Hurricane Damage Public Insurance Adjuster in North Carolina
Long before 1996’s Hurricanes Bertha and Fran aimed their lethal right-front quadrants – tag-team style – at North Carolina; long before Floyd parked itself above eastern North Carolina’s farmlands in 1999; and long before Hurricanes Charley, Ernesto and Arthur brought ravaging tornadoes to NC in the early 2000’s – long before all of that – NC Public Adjuster Wes Baldwin and The Baldwin Company were handling wind-related claims for North and South Carolinians.
As the very first Public Insurance Adjuster ever to have been based entirely in SC and NC, over the 43+ years it has been in business, The Baldwin Company has become quite familiar with the ins and outs of handling wind and hurricane and tornado claims in the North Carolina insurance market.
And from that experience, NC Public Adjuster Wes Baldwin well knows that hurricanes like Emily (1993), Alex (2004), Ophelia (2005), and Earl (2010) – none of which ever made landfall in North Carolina – were nevertheless able to ruthlessly lash and flood NC from their offshore positions at sea.
And so Baldwin is also well aware that – regardless of whether this year’s would-be villain, Dorian, decides to drive its winds and rains directly into the Carolinas, or elects instead to stay at sea but perilously close to the coast – there will be severe damage to North Carolinians’ properties, and there will be distraught business owners and homeowners who will need a North Carolina Public Adjuster’s help in putting together their insurance claims.
The Baldwin Company Public Adjusters can help you with the different types of damage that hurricanes can inflict, and can be your advocate at the insurance company. The Baldwin Company can help you with
- Water damage
- Wind damage
- Mold damage
- Flood damage
- Structural damage (broken windows, torn roof, etc.)
If your home has any of the above damages, Baldwin Public Adjusting will assist you with your case to ensure you can get the maximum settlement for your insurance claim.
We have years of experience serving all of North Carolina, from the Outer banks to Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Wilmington, Jacksonville and more.
When your home has been severely damaged by the effects of a Hurricane ..Here is what The Baldwin Company can do for you:
- We arrange for immediate emergency assistance as required by the insurance policy.
- Our public adjusters thoroughly examine your policy to be sure all of your coverage is included in our claims strategy.
- We search for all benefits and exclusions in your current policy to make sure you maximize your covered settlement.
- The Baldwin Company, Inc. develops a claims strategy with you to minimize the inconvenience of being displaced from your home due to a hurricane.
- We develop a proactive plan that ensures you are adequately housed and provided for while we put together a claim that allows you to rebuild your home in the best possible manner provided by your coverage.
- Our team creates a complete picture of the loss, including:
- contents inventory
- building damage
- additional living expenses
- and other kinds of losses to be certain nothing is left out. This provides the basis for your claim.
- We stay in close contact with the insurance company to keep the settlement moving smoothly while we keep you informed and in control.
- Our adjusters know what to expect and are prepared to respond to any objections and meet any additional requirements posed by the insurance carrier.
- After your review, and with your approval, The Baldwin Company, Inc. will submit the claim and get the process underway as quickly as possible.
- We meet with insurance representatives on your behalf to energetically pursue a timely, fair and legitimate outcome. We will bring all offers to you. We cannot finalize your claim without your approval, although we will be with you and assist you every step of the way…
The Baldwin Company is always at your side, always on your side.
Among the many, many satisfied clients we have served through the years, you will no doubt recognize such names as The Marina’s Edge Restaurant, McAlister’s Deli, and Governor’s Square apartments, all in Wilmington, or The Drawbridge at Holden Beach. Or inns such as The Cape Fear Manor in Clarkson and The Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast in Wilmington. In New Bern, B & R Bowling Lanes and Johnny Ray Kinsey’s Fitness Center; or in Wilson, St Mark’s Episcopal Church and Bruce Foods, Inc.
And along the beaches, The Tar Landing Condos at Atlantic Beach, The Carolina Surf Condos at Carolina Beach, and The Riggings Condos and Dockside Inn in Kure Beach
And farther inland, in Fayetteville: Aquarama Pet Centers, Contractors Wholesale Building Supplies, Weeks Shopping Center, and Lo-Mark Furniture Store. Also Furniture Distribution in Havelock, and in Maxton: Maxton Oil and Fertilizer, and Cox Furniture – and hundreds more.
We have also been able to help hundreds of homeowners, both along the beaches and farther inland, as well. To preserve our clients’ privacy, however, we don’t post their names here.
I don’t understand what a Public Adjuster can do for me that I can’t do myself.
Your insurance policy is a contract. It imposes very specific obligations on you as the policyholder and also on your insurance company as the insurer. The most important of these is the fact that, in order to get your insurance company to pay you a single dime, you have to prove your claim to them.
If you try to do this yourself, you may as well face it: you are going to have to change professions and become a professional claims adjuster. You’ll have to become an expert in pricing everything from roofing nails to original artwork, and you will have to develop organizational and negotiating skills miles beyond any you have ever had to use in the past.
What is more, in many cases, this will become your full-time job for months to come, sometimes even years – unless, that is, you hire an experienced Public Adjuster like The Baldwin Company to help you document and prove your claim. Having us on your side helps level the playing field and keeps you from having to play David to your insurance company’s Goliath.
We’re having to spend a lot of money on hotels, clothing and gas (driving our children from our temporary living quarters back to our home school district every day). What can a Public Adjuster do to get me some insurance money to help pay for these additional expenses?
