Insurance Claim Assistance FAQ

What ACOR does and does not do on an insurance claim. Call (208) 254-2053 or email claims@acorrestoration.com.

Are you public adjusters?

ACOR Restoration Services LLC is a licensed contractor. We do not present ourselves as public adjusters, and we do not perform any service that requires public adjusting licensure. We do not represent you against your insurer. We do not negotiate your claim, interpret your policy, or advocate for a settlement amount. We charge no fee of any kind tied to the adjustment of a claim.

The three roles get conflated constantly: the difference between a staff adjuster, an independent adjuster and a public adjuster is spelled out below.

Then what does insurance claim assistance mean here?

Documentation, and clear communication about the work.

When we restore a property, we generate a detailed record of it: photographs of conditions as found, moisture readings and drying logs, measurements, material identification, notes on what was removed and why, disposal records, and a scope describing the work we believe is required to return the property to pre-loss condition under applicable codes and manufacturer specifications.

We prepare that record in a format carriers are used to reviewing, and we communicate with the assigned staff adjuster when they need updates or supporting material. That is the whole of it. The value is not advocacy. It is that a well-evidenced file moves with fewer rounds of back-and-forth than a thin one.

What is the difference between a staff adjuster, an independent adjuster, and a public adjuster?

Worth understanding, because the three get conflated constantly.

A staff adjuster is employed by your insurance company and handles the claim on the carrier’s behalf. A public adjuster is licensed to represent the policyholder against the carrier, negotiates the claim on your behalf, and typically charges a percentage of the settlement. An independent adjuster is licensed to adjust losses but works on assignment rather than representing a policyholder against an insurer.

ACOR has licensed independent adjusters on staff. That means the people documenting your loss understand how carriers evaluate claims and what a file needs to be reviewable. It does not make us your representative, and it does not make us public adjusters. If you want someone to negotiate on your behalf against your insurer, that is a public adjuster or an attorney, and it is someone you would hire independently. It is not us.

Will you negotiate with my insurance company for me?

No. We will communicate with your carrier’s adjuster about the property, the damage, and the work, factual, contractor-to-adjuster communication. We will not argue coverage, dispute a determination, or push for a settlement figure, because that is the line between a contractor and a public adjuster and we do not cross it.

Do you charge for claim documentation?

No fee tied to the adjustment of a claim, no percentage of a settlement, and no charge for documenting work we are performing. Documentation is part of doing the restoration properly, not a separate product. Any charge from ACOR is for contracting work, priced as contracting work.

Should I call you or my insurance company first?

If damage is active, water running, fire just out, anything still getting worse, deal with safety first, then stop the source if you can do it safely, then call for emergency help. Damage that is still spreading is the urgent problem, and the claim can be opened shortly after.

Beyond that it is not really an either-or. Open the claim with your carrier when you are ready; that is your call to make and your policy may have notice requirements worth knowing. Call us at (208) 254-2053 whenever you need to. The line is answered 24/7. Having accurate documentation from the beginning tends to help, which is an argument for getting a contractor on site early rather than after things have been moved and cleaned up.

What if my claim is denied, or paid for less than the work costs?

Honest answer: that is between you and your carrier, and there is a limit to what a contractor can do about it.

What we can do is make sure our part is solid, that our documentation of the damage and our scope of the work are accurate, complete, and available to you and to your carrier. If a denial or a shortfall rests on a factual question about the property, accurate contractor documentation is relevant to it, and we can provide ours.

What we cannot do is appeal it, dispute it, or negotiate it. If you want to challenge a carrier’s determination, that is a public adjuster or an attorney licensed to do that work. We will cooperate with whoever you hire and provide our records. We will not pretend we can do their job.

Do you require a claim to be approved before you start work?

Emergency mitigation and claim approval run on different clocks, damage spreads while a claim is being evaluated, which is why emergency work often begins before anyone knows what the policy will pay. Reconstruction is usually different, since scope and approval normally get settled before a rebuild starts.

We will be direct with you about what work we are performing, what it will cost, and what is and is not settled with your carrier at the time. What we will not do is tell you a carrier will cover something, because that is not ours to promise.

Which carriers do you work with?

We document and perform work on claims with essentially any carrier. We are the contractor, not a party to your policy, and we do not have preferred-vendor arrangements that would put us on a carrier’s side of the table rather than doing the work in front of us.

Are you public adjusters?

Asked twice on purpose. No. Licensed contractor. Independent adjusters on staff for documentation and coordination. We do not negotiate coverage or settlements. We are not public adjusters.

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Related: Water Damage FAQ, Smoke & Fire Damage FAQ, Mold Remediation FAQ, Restoration & Reconstruction FAQ