I had a significant amount of damage to my house in a recent storm. I am working with a contractor, who met with me and the insurance adjuster to assess the damage. The adjuster came back with a quote that was 30-50% lower than I expected. I am not looking to take advantage of the situation - some of the estimates were clearly lower than market value (e.g. a couple hundred bucks for a massive picture window).
The contractor I'm working with suggested using a Public Adjuster who will take the lower of 10% of the total claim or 15% of the additional money he gets from the claim.
My suggestion is that the contractor supplies the insurance company with a supplemental claim to see what happens. If that doesn't work, I would consider a Public Adjuster. The contractor also mentioned a stipulation for Overhead and Profit which is typically 15-20% of the claim amount and covers the cost of the PA, and that ultimately I should only be out the deductible.
Does this seem reasonable and is there anything else I should be considering? The quote is absolutely low but I am unclear on the best way to negotiate. TIA!