Adjusters International Pacific Northwest Testimonials

Seven alarms and 85 fire fighters later, our entire south building had burned down to the garage level...It was at this time that I learned of a profession that is known as Public Adjusters…We quickly concluded that our expertise was not in maximizing insurance claims…The question was – ‘who should we use?’…One name came up again and again. It was Adjusters International (AI)…Everyone had glowing comments about their experiences with Al and Drew. After getting agreement from our lender, Bank of America, we entered into an agreement to have AI represent us…Complicated insurance claims in excess of $10mm are not pleasurable experiences…Choosing someone who will work hard until the claim is closed is critical. Adjusters International did just that.

On behalf of our whole congregation, please accept our sincere thanks for the outstanding effort you put in settling our claim with the insurance company. No words would ever be enough to describe the joy of our congregation on Christmas Eve, when we were able to meet in our new building for the first time. In September when the first fire happened, The Greenspan Co./Adjusters International promised us their best person for the job, and that couldn’t be any truer. Your knowledge, persistence, and great attitude of “going the extra mile,” contributed tremendously to the success of the reconstruction process.

I want to compliment you for being particularly astute in picking up on the cultural details of our community, and showing great patience and consideration towards us. Thank you for not running away when meetings would alternate between languages. We believe you have a gift of understanding us, even though at times we spoke languages other than English. For our congregation of refugees and first generation immigrants, your efforts brought way more than just a restoration of what was lost in the fires; it helped us regain the sense of belonging that was lost with the loss of our property.

Words cannot express how grateful we are that Dave Droubay was there while the ashes were still smoldering and that he wouldn’t give up on trying to help us, for weeks after I tried to brush him off…Like everyone, we slept well at night knowing we were protected with a large homeowner’s policy. We all hear stories of how badly insurance companies treat their insured during a widespread catastrophic loss, but you never think it would happen to you. Then it does, and you quickly realize your insurance company is not sending over the nice people you see in their commercials, who immediately help you get your life back to where it was before. They are a corporation whose goal is to maximize profits and minimize loss. The truth is that your life will never be the same; and if you leave it to them, they will leave you a shell of your former financial self…We were surprised at the stark contrast between the friendly agent we have known for 7 years, and the claim’s adjuster. We had no idea our agent had zero control, or influence, over anything once a claim is made. The adjuster had zero interest in anything other than saving the company as much money as possible. It is truly every man for himself when there is a loss!...Your experience and knowledge are invaluable. Your compassion, consideration, and attention to detail, have turned what could have been a horrible, charred time in our life, into what could be the best thing that ever happened to us. Having been a funeral director, and helping hundreds of families at what is often the worst point in their life, I know the amount of work and care you put into your job. We are so grateful that you found us, and picked us up.

We greatly appreciate your professionalism, knowledge, and experience that have assisted us in the preparation of the claim and through our recent negotiations with the insurance carriers. It is clear to us that without your involvement we would not have received the 'fair' settlement that was concluded in December. The team you assembled brought extensive experience to the table during a time when it was critical. Without this experience, we would not have been able to make it through the catastrophe in the manner we did.

Our hotel in Seaside, Oregon, suffered a severe windstorm loss in December 2005. We were overwhelmed by the extent of damage and the lack of any help from our insurance company. At the onset the insurer’s adjuster stated that the damage was less than $10,000, which was below our policy deductible, and simply closed their file. We were unsure of hiring a public adjuster at first. We were very fortunate to have found your firm to help us. Your team did a wonderful job of properly investigating, measuring, and negotiating the loss…With your hard work we were able to settle the building claim for several million dollars, which was the right amount that we were owed to restore the hotel back to its pre-loss condition…The fee we paid of almost $250,000 was well earned and more than likely much less than legal representation would have cost on our own.

Our home of nearly 20 years was lost. Each part of the house, filled with so many fond memories, so many objects that held meaning for us, all now gone. Needless to say, we were stunned confused, bewildered, full of grief and vulnerable…We felt that we were meeting with someone who truly cared, who truly wanted to be helpful. We experienced Blair as warm and comforting. His kind sense of humor was much appreciated at this difficult time. He was, as Jillian remarked, like a ‘soft place to land’…Understandably, insurance companies and those they insure may differ on what a fair settlement might be. Dudley has been our stalwart and assertive advocate, insistent that things be fair and done correctly, treating our situation as if it were his own. It has felt great to feel that such a skillful negotiator has been in our corner. We certainly could not have done the job on our own, both because of our lack of knowledge regarding so many factors involved in the process, and our emotional state – not to mention the fact that, both of us being in business, the demands on our time and energy would have been overwhelming…We are now rebuilding our home. Though it remains difficult to let go of our attachment to what we have lost, thanks to the hard work of the Seattle branch of Adjusters International, we now have the resources to create a new home, which we think we will come to love as much as the other. Dudley and the team will continue to shepherd us throughout the process until it is completed. They have stood up for us. They have been fair and clear and professional. They have calmly guided us through what felt to us like stormy and overwhelming seas.

I told him that I was an attorney and I initially had the idea that I could just handle all of this by myself. After all, I had been the general contractor on building my own house – surely I could handle a fire loss…Then I told him that we had a meeting in my attorney’s office in Seattle with Gordon and KC and they explained what they could do to help me. My attorney and I looked at each other and both said “no way could we do all of this ourselves.” For one thing, my attorney didn’t have the time to work on all the fire loss issues and if I tackled it alone, I told “Richard”, it would have taken me 5 years to do all that Adjusters International did for me…I explained that just the PROCESS and getting your loss claims in a format that the insurance company will accept is daunting. Then, I told him that AI fights for you – when the insurance company wants to use “national tables” and depreciate everything – even a lot of your new stuff…it’s maddening, and without AI and namely, Drew Lucurell, to go to bat for me, I would have been sunk. I told him that he would more than recover any fee paid to AI just by having them work for him vis-à-vis the insurance company, who basically wants to settle early, settle cheap and SCREW YOU!

I want you to know that I’m a typical American home-owner, never had a loss in over 50 years of premium paying, and what a terrific blessing it was to hook up with your organization! Helpless in despair, really not thinking clearly, AIPNW came my way and I resisted contracting with your firm for a time, believing I could go “head to head” with a huge insurance cartel…silly, unarmed guy! Please, use my recommendation to encourage the haughty to consider how truly “David versus Goliath” the claim settlement process is. In such possibly nasty negotiations, the endless cataloguing of every item I owned, how could I have thought I could do it better than you people who take a modest slice to accomplish so much for the ill-equipped?