Your insurance policy is a contract. It imposes very specific obligations on you as the policyholder and also on your insurance company as the insurer. The most important of these is the fact that, in order to get your insurance company to pay you a single dime, you have to prove your claim to them.
If you try to do this yourself, you may as well face it: you are going to have to change professions and become a professional claims adjuster. You’ll have to become an expert in pricing everything from roofing nails to original artwork, and you will have to develop organizational and negotiating skills miles beyond any you have ever had to use in the past.
What is more, in many cases, this will become your full time job for months to come, sometimes even years – unless, that is, you hire an experienced Public Adjuster like The Baldwin Company to help you document and prove your claim. Having us on your side helps level the playing field and keeps you from having to play David to your insurance company’s Goliath.
We are having trouble remembering what all we had stored in our attic and basement. Much of our records were destroyed in the fire. How could a Public Adjuster possibly be able to help me with this problem?
Dealing with very real scenarios like these is what we at The Baldwin Company do best. Our experienced experts are able to help you reconstruct an inventory of your contents – we know what sorts of questions to ask, to help prod your memory about stored items; we know how to re-document the prices of items for which you no longer have receipts; and we are familiar with what sorts of objections the insurance company’s adjuster might put forth, and so we are pro-actively able to make sure ahead of time that your claim covers all the bases.
The insurance company’s adjuster seems very knowledgeable about the claims process. Why should I be concerned about him misleading me?
It’s usually not so much a question of a company adjuster deliberately trying to mislead you as it is a matter of his expecting you to already know how to do everything required to convince him and his employer, your insurance company, that they ought to pay you for what you say you have lost. You always need to bear in mind that insurance companies are profit-making businesses, and to keep their bottom line as healthy as possible, they usually try not to pay out any more than the bare minimum on as many claims as possible.
That is why you need to talk to one of us at The Baldwin Company: we are Public adjusters, which means we are licensed to represent and assist you, as a member of the public, in the intricacies of documenting, presenting, and negotiating with the company’s representatives, to make sure you achieve not only what you deserve but also what you have faithfully been paying your premiums for: the maximum amount your coverage entitles you to.
How is a public adjuster paid, and how much?
Our fee is usually a small percentage of the total amount that you receive when your claim is settled. We are not paid anything until you are paid. However, it is important to note that we generally are able to help you take full advantage of your policy’s benefits in such a way as to more than make up for our fee.
How long will it take to settle my claim?
Our goal is to expedite your claim so as to put you back to the way things were prior to your loss. We at The Baldwin Company are trained, experienced professionals who know how to put your claim together far more quickly than someone who has never suffered a catastrophic loss before. If there is any delay in settling your claim, more often than not, it has to do with the insurance company’s lack of urgency regarding claims payments, and we are well-versed in dealing with such delay tactics.
Do Public Adjusters have to be licensed or certified?
Most states do require Public Adjusters to be licensed and bonded by each state’s Department of Insurance. Additionally, reputable Public Adjusters belong to The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) and operate under that organization’s strict ethical code of conduct. Wes Baldwin, owner and founder of The Baldwin Company, not only belongs to NAPIA but has also served as President of that internationally recognized association, and continues to chair several of its national committees as well as serve on its Board of Directors in an advisory capacity.
My policy says I’m supposed to make some temporary repairs to protect my damaged property. How do I know what to repair now and what to wait till later to repair?
The Baldwin Company can help you with this decision, as this is one of the many services we provide for our clients. In general, our advice after a loss is that you should protect your property as you would if you had no insurance. Still, this is an area where our familiarity with how insurance companies might view your good intentions will definitely be of use to you. Call The Baldwin Company now so we can help you from the very beginning.
We have a lot of building contractors and cleaning/restoration companies knocking on our door, wanting to do our work and help us file out insurance claim. Why should I hire a Public Adjuster to do this for us, instead?
This fairly recent development is causing confusion for many policyholders: Salesmen and building contractors are presenting themselves as being qualified to help you understand the intricacies of your insurance policy as well as purporting to have the expertise to help you get your insurance company to pay for all your repairs and clean-up. However, for the most part, these people are not licensed by any state’s insurance department to act as claims adjusters of any sort, nor do they have the training to do so. Additionally, they are treading on the fine line which, for ethical reasons, usually separates adjusters from builders. Your best bet is to contact us at The Baldwin Company: we are licensed to represent you in documenting and settling your claim, and we can help you find ethical, bonded contractors to complete your repairs when the time comes.
For a statement from The North Carolina Department of Insurance regarding the above topic, click here.
Isn’t it a good idea to go ahead and get everything cleaned now by a professional restoration service instead of waiting until I have settled my claim?
Absolutely not! This is probably the single biggest mistake a policyholder can make. This is because, once this process is started, the cleaning bill reduces the amount of coverage you have left to replace the destroyed and other damaged items in your loss. It is just this sort of well-meaning mistake that clearly illustrates why policyholders need a professional like the Public Adjusters at The Baldwin Company on their side, to prevent such costly errors in judgment.
Who decides if an item needs to be repaired or replaced? My insurance company and I are disagreeing on just about everything.
The terms of your insurance policy – which is a contract between you and your insurance company – require you to prove your loss. As your representatives, The Baldwin Company will document your loss to help you prove your claim and will also negotiate, on your behalf, with the insurance company’s representatives to try to get them to agree with our decisions on such issues as these. However, if no agreement can be reached between you and with the insurance company, the Appraisal Clause of your policy may be considered. Please see the Appraisal Clause section of this website, for further information on this important option.