[00:00:00] Speaker A: I had a jetted tub in my master bathroom and the motor inside the tub had some sort of electrical surge. It caught on fire and then my whole bathroom upstairs started catching on fire.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: Is your car still under warranty?
[00:00:21] Speaker C: No, not anymore.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: My mechanic just suggested an extended service plan from OX Car Care.
[00:00:26] Speaker C: OX Car Care?
[00:00:27] Speaker B: Yeah. OX will cover repair bills if anything happens to the car. New brakes, transmission, AC or engine problems. Plus, OX Car Care offers free oil changes, tire rotation and roadside assistance.
[00:00:38] Speaker C: Wait, you pay nothing on repairs, OX gets it fixed, Free oil changes, free tire rotation and free roadside assistance?
[00:00:46] Speaker B: Yeah. You don't pay, Ox pays. Ox even has a 30 day money back guarantee and is A rated on the BBB. They handle their claims from start to finish, unlike those other warranty companies.
[00:00:55] Speaker C: The last thing I need is an unexpected car repair bill. I'm calling Ox Car Care now.
[00:01:00] Speaker B: Call Ox Car Care for your free quote. 800-238-1063. Ask about senior and military discounts. Don't get stuck with a major car repair bill. Call OX Car Care 8002-3810-6380-0238-1063 or go.
[00:01:16] Speaker A: To oxcarcare.com welcome back. Welcome back to 3564, a podcast for the Middle. Today I have a personal story that I want to tell you and I want you to share with your friends, family, anyone you know who is a homeowner. This episode is for you. So I was at my home that I currently own and I was meeting with a handful of colleagues actually who work on this very podcast. We were sitting at a table, we were discussing future episodes and all of a sudden there was this strange smell in the air and I wasn't quite sure what it was. We were all eating lunch and I looked behind me and it looked like there was some white smoke sort of coming from the upstairs area. And I thought, what in the world could this be? Maybe, I don't know, it was really unusual. I sort of thought, gosh, I better go check this out. And I got up from the table downstairs, I walked upstairs and that white smoke that was billowing from my bedroom had now become black. It took just about 90 seconds and my total vision was darkened. I knew a fire had broken out in my house. And you know what? It smelled terrible. It smelled like burning plastic. If you've ever been around a campfire and someone has thrown in some plastic and you, you sense that real putrid, strong scent. It smelled like thousands of plastic pieces on fire. And I immediately knew it was time to call the fire department. I got to tell you, the orange county fire department was at my home within minutes. They sent multiple engines, and before I knew it, there was water coming through the top windows in my home to put out a fire in my master bathroom. So I had a jetted tub in my master bathroom, and the motor inside the tub had some sort of electrical surge. It caught on fire, and then my whole bathroom upstairs started catching on fire. I have to say, I was so lucky I was home. The fire department was responsive, but my goodness, it was a really scary experience.
And before I knew it, the fire was put out. My whole home downstairs was flooded from the water coming through the top, and the fire department left. And I was sort of dumbstruck standing there. What in the world do I do next? Well, of course, I thought I better contact my insurance company. And so that's what I did. I filed a claim right away using their preferred online process. I sent them some pictures, and I sat around really quite shaken, thinking, wow, this home is totally smelly. It smells like a campfire. You know, actual, you know, kind of this. That smell that you get when you sit by a campfire. Everything in my home, my couch, my clothes, my towels, the beds, everything reeked terribly. It was very hard to breathe. It was just really not a great place to be living, sitting, breathing that air. So I stayed. I spent the night, multiple nights. My kids even came home. We were coughing. We had gazillions of fans going, trying to clear out any kind of smokiness.
