Forums

Posted By bored_lawyer on 08 Apr 2011 11:53 PM

 I am a plaintiffs' lawyer in New York City.  Ask anything and I will give you my honest opinion.

............................................................

Exactly what makes you my mortal enemy?

If an insured did NOT receive enough money to return the property that incurred damage from a covered peril to a pre-event condition and is NOT able to obtain ANY relief when dealing directly with the carrier, I believe the insured has every right to retain counsel or the services of a PA(Public Adjuster).

I actually do have a question though !

What is your Modus operandi once an insured has retained you as counsel? Please understand I am not asking you to divulge ANY proprietary information, just the basics

 

Respectfully yours,

 

Robby Robinson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Catastrophe Operations Manager                                                                                                                                  

AMERICAN VETERAN CATASTROPHE SERVICES
 

Posted By Steve on 11 Apr 2011 07:34 PM
Two questions:

If a PA or lawyer is on a claim from the get go and receives x% of the settlement, doesn't that mean that drywall, paint, roofing, etc are artificially increased by x% in order for the PA/lawyer to get paid? Otherwise the homeowner would be out the deductible plus x% for the PA/lawyer.

How do you sleep at night?

Steve, I respect you very much and enjoy your posts and whilst I do NOT care for PA's or plaintiff attorneys, it is because now my claim is in limbo and that equals me not getting paid.

I understand where you are coming from in regard to the PA or attorney receiving x%, but the same could be said for us as the IA, are the drywall and paint artificially low to pay us on the fee schedule to handle the claim.

I agree that there are PA's and plaintiff attorneys out there that are CRIMINALS hiding behind a Juris Doctorate. I also believe that there are honest folks working as PA's and plaintiff attorneys.

In the end , if there wasn't a need for these guys they would not exist and thrive. Anyone caught blatantly inflating a claim should be made an example of to let others know that kind of behavior is unacceptable.

Mr. Mortal enemy,

You started this thread, where are you? PLease answer the questions !!

Storm Crow and myself have been in claims for years. Why would two of us and many other adjusters who have seen about everthing come to realize professional Public Adjusters and plaintiff attorneys who work on a contingency fee on first party losses(DTP) and unfair claims practice(law that has been adopted in our claims career, with real pain for bad claim departments).I am just speaking for myself, but I know mild, meek insureds would really get get shorted with estimates and slam bam adjusters if PA,s and plaintiff attorneys did not reopen files.

These slam bam cat. claims really do cost tens of thousands more on reopen claims. A signed proof of loss should be used on all weather claims and the deductible should never be more than $500.00 and should disappear if the loss greator than$2500.00

Dwellings and personal property have never been eligible for co-insurance under the fire conventions and these 5% 10% of the face amount are just that...co-insurance.

where are you? PLease answer the questions !!

He requires a retainer going forward. 

Posted By Steve on 15 Apr 2011 07:42 PM
I was referring to, and agree with the situation that was included in Ray Hall’s comment: “mild, meek insureds would really get shorted with estimates and slam bam adjusters if PA,s and plaintiff attorneys did not reopen files.” In my opinion, a reopen file is the proper, necessary, and required place for the PA/lawyer. Not on a claim right out of the box.

Steve, my brother from another Mother !!!!!!!!!

I agree with you 100% that a PA or attorney repd insured from the onset is unnecessary and could be seen as suspect. There is nothing a PA or attorney can do from the onset that the insured themselves could not do on their own.

I believe a PA from the start or an attorney repd insured from the start  is nothing short of an insured throwing away money.

Where the PA or plaintiff attorney's are needed is once an insured has exhausted all avenues to receive a "just" settlement from the insurer that will not budge.

The following is a general statement and NOT directed towards Steve. I am also aware most experienced adjusters here on CADO already know this. The reason I am breaking this down like this is because of the thousands of rookie adjusters who learn from reading the discussions between experienced adjusters.

There seems to be a popular misconception that a PA or plaintiff attorney is entitled to 10% to 33% respectively of the entire claim award , this is NOT accurate.

A PA or attorney is entitled to again 10 to 33% respectively of the "additional monies collected" on behalf of the insured from the point the PA or attorney entered into an agreement or contract with said entity's.

Simply put, John Q Homeowner has sustained a loss to an insured risk from a covered peril. Carrier X has determined the loss to be 30,000 dollars(only an example) The insured has multiple estimates that call for 55,000 dollars to bring risk to a pre event condition. The insured requests a reinspection and the carrier responds and either declines any further claim award or concedes to an additional 5,000 dollars. The carrier refuses to another reinspect or simply will not give another nickel.

The insured then retains a PA (Public Adjuster) or an attorney. From that moment, whatever amount collected or agreed to between the insured and the carrier prior to the involvement of a third entity(PA/attorney) is off limits to the third entity.

The PA /attorney is entitled to 10 to 33% respectively of only "Additional monies collected" over and above the original claim award. John Q already received 35,000 dollars from carrier X. The PA/Attorney obtains an additional 25,000 dollars for a total claim award of 60,000 dollars. The PA/Attorney is NOT entitled to a % of the entire claim award. They are only entitled to a % of the additional monies collected  by them on behalf of the insured. In this example, they would be entitled to 10 to 33 % respectively of the 25,000 dollar additional claim award.

The only situation where a PA/attorney is entitled to all monies collected is when they have represented the insured from the onset of filing a claim against the carrier.

Robby Robinson

AV Cat Services