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Help! My insurance opened 2 claims. Not sure how to proceed.
Main Post: Help! My insurance opened 2 claims. Not sure how to proceed.
Top Comment: Kind of curious, how long ago did you submit the initial claim? And what state?
How many claims do you guys handle and how?
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I'm not an adjuster, not even in the insurance industry. I just get the unlucky venture of I keep getting rear ended at stoplights 😭
I've been lurking in this sub for awhile and see some of you guys handle like 300 cases, with 4-6 new ones a day sometimes.
I cant even wrap my head around having that many cases???
Just out of curiosity for that type of case load, is it cause a lot of cases are on hold? Waiting for repairs? In a single day how many of those cases do you handle at once? Like 25?
What happens if you go on vacation? Does someone cover your workload?
I'm just so curious to be honest
Top Comment: It really depends on the position. Adjusters working non injury auto claims usually get a higher volume because they can be pretty quick. Stuff like our insured car hit while parked, no one left info. That is usually done on one call once you get a hold of the person. When I handled non injury, could easily get 8-10+ a day, which was not too bad. Non injury does not have an extremely large pending, usually. Because once they figure out liability and set up repairs, they usually get rid of it, since their job is just to assess coverage and liability. Majority of their day is handling new ones and then following up on existing claims. In the more advanced positions like bodily injury or other things, you get much less, but each claim can take significantly longer as they often involved complex coverage, significant injuries, etc. If by handle in a day, you mean claims we could be in and do something, could be 15-30+ depending on the role. Making lots of outbound calls to get statements, set up repairs and rentals does not usually take a long time for each call, so you usually get through more files. If we go on vacation, we are cut off on new losses and we have our teammates cover for us if any emails or voice messages come in. Sorry you keep getting rear ended, I have seen that before. Had a lady that never had a claim in like 20 years and got rear ended about 6 times in 7 months.
Tips from an insurance adjuster to maximize your claim! The comment at the top if I did this correctly
Main Post: Tips from an insurance adjuster to maximize your claim! The comment at the top if I did this correctly
Top Comment: Anyone looking to file an insurance claim should see the comment I'm talking about. It will help get you the amount you deserve!!
Claims adjusters, please tell us your craziest claim stories.
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The craziest one I’ve heard from a claims adjuster so far is from the Joplin tornado; an adjuster went to a house that was a total loss to check out the damage. The car in the garage also appeared to be a total loss, so the adjuster asked the policyholder if he/she had started a claim on the car. The policyholder responded, “I have no idea where that car came from.” Apparently that car had been swept up in the tornado and thrown into their house.
Top Comment:
When taking available phone calls, someone called in about his three open claims all on the same day.
He hit a pedestrian with his car. He was jumped and had his car stolen later that day. He got hit by a car
What is the craziest claim you've seen? (No specific names/locations please.)
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I'll go first. I was an outside property adjustor for a little over 5 years. I have some seriously crazy claims, and was curious what's the weirdest/craziest story you've got?
My # 1 crazy. My significant other and I were looking for a home. Found one we reasonably liked, viewed it a few times, but owner was asking way too much. We offered low, owner came back a little, back and forth a few times. Still $20k apart we just walked away.
About 3 months later I got an unfortunate claim. I did not recognize the address for the suicide claim until I pulled into the driveway. It was the house I offered on 3 months prior. Called my wife, my manager, asked another adjustor to meet me there. I even asked it be reassigned given the circumstances. Manager said no. I was the fortunate adjustor for a time that handled local suicide claims due to experience.
Turns out the owner committed suicide 2 weeks after I walked away. Wasn't found for over 2 months. Given the time that lapsed the claim was fairly extensive, and pretty gory details. The craziest of which I learned. Common practice is when there is residual remnants that seep into the subfloor the acceptable remediation technique is to simply cover with Kilz (thick primer). Owner was under water on the home. The bank foreclosed. Since it was a foreclosure the bank sold the house "as is" and was not responsible for providing information to the buyer of what occurred. I still have the screenshot from zillow with the carpet removed and kilz on the floor.
It's been almost 10 years and I'm aware I didn't really have anything to do with it, but I still think about it from time to time.
