Hi, looking for an answer I can't really find anywhere. I hired a public adjuster for my roofing claim (the public adjuster also owns the roofing company that would perform the work) and I'm curious about the contingency fee if I were to not perform the work.

Basically I have a claim for about ~$4000 (check received for this) and a possible additional ~$2000 in recoverable depreciation once the work is performed etc. My public adjuster informed me if I decide not to do the work or decide to use a different company I can simply pay him the 25% contingency fee and he will sign off on the ~$4000 check I received BUT he's calculating the fee based on the entire sum including the recoverable depreciation.

Does that sound right? Can he deduct his fee from recoverable depreciation if no work is being performed, meaning I will never see that additional money?

The contract exactly states "25% fee from all sums recovered by adjustment settlement." Would recoverable depreciation be considered a recovered sum if no work is being performed?

 

Sounds like a conflict of interest. I would contact my insurance company and explain what what is being proposed.

 

Well I spoke with my insurance claim adjuster and they said the money for depreciation is only recovered if the items in the claim are replaced. So basically if I don’t do any work I won’t receive that money but if I hire a different roofing contractor and provide them with the invoice that those items were replaced I’d receive that depreciation.

 

This is what bothers me. Is he in anyway connected to the municipality of your town? Or is he in anyway connected to the insurance company? Exactly what is a public adjuster? Most insurance companies will send out their own adjuster and you decided who you want to fix it. You then get quotes from various roofers or suggestions from your insurance company.

Years back I had my insurance company send over an inspector/adjuster who actually climb up on the roof and decided what needed replacement or fixing. But that adjuster worked for the insurance company and did not own or work for a roofer or contractor.

Or did you hire and ask for a quote for which you are being invoiced for. Highly unusual. Normally you get quotes free of charge then you decide who you want to do the job based on his quote.
Also be sure that this "adjuster" will be responsible for all permits and and is fully covered by insurance and worker compensation. Also he will be fully responsible for all gutter work and clean up. And he can offer some type of warranty.

PS... be sure specifically as k for a drip edge. Not all contractors include that.

 

The public adjuster is just a private adjuster that handles the whole process of the claim with the insurance companies adjuster, basically to try and get a higher settlement than if you were to do it yourself. The public adjuster company owns their own exterior remodeling company to perform the work in the claim.

So if I do the work with them they waive the contingency fee. But if I decide to not do any work or decide to hire someone else to do the work then I have to pay the contingency fee, which is fine, but I don’t see how they can charge the contingency fee based on the recoverable depreciation if no work is being done.

Long story short, he doesn’t want to replace the shingles on my garage without redoing the sheathing because it’s shiplap and the spacing is over 1/8” or something like that. So I have to pay to replace the sheathing, which the insurance doesn’t cover but I can’t justify paying additional money out of pocket on top of a $6k claim to reroof a 2 car detached garage. Just doesn’t make sense.

 

OK so in effect you are challenging the insurance claim. Kind of like a lawyer disputing an auto accident injury claim. So you hired an independent adjuster to "prove" to the insurance company that they did not properly asses the claim. Yes you owe him everything he is asking for! And yes, if you want a proper job the sheathing should be done in his opinion. But not in the insurance adjusters opinion. I understand his position. He wants to make sure his workmanship is top notch and does not want to "patch-up" someone else's work. It's up to you to decide who is correct.

In my opinion I would go with the insurance company's adjustment. Two things....They obviously want to make a profit and will do whatever it takes to keep cost down. But also they are insuring your structure from damage and want to do the job right so as not to incur more claims.

In short, you hired him under his conditions and therefore you abide by his rules.

 

The insurance companies adjustment doesn’t include sheathing and the roofing contractor is charging quite a bit more for the work compared to the insurance adjustment. Neither the insurance adjuster or public adjuster went inside the building and inspected the sheathing. It wasn’t until after the claim was closed and I had to bring it up to the public adjuster the question of if sheathing needed replacement.

So basically if I told them let’s do the work like the insurance claim is, then they would rip up the whole garage to find out the sheathing needs replacement and then I’d have to pay to replace it.

 

You might be able to go back to the insurance and re-open the claim siting hidden damage (btw...what happened to initiate this claim? wind/storm damage or fire?) or improper inspection from their adjuster. Or maybe submit another claim. Is the structure in anyway compromised by the initial problem or will it be compromised if the sheathing is not not done. And does your local codes demand sheathing.

 

The roofing company (public adjuster) informed me that they would not be able to get any additional money from the insurance company and that they would not cover cost of replacing sheathing. I’m not sure if it’s building code requirement but the roofer told me he would not replace the shingles without new sheathing because he cannot guarantee it or provide a warranty.

The claim was opened due to hail and wind damage (mainly the main structure) but the insurance company stated the hail damage is too small to be covered and they’re also claiming improper installation of the shingles and therefore are not covering the main structure even though I can literally lift sections of the shingles with my finger due to wind lifting them up and breaking the adhesive.

Now I’m stuck with an open claim that is only partially covering the garage and my only option is to pay additional money to replace the sheathing or pay the public adjuster his fee and either keep the remaining money or find someone else to do the work.

 

In my opinion, since you already are in his debt, go with the current roofing contractor. He will put everything right and to code and to your insurance company's liking. He will also give or should give you a warranty of sorts. Calling another roofer to quote at this point in time will only delay things and might cost you more. One more thing. ask about a tin roof. They are becoming more and more common at or near the cost of shingle roofing. Just an option.
Since the main structure is not covered by your insurance company, maybe you should bite the bullet and have the whole house done. Your contactor might be willing to cut a deal for the additional work. Then your covered for the next 20 to 30 years both by a new roof and insurance coverage. Yes we're talking big money. But you're also talking about your home.