Public adjusters can help on disaster's heels

Nashville Business Journal – by Linda Bryant
February 15, 2008 | View Story

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (February 15, 2008) – Some who've experienced catastrophic property damage have advice for victims of the deadly Feb. 6 tornadoes that sliced through Middle Tennessee - work with a public insurance adjuster.

Consider the destruction of the Second Presbyterian Church in Green Hills.

The landmark historic church was ravaged by fire on Sept. 17, 2003. After nine months, the congregation hadn't received a penny from their insurance company.

They were completely unable to rebuild their much-loved historic church and didn't see an end in sight.

The church hired FirstCall, one of handful of public insurance adjuster firms in the state licensed and authorized to advocate for the insured.

The company was increased Second Presbyterian's original claim of $1.3 million by $1.1 million and expedited a $1 million reimbursement check so the church could move forward.

"It's a sure thing that the insurance companies have experts on their side," says Mike Red, who was co-chairman of the church's property committee at the time of the fire. "It really helped us to have some expertise on our side of the table."

Public insurance adjusters are adept at handling the extreme details of a claim. They work solely on behalf of the customer and have the right to inspect the site immediately, analyze the damages, assemble claim-support data, review the coverage and estimate costs.

"Sometimes people never recover from a poor settlement," says Phil Breeden, FirstCall's president and founder. "We take the lead role in the claim. It's our job to take a bad situation that no one can help and prevent the second [financial] disaster, which we can keep from happening."

Most cases involve big impact disasters including fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, frost damage, windstorms and earthquakes.

Although most public insurance adjusters are clustered on the East and West coasts and in places such as Texas and Florida, there's a growing awareness about the profession, says Breeden, who is also president of the Tennessee Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.

Breeden helped spearhead legislation to make Tennessee the 39th state to license the practice of public insurance adjusting through the state's Department of Insurance and Commerce.

As of July 2007, public insurance adjusters in the state must be tested, licensed, bonded, and authorized to practice here.

FirstCall public adjusters ended up compiling massive amounts of data regarding the church fire.

"The sheer detail of the itemizing was amazing," Red says. "You really do need somebody to help you go over the details with a fine-toothed comb."

When Howie Caughron, owner of Artist Building Partners, faced a $500,000 estimate on his fire-damaged Music Row high rise, he called a public adjuster.

He's received about 60 percent of a settlement which he says will end up being about $2.5 million.

Caughron says he was "in a vulnerable position" after the fire at his commercial building on Music Row.

"I had been through a very emotional experience," he says. "Not having [a public adjuster] would be like going to the hospital without a doctor or to court without a lawyer."

FirstCall charges a client a percentage of the claim when it's received. The average increase in settlements is 57 percent, Breeden says.

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