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“Daddy, there’s smoke coming out of the garage door…” And so began the saga of how the Editor of an insurance fraud publication became a (ugh!) claimant.
Before the fire trucks had even left the scene, the veritable parade of public adjusters had descended upon us like so many flies upon a cow patty. Within 24 hours, more vermin crossed onto our property than I knew existed. “You need me, lady,” said one, “insurance companies are all crooks and they’ll take advantage of you.”
Then there were the myriad telephone calls, each caller trying to get us to authorize them to come out and do part of the clean-up. “We work for insurance companies,” they would say, “and we’d like to come talk to you.” (They didn’t bother to mention that they didn’t work for my insurance company and were just calling every name on some “yesterday’s fires list” and trying to drum up business. How many (newly burned out) people fall for this scam?) The parade of callers seemed endless; carpenters, cleaners, painters and more.
The result was a new appreciation for that which a claimant endures. I suddenly understand why—back when I was riding a desk—claimants sometimes appeared to be confrontational and why they seemingly had no trust for the process of adjustment.
I also learned, first hand, how a good, professional team of loss experts can play a vital role in their insured’s healing (yes, that’s exactly the word I meant to use) process and assure their ongoing loyalty (and renewals) for a very long time.
While being a claimant is not a role I chose to play, I am thankful for the lessons learned. Standing on the other side of a fence can prove insightful.
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