When the time comes to file a large insurance claim, having a Public Adjuster on your side can be the difference between a check for $50k or $5 million.
It’s no secret that insurance companies are in the business of paying out as little as they possibly can on any given claim. Just like you wouldn’t go to court without a lawyer, having Ayzertech’s licensed Public Adjusters on your team when going toe to toe with your insurance company is the best way to guarantee that your policy is honored to the fullest possible degree. We spoke with Ayzertech Founder & CEO Howard Tkatch as well as Director of Operations & Business Development Selim Friedman to learn how their firm leverages their expertise to maximize insurance payouts on commercial real estate and high end residential properties around the country.
An Advocate for the Insured
Tkatch first learned about Public Adjusters while he was in the process of filing an insurance claim of his own. “We had just put a pretty large addition on our house, and there was a short in one of the electrical wires that ended up causing a fire,” he recalled.
While he was dealing with the fallout from the fire, Tkatch learned about the services that Public Adjusters offer. In essence, a Public Adjuster advocates for the insured and takes care of the insurance claim process for their clients from start to finish. As an advocate for the insured, a Public Adjuster reviews the policy, brings in their own experts like engineers, architects, and industrial hygienists, determines just how much a policy should cover, and then goes through the hard work of actually getting the insurance company to pay out.
“Going through something like that is beyond overwhelming. Your first thought isn’t ‘Oh God, am I going to be covered?”
Tkatch, who worked for one of the largest international mitigation companies in the country at the time, was immediately attracted to the work. “How many businesses are there where you’re actually helping people and making money at the same time?” he asks. “For me, it’s a win-win.”
The Money is in the Details
Friedman, an MBA who helped run the high risk department of a credit card processing company that was recently acquired by a publicly traded company before joining Ayzertech, points out how Tkatch’s detail-oriented mind is perfect for the job of being a Public Adjuster. “He’s a very analytical person,” says Friedman. “He’s the kind of guy who reads textbooks for fun.”
“It’s true,” adds Tkatch.
That’s why Ayzertech’s work begins with a holistic review of the policy and the insured’s history, a process that goes beyond a close reading of the policy itself. “It’s both a technical review and a personal review,” explains Friedman. “We don’t want to just talk about the claim itself, but also the effects of the claim.”
Some of the time, Azyertech will advise against filing a claim because it might cause the insured to have their premiums go up or for them to be dropped from coverage entirely. On the flip side, the firm’s Public Adjusters often discover damage and coverage that was overlooked by both the insured and the insurance company, multiplying the estimated payout many times over. From here, the firm shifts into high gear, tapping into their nationwide network of industry experts including attorneys, mitigation companies, and other specialists to leave no stone unturned and no dollar unclaimed.
“A policy could be hundreds of pages long,” continues Friedman. “It’s important to have somebody from our experienced team of professionals in your corner because most people don’t understand the technicalities involved.”
Most importantly, Ayzertech takes over handling the claim, sparing their client the headache of dealing with complex insurance bureaucracies and letting them focus on their business. “We shepherd you through the process of trying to get back up and running as much as possible,” says Tkatch.
One of the services that Ayzertech offers that sets them apart from other Public Adjusters is their willingness to engage in the appraisal process, an alternative to litigation that is similar to an arbitration and is mandated as an option in every insurance policy. “When you reach an impasse, you can either hire attorneys, which is very expensive, or facilitate the appraisal process, which was designed to be faster and get better results for the insured,” says Tkatch. “A lot of public adjusters have never done it, but we’re very experienced with the process.”
Don’t Leave Any Money on the Table
Ayzertech’s holistic approach to each client and claim produces stark results. Take, for example, the case of a large South Dakota nursing home that was damaged by a tornado. The property owner began the claims process on their own and had received an original estimate of just over $4 million from their insurance company before enlisting Ayzertech’s services. “Sometimes a client will handle it themselves and find that it’s an uphill battle because they aren’t familiar with all the tactics insurance companies use to pay as little as possible,” says Friedman.
Once Ayzertech got involved, they reviewed the policy, visited the site, and determined that a lot of the damage had been missed in the estimate. After negotiating with the insurance company, the client was awarded just under $8 million in payment, nearly twice the original estimate.
One of Tkatch’s favorite cases originated from an existing client, who owned multifamily properties in Toledo. “He called me up and said he had a small water loss at an apartment complex,” recalls Tkatch, who always checks out any claim one of his clients has, no matter how small it may seem at first. “I went down there, and the mitigation company had opened up the wall, and I noticed some kind of waste in there that I didn’t recognize.”
“While we can still help in these situations, it’s definitely smoother when we’re involved from the start.”
Never one to leave a mystery unsolved, Tkatch enlisted the services of an industrial hygienist, who determined that the waste product was in fact bat guano, which is a serious health hazard. “The policy was slightly ambiguous about whether that was covered, because it excluded damage from animals,” says Tkatch. “But it didn’t exclude damage from animals’ waste products.” In the end, the insurance company settled the claim to the tune of $3.9 million dollars, which covered the guano removal. “The client ended up with a lot more money than he would have gotten otherwise,” says Tkatch. “And most importantly, the hazard got removed from the building.”
In terms of raw payout difference, one of the starkest cases Ayzertech ever handled started with some hail damage to the roof on a Chicago nursing home. “Roofs are very technical,” explains Friedman. “When something’s compromised in that way, it has a deleterious effect. So just putting a patch on it doesn’t necessarily fix the issue.” In this case, the client involved Ayzertech three years after the original damage and insurance claim, which had resulted in a payout for $94,940.07. But the damage had not been fixed in time in the first place, creating more problems down the road.
“It was a long shot,” recalls Friedman. “But we got involved. We sent our roof consultants, and the insurance company sent their engineers, so we had our own team of engineers come out and fight them on it.” In the end, Ayzertech’s team found evidence of damage and determined that the client’s policy should cover it. The result? Years after the original claim was settled for just under $100k, the insurance company assessed the total damage and code upgrade at $2,602,708.59.
Reach Out Before Filing a Claim
Ayzertech offers free consultations to clients who hold policies on commercial properties like multi-family apartments, nursing home facilities, and office spaces as well as high-end residential real estate. The firm will review your insurance policy and inform you about any potential issues that might come up if and when you go to file a claim, from coinsurance penalties to waivers that might be missing from your policy even though you’re paying for them. You’ll feel better knowing that Ayzertech’s Public Adjusters are on your team when you need them most.
Fill out the contact form on their website or call their office line at 1-855-CLAIM-55 to set up an appointment with one of Ayzertech’s public adjusters.