And my neighbor, I'm going to give him a shout out right now, Mark came across the street and he said, karen, what's going on with your claim? Why are you even home? You shouldn't be living in your house. It's not healthy. And you know what? No one even told me that I had the opportunity to leave. He said, yeah, your insurance company will pay for temporary relocation until you can get this under control. Well, my insurance adjuster certainly didn't tell me that. In fact, they hadn't even begun to make any kind of movement for remediation. He said, karen, you need a public insurance adjuster. I had no idea what that is. Do you know what that is? Okay, so this is the biggest homeowner secret I think nobody shares. But if you have something, a complex claim, something like a flood, a fire, something that perhaps you're not an expert in, and you need to make a claim and get reimbursement from your homeowners, you can hire somebody to represent you. That is called a public insurance adjuster. So he said he had a great recommendation for me. I quickly called. They had someone over within 24 hours. I had multiple services at my home that I didn't even know I was entitled to. And I thought, does anyone out there even know these people exist? So the purpose of my message today is not fire prevention and to tell you sort of a crazy story about my bathtub catching on fire. It is mostly so you know that you have somebody that you can reach out to if you are experiencing some sort of homeowner claim on your homeowner's insurance. So let me formally define what a public insurance adjuster is. So a public insurance adjuster is a claims professional who does not work for the insurance company. They work for you. You hire them. They help with the preparation, the presentation, and the settlement of a claim. Their responsibility is to negotiate in your best interest to get the maximum benefit you can from the policy you hold. Now, you and I are likely not insurance professionals. Maybe you are. But it's really difficult to know what you should expect. How much money is this going to cost to repair? What are the experts in the area? How long is this going to take? Should the insurance company pay to put me up in a hotel or perhaps even a rental property? I'm actually recording in a studio that if you're a follower, you probably don't recognize because I am at a rental home. I am not in what I call the firehouse right now that is currently under construction and trying to get back to normal. There are four reasons why most people hire a public adjuster. Reason number one, your insurance claim is complex. I'm just going to throw this out there as a baseline. If your claim is over $50,000, it is complex. It probably involves multiple experts, vendors, studies, and comparisons. I think that having an expert come alongside of you could probably help alleviate some of the stress and get you what you need. Number two, your claim has been denied. Gosh, that would be terrible. You pay your policy on a monthly or yearly basis. You have something legitimate happen in and around your home, and it is flat out denied. Well, this is another common reason why a public adjuster might get involved on your behalf. If you're looking for one third reason you think your insurance company should have paid you more. Now, I'm not going to speak to all the legalities in your specific state and area where you live. I know there are expirations on claims, but I also know that you have a certain amount of time to come back to your insurance company and tell them that the true cost of replacement or whatever that was, was not sufficient. So even if you've received a claim they've paid out on it, you can still bring in an adjuster to help you meet the gap of really where it should have been and what they paid out on. And then last but not least, I'm going to call this the fourth reason is you're just really busy. I fall into that category. I fall into multiple categories here. Probably the complex piece of the claim as well as I have a lot of things going on. I love working on this podcast. I run a marketing agency, I'm working with all sorts of clients and when I'm not working I love to spend time with my family, children and friends. So I don't want to spend hours every week coordinating appointments, drafting letters to the insurance company, going back to my firehouse for all these quotes coming in and out. I'm telling you this stuff can turn into a full time job and I simply don't have time for that. So those are the top four reasons why you might hire a public adjuster. Now I'm going to tell you one additional piece here is that they are not free. They do make a percentage of the claim that they are able to get for you. The most common number is probably 15% of the total of the claim, but you'll see that range anywhere from 5 to 20%, always negotiable and also something that varies state to state. Some states cap that percentage. So look into your unique situation. But it is not a free service. But my goodness, it is worth every penny. I have heard a couple of stories about some adjusters being sort of slimy and trying to work the system. Listen, we all know when we sit across someone who is unethical and I am not advocating for you to look into some sort of way to screw over the insurance company, but I hundred percent think you should advocate for yourself to get what you deserve with the policy that you have. I know that I could not have done that without Tricia who is my public adjuster. And I want you to know that this resource is out there for you to look into should you have a claim. Something happening in your home that's unexpected. It's just a huge tip that I want to share with you. It's making my life easier and I hope you'll share this with someone who needs to hear it. I think the best way of getting some sort of contact here is probably through referral. If you know someone has used a public adjuster ask them if they had a good experience and who they are. I think that there are really great folks out there who can help you get through this process seamlessly and make this a lot less painful than it has to be and maximize your ultimate benefit so you can get back to the home that you loved and into a healthy state where you're living. That is my homeowner tip for you today. I hope it's helpful. I can't wait to hear what you think. Please let me know if this episode was helpful for you. I want to hear your story of your claim that went south and I'll continue to keep you all posted on my firehouse. But until then, I will be in my rental house, loving the healthy air and ready to move back in once my home is all repaired. Thanks again for listening everyone and that brings us to the end of another episode. I hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did. Okay, so if you haven't already, make sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss another episode if you're loving what you hear. I would be incredibly grateful if you took just a moment to rate and review this show on your favorite podcast platform. It helps others discover us and it's a great place to share your thoughts, suggestions and ideas for future episodes. For even more exclusive content and detailed show notes, check out our
[email protected] and that's spelled out 3564.com. As always, a huge, huge thank you for spending time with me today during this episode. I appreciate that you tuned in. I'm going to leave you the same way I do every episode. Remember, it's not too late, you're not too old, and you're definitely not dead. Okay, until next time, friends.
Today's episode is brought to you by Dana Kreeth Lighting, where artisanal craftsmanship meets innovative design. Are you searching for lighting that stands out from the rest? You've got to check out Dana Kreeth Lighting. Handcrafted in Southern California, each piece exudes attention to detail and commitment to quality. Say goodbye to replacements and hello to long lasting beauty. Visit danacreeth.com that's D A N A C R e a t h.com to view their stunning collections or stop by their showroom at 1822 Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa, California. Dana Creith Lighting where elegance meets innovation.