Top Comment: The most memorable ones are the ones where the insured finds a legit loophole in the policy, so I guess the "well guy". Guy calls up and says his well went dry, the peril is "drought", and drought is not excluded anywhere in his policy. There is an exclusion for losses that are "weather conditions" but they only apply if they act in conjunction to another excluded cause of loss, and it didn't. I was skeptical that a dry well was technically "damaged" in the first place, but the claim supervisor sat there staring at the policy for a while before eventually saying "he's right, dig him a well". Still admire that motherfucker. Also that claim in Missouri last year where the lawyer figured out that there's no exclusion in most auto policies like there is in homeowners, for drug overdoses or communicable diseases, and his client successfully sued for VD that was the result of sexual activity in a car. Now my company has a communicable disease exclusion endorsement in Missouri and some other states.
A tip to those who have filed a claim. : r/Insurance
Main Post: A tip to those who have filed a claim. : r/Insurance
Claims adjuster advice
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Been an auto adjuster for about a year and a half and I am STRUGGLING with keeping up. I find myself returning voicemails all day which prevents me from making first contact calls out on my new claims. It’s just a snowball effect and I keep getting more and more behind which results in more people upset at not hearing from me after filing their claim. Any advice on how I can better organize to TRY and get as caught up as I can? I know I’m not alone when I say I feel like I’m being pulled every which way but it’s truly taking a toll on me physically and mentally 😭
Top Comment: I know it’s easier said than done but answering the phone. Yes it does throw you off track temporarily but so does getting a voicemail, returning the call, possibly getting their voicemail, and then you’re playing phone tag. Even if they already left you a message and are calling again just answering and saying “I’m sorry about that - I got your message and was going to get back to you today but I’m glad you called so we can talk now.” Then getting into what they need. Of course you can’t help it if you’re already on the phone. Prioritizing is also big - what’s an immediate need vs what can wait a couple hours. For me it was 1. Really urgent needs, 2. New claims - get them touched and worked, 3. Working through customer calls, and 4. Calls back to other companies, adjusters etc. because they’re just as busy and don’t always need a call back the same day. Voicemails are the bane of our existence and a consistent customer complaint. Once you’re able to get through the backlog and can stay on top of the phone other things will fall into place. Even if it’s “I got your message and am waiting to hear back on X. I’ll update you by Thursday.” People just want that acknowledgment plus it keeps them from leaving more and more messages to check in. But you have to hold up the expectation you set.
What are the best insurances companys if you actually have a claim?
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I hear some company tell you to kick sand if you have a claim and others are pretty painless to file claims with. What company are the ones that you want to have if you actually have a claim?
Top Comment: If you have purchased proper coverage, every insurance company is required by law to pay for the coverages you purchased. Do some companies have better customer service? Absolutely. But I've learned over the decades that the vast majority of the time when people complain about their insurance not doing anything to help them (telling them to "kick rocks"), it's because the person didn't purchase the coverage they needed for their company to help our they don't understand the process of how insurance works. A prime example is someone carrying liability only, no collision. They get into a not at fault accident but the other party's insurance isn't moving fast enough to suit them, or perhaps it's denying the claim altogether for valid reasons. They then turn to their insurance to put pressure on the other party's insurance, as many people (mainly on other subs which are notorious for really bad insurance advice) who are uneducated about insurance describe it. Insurance, of course, tells them to "kick rocks" because there's nothing they can do. The person didn't purchase the coverage necessary for their insurance to help. Their insurance can't "pressure" the other party's insurance to do anything whether they have the proper coverage or not. So no insurance company pays out and the not at fault person is now mad the insurance company, calling them a scam, bad mouthing saying they never pay out. "What am I paying insurance for the??!!"
Question for the adjusters - what's the worst company for claims in your opinion?
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I know individuals have varying opinions, which is often based on their personal experience with one or two claims (and also can be colored by an initial misunderstanding about what insurance is meant to do). But what about the adjusters? Are there companies you will absolutely steer clear from based on your professional experience?
Curious about both home and auto insurance.
Top Comment: I have a love hate relationship with State Farm I have my insurance through them because of my agent. But their claims department and handling are absolutely atrocious as both insured and adjuster