Trying to explain to people why they have to consider getting professional help and self-educate themselves about insurance coverage and benefits after a disaster is one of the reasons I wrote Pay Up! I was thinking about this last night while being told of a Nashville policyholder with a significant property loss involving multiple properties and business interruption following the recent tornado catastrophe. I was told that they wanted to wait for the insurance adjuster to visit with them and explain their benefits before doing anything—including emergency mitigation.
Does anybody really think that the average property insurance adjuster is trained to handle the complexities of how a business can mitigate loss with the benefits of extra-expense coverage? Today, few insurance companies have adjusters that can even do the business interruption calculation. The business interruption and extra-expense coverage is typically turned over to third-party accountants months after the loss occurs. By the time extra-expense coverage is thought of for use, it is usually far too late.
Here is the chapter list of Pay Up!:
The cost of ego, “I can figure this out myself,” is huge for those who think they can navigate a multimillion dollar claim without assistance. The days of the learned and experienced Senior Commercial General Adjustor from the General Adjustment Bureau are long gone. Even those rare senior field adjusters at that level simply are not given the field authority to make the binding decisions by insurers in today’s claims environment.
At the same time, “who” to hire for professional help is fraught with danger as well. There are a lot more slick sales people coming out of the woodwork following disasters who say they know everything and allegedly have experience doing something, over promise, and underdeliver, flocking to Tennessee. Pay Up! explains and warns how to be on the lookout for these vultures who are out for themselves, may have shady backgrounds and are not the trusted professional a policyholder should be associating and hiring to help.
Pay Up! has instruction for policyholders suffering from the Tennessee Tornado disasters that can be read in hours and will provide valuable information to determine a much better claims course of action and help provide peace of mind for those never having been through the ordeal.
The book launch is next Tuesday March 17, and you can order Pay Up! at this link.
