The short answer: Friedman & Associates represents Brookhaven policyholders in hail, wind, tornado, water, fire and commercial claims, and in our specialty: claims that were denied or underpaid. This is the middle of the corridor we work every week. The initial claim review is free. If we offer representation, the written agreement states the contingency fee before you decide. No recovery, no fee. Call 877-650-3515 or text the partners.
Call us before you call your carrier. The first phone call shapes the whole claim. Already filed, or an adjuster already assigned? We're still your next call.
NOAA ledger
Reg. 120-2-52-.03
Every kind of DeKalb loss.
Results and press
$1,664,329 recovered above the carriers' first offers on just 10 recent published files, from more than a decade of this work. See real case results. You could be next.
"He helped me recover 4 times what insurance was offering… extremely diligent and moralistic in how he worked."Kelly, Google review · 4.8★ across 23 reviews · read them all
When you hire the firm, you get the partners: Joshua and Hannah Friedman, with Callie Macho on client success. Not a call center. And every inspection here happens in person, on the roof and in the attic.
Want the fuller picture first? The film, the results register, and the client portal are all at the front door. Meet the firm →
What a Brookhaven claim looks like
Brookhaven is a canopy city with pre-war bones. Historic Brookhaven, Ashford Park and the streets off Peachtree carry houses built between the twenties and the fifties, under oaks that were mature before most of them went up. That combination produces one claim over and over: a tree through a roof that was never a template roof to begin with.
Slate, clay tile, plaster, true divided-light sash and quartersawn trim are not drop-downs in estimating software. Your policy owes like kind and quality, and getting it means pricing the real assembly line by line before the carrier prices it as something cheaper.
High-value claims get private-client handling: strict confidentiality, your file held at the partner level, and the expert bench a complex home deserves. Private client services →
Not every claim qualifies. Four quick moves build your private review.
The law and the clock
Georgia puts real deadlines on your carrier: acknowledge within 15 days, affirm or deny within 15 days of your completed proof of loss, and pay undisputed amounts within 10 days of confirming coverage (Reg. 120-2-52-.03). A denial must cite the specific policy provision it relies on. If the policy contains an applicable appraisal clause and the dispute falls within the amount-of-loss questions assigned to the panel, either party may demand appraisal under that clause; the exact policy and claim record control (McGowan v. Progressive, 2006).
One clock outranks everything: your policy's own "Suit Against Us" clause. White v. State Farm (2012) enforced the one-year clause for the theft claim before it; the opinion did not decide tolling, waiver, or estoppel. Act 635 changes this prospectively only for qualifying first-party property policies issued, delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after July 1, 2027; it does not erase an earlier policy deadline today. Read your clause today, and have Georgia counsel calculate and preserve the earliest plausible deadline.
The DeKalb County record
The canopy that makes this city beautiful is the reason the claims start. 126 logged events in the county since 2020. The 2026 season is already on the record: 18 reports so far. Already this year, Mar 16, 2026: EF0 logged at Snapfinger, in this county. Tying your damage to a dated event on this record is how a wear-and-tear opinion gets rebutted.
Inside the one-year window: 18 logged events in this county in the last twelve months, the most recent on Jul 29, 2026. For policies outside Act 635's July 1, 2027 applicability boundary, the clause may still allow as little as one year from the date of loss, so the earliest date may still be working against you.
| Date | Event | Size or speed | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Scottdale |
| Jul 29, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Clarkston |
| Jul 29, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Stone Mountain |
| Jul 9, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Decatur |
| Jul 4, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Tucker |
| Dec 29, 2024 | Tornado | EF0 | Dunwoody |
| Jul 7, 2024 | Damaging wind | 49 mph | Oak Grove |
| Apr 24, 2021 | Hail | 1" | Stone Mtn |
† preliminary NWS Local Storm Report; NOAA finalization pending. More of the record lives at DeKalb County: damage figures and per-row federal links, refreshed weekly (last: 2026-08-10). Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, cross-read against NWS Local Storm Reports. Storm reports are point observations from spotters, stations, and survey teams — a sample of what happened, never an inventory. The absence of an entry for a date or place is not evidence that no damage occurred there.
