#8 Restore/Rebuild Your Property – this begins once we have proper documentation, an estimate as well as a check from your insurance company. This warrants repeating, do not begin any repairs to your property prior to ensuring steps 1 through 7 were done properly, estimate and check are in hand.
