ABOUT MAPIA
Founded in 1973, the Public Insurance Adjusters of Massachusetts united for the purpose of ALL Public Adjusters to gain mutual understanding, protection, and preservation of the profession. We are here to serve, benefit, and protect the general public when dealing with property insurance claims. Our concern is to establish and maintain the highest professional standards, to protect our rights and provide means for solving and dealing with our common problems.
WHAT IS A PUBLIC INSURANCE ADJUSTER?
The fire’s out. What remains is a gutted building and charred embers to serve as a sorry reminder of a once thriving business, income property, or home. But activity has stopped, perhaps permanently. And the expenses multiply.
The owners must try to salvage what they can, to keep things going until claims are filed and settled, contracts are let, and activity can resume. The sheer number of things to do and decisions to make, all under enormous pressure, things for which the average insured has no previous experience, are staggering.
The fire’s out. Now is the time to put an experienced team of adjusters on your side to represent you professionally and quickly in your effort to recoup your losses and rebuild.
WHAT ARE WE?
A public adjustment firm represents you – the insured – in the adjustment and settlement of property insurance claims for your home, your rental property, your business, or your profession. We adjust building, contents, and business interruption losses caused by fire, windstorm, water damage, burglary, vandalism, and other causes.
WHOM DO WE SERVE?
We serve only insureds, never insurance companies. When a loss occurs, the insurance company appoints adjusters who work for them. But our interests and the interests of the insurance company are not necessarily the same. We act as your representative, to serve your interests, just as you retain a lawyer or an accountant to represent you in their fields. Both sides in any settlement should be professionally represented to safeguard their own best interests.
WHAT DO WE DO?
In case of loss, the burden of proving the amount of loss lies with the insured. The burden confronts an inexperienced insured with unusual problems.
How do you prove inventory losses without recourse to destroyed records? Can you professionally estimate replacement costs on building and contents purchased in an earlier economy? Have you engineering and construction know-how to estimate the cost of restoring a damaged building? Can you estimate smoke damage costs? Water damage costs? Are you familiar with salvage techniques?
Few people can answer these questions. That is what a public adjuster does for you, from survey of damages, to estimation of costs, to filing claims, and to negotiation of settlement for your approval.
DOESN’T THE INSURANCE BROKER OR AGENT REPRESENT THE INSURED IN ADJUSTING CLAIMS?
No, his job is to provide you with insurance coverage. He usually does not have the time or training to act as your adjuster.