The most severe on the county record
Carriers audit storm claims against this same federal record. By its own measurements, the worst of it looked like this:
| Date | Event | Where | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | Tornado — EF0 | Snapfinger | EF0 |
| Dec 29, 2024 | Tornado — EF0 | Dunwoody | EF0 |
| Jan 3, 2023 | Tornado — EF0 | Klondike | EF0 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | Damaging wind | (Pdk)Dekalb Peachtre | 71 mph wind |
| Aug 7, 2023 | Damaging wind | (Pdk)Dekalb Peachtre | 71 mph wind |
Ratings, hail sizes and wind speeds as recorded by the National Weather Service. NOAA also logs a rough dollar figure for some events; those are whole-event estimates entered by the local office, frequently blank and often far below real losses, so we do not publish them as if they meant anything about your claim.
Questions from around Brookhaven
Should I call you before I call my insurance company?
Yes. What gets said in the first call shapes the whole claim, so talk to us first. Already filed, or an adjuster already assigned? Call us anyway. We step in at any stage, and the earlier the better.
How much does a public adjuster cost in Brookhaven?
The initial claim review is free. If we offer representation, the written agreement states the contingency fee and scope before you decide. No recovery, no fee.
Was there really a tornado here?
Yes, and recently. Two days after Christmas 2024 a brief EF1 crossed the Blackwells area and the federal survey recorded damage to about a dozen homes. If your claim from that week was closed short, the date is still on the record.
Was the September 2023 hail big enough to hurt my roof?
It was. NOAA logged golf-ball hail, 1.75 inches, at Mars Hill Road and Hadaway Road on September 12, 2023, with more of it across the Brookstone side. Hail from an inch up bruises asphalt shingles and dents soft metals, and none of it has to be visible from the ground.
The check will not rebuild the roof. What is the lever?
If the policy contains an applicable appraisal clause and the dispute falls within the amount-of-loss questions assigned to the panel, either party may demand appraisal under that clause; the exact policy and claim record control (McGowan v. Progressive, 2006).
A tree came through the roof. What does the claim actually cover?
More than the hole. Wind is the peril and the tree is the instrument, so the claim runs to the roof system, the framing, the insulation, the interior water and the finishes, plus debris removal under its own limit.
How long do I have to act after a Brookhaven storm loss?
Two clocks matter. Your insurer owes you an acknowledgment within 15 days under Georgia regulation, so report promptly and in writing. The dangerous clock is your policy’s "Suit Against Us" clause: White v. State Farm (2012) enforced the one-year clause for the theft claim before it. Act 635 changes this prospectively only for qualifying first-party property policies issued, delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after July 1, 2027; it does not erase an earlier policy deadline today.
Can my roofer handle the insurance claim for me?
No, and Georgia drew that line to protect you. Adjusting or negotiating someone else’s claim takes a public adjuster license (O.C.G.A. § 33-23-43), and the law specifically bars roofing contractors from doing it (§ 10-1-393.12). That is no knock on your roofer. We handle the carrier, your roofer handles the roof, and we work well beside good contractors.
Prefer a quieter first step? Ask us anything, free: a real answer from a licensed adjuster, no strings.
Friedman & Associates are licensed Georgia public adjusters, not attorneys. Our work is the licensed practice of public adjusting under O.C.G.A. § 33-23-43: reading the policy, documenting and valuing the loss, negotiating with the carrier, and preparing appraisal. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and litigation, including bad-faith suits, is referred to independent policyholder counsel.
Don't take the carrier's first number. A free, confidential review by licensed Georgia public adjusters who work this corridor every week. If we take the case, the fee comes from the recovery, never from you.
See if my case qualifies 877-650-3515