The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is warning the public to be cautious about scam artists targeting victims of recent wildfires.
Good Samaritans often help victims of wildfires and other disasters, but not everyone who offers aid does so for altruistic reasons. Known as public adjuster scams, the crimes occur when a public adjuster claims an insurer won’t pay the fair value of a property loss claim and offers to help for a percentage of the amount paid. While public adjusters are legal in California, dishonest adjusters can take advantage of people in vulnerable situations by charging exorbitant fees, stealing personal information and referring them to a unscrupulous contractor for a kickback.
The District Attorney’s Office announced that last year, a public adjuster was sentenced to seven years in prison for embezzling $400,000 from Los Angeles County fire victims by cashing insurance claim checks that were meant to help rebuild homes.
Members of the public are encouraged to contact their insurance company adjuster first and get a written estimate of the damage costs. If there is a disagreement, a public adjuster can be hired a for a second estimate.
Public adjusters must be licensed and bonded, and their license status can be verified with the California Department of Insurance by calling (800)967-9331, or visiting insurance.ca.gov/license-status.
If a public adjuster is hired, ask for a written agreement and make sure all of the adjuster’s fees are understood before it is signed. To report public adjuster scams to the DA’s Consumer Protection Division, call (213)257-2450.
2 Comments
[…] giving the best quality service ever. In a world of wrongdoing and in recent news, even companies taking advantage of others, Adjuster Pro Inc is a Public Adjuster in Los Angeles that not only adds value to each case, but […]
Insurance Companies make the PUBLIC believe that Public Adjusters are deceitful, money hungry, untrustworthy, and overall bad. Why? Public Adjusters basically regulate the Insurance Companies so they do not deny your claims or pay you the least amount possible. You pay a yearly premium to be covered under homeowners insurance. The insirance company takes your money and reinvests it into the stock market and guess what!!!?!!! Your $1k a year you paid turns into $100k a year due to the fact that your money was used for the company to invest and not to cover homeowners for claims. So if people think that Public Adjusters are liars we’ll just know that every person out there gets lied to by their insurance company that you are supposed to trust. That is a fact and regardless of what anyone says in response to deny what I just said you are a liar. Trust me everyone this is a fact!!!!!!!