The short answer: Friedman & Associates represents Fair Play policyholders in storm, hail, wind, water, fire, shoreline and commercial claims, and in our specialty: claims that were denied or underpaid. We are licensed in South Carolina and inspect on site. Fees are contingency only, in a written contract with the terms in bold. No recovery, no fee. Call 770-230-2616 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.
S.C. Code § 38-48-130
NOAA ledger
S.C. Code § 38-48-110
Every kind of Oconee 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 this lake is not a pin on our map — Josh and Hannah vacation on it.
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 Fair Play claim looks like
Fair Play sits on Lake Hartwell where South Carolina meets Georgia, which makes it second-home and weekend country. Damage found on a Friday often happened weeks earlier, and the only thing that closes that gap is a dated event on the federal record.
On the water it is docks, lifts and covered slips under other-structures limits. Off it, the losses are roofs and outbuildings on big open lots where wind has a long run at everything standing.
High-value claims get private-client handling: strict confidentiality, your file held at the partner level, and the expert bench a complex property deserves. Private client services →
Not every claim qualifies. Three taps to find out if yours does.
The law and the clock
South Carolina writes the rules that protect you in plain terms. A public adjuster contract must be in writing with the key terms in bold (S.C. Code § 38-48-80), you get five business days to cancel after signing (§ 38-48-110), and a contractor who adjusts the claim it intends to repair commits a felony (§ 38-48-130). When the carrier goes quiet, a properly served demand starts the 90-day window that sits behind South Carolina's attorney-fee shift.
One clock outranks everything: your policy's own "Suit Against Us" clause. Many policies shorten the deadline by contract. Read yours the day a claim goes sideways — negotiation does not pause it.
The Oconee County record
Hail fell here this year. That date is still working for you. 83 logged events in the county since 2020, and the newest hail on the county record fell right here. The 2026 season is already on the record: 17 reports so far, with hail to 1.75" near Fair Play. The biggest hail on the record near here in the last twelve months is 1.75", at 3 Nw Fair Play, on July 2, 2026. 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 Aug 2, 2026, including 4 hail reports. Many South Carolina policies shorten the suit deadline by contract, so those are the dates still working for you.
| Date | Event | Size or speed | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Walhalla |
| Aug 2, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Westminster |
| Jul 11, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Salem |
| Jul 10, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Seneca |
| Jul 10, 2026 † | Damaging wind | damage reported | Fair Play |
| Jul 2, 2026 † | Hail | 1.75" | Fair Play |
| Jul 10, 2025 | Hail | 1" | Tamassee |
| Jun 7, 2025 | Damaging wind | 64 mph | Fair Play |
† preliminary NWS Local Storm Report; NOAA finalization pending. More of the record lives at Oconee County: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 13, 2020 | Tornado — EF3 | Oakway | EF3 |
| Apr 13, 2020 | Tornado — EF1 | Jocassee | EF1 |
| Aug 17, 2021 | Tornado — EF0 | Courtenay | EF0 |
| Aug 2, 2020 | Hail | Fair Play | 0.88" hail |
| Jan 11, 2020 | Damaging wind | Tokeena Xrds | 75 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 Fair Play
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 does a public adjuster get paid in South Carolina?
On contingency, out of the recovery, never out of your pocket. South Carolina requires the terms in bold in a written contract (S.C. Code § 38-48-80), and you get five business days to cancel after signing (§ 38-48-110). No recovery, no fee, and the case review is free.
Can my contractor handle the claim for me?
No, and South Carolina drew a hard line to protect you: a contractor who adjusts the claim it intends to repair commits a felony (S.C. Code § 38-48-130). That is no knock on your builder. We handle the carrier, your builder handles the build, and we work well beside good contractors.
Does my policy cover the dock and the boat lift?
Usually under other structures rather than the dwelling limit, and often with a sub-limit of its own, so the number is smaller and easier to underpay. Read the declarations page before you accept anything on a shoreline structure, and photograph the whole dock, not just the broken part.
The carrier has gone quiet. Is there anything that makes them move?
Yes, and it is written down. South Carolina puts a 90-day demand window behind an attorney-fee shift, so a properly served demand starts a clock the carrier can feel. Getting the demand right is the point.
Hurricane Helene damaged my property. Is that still claimable?
Both lake counties were federally designated for Individual Assistance after Helene in September 2024. The federal record has the date. Whether your claim is still live depends on your policy’s own suit clause, which is why the date matters more than the memory.
The check will not rebuild the roof. What is the lever?
Your policy carries one. When the carrier admits coverage but the number is wrong, the appraisal clause forces a binding valuation by independent appraisers. It takes the number out of the carrier’s hands and puts it in front of people paid to measure.
I am not there most of the year. How does that work?
It is most of what we do on this lake. We inspect on site, document to appraisal standard, and every client gets a secure login to a live case file, so you can watch the claim move from wherever you are.
Prefer a quieter first step? Ask us anything, free: a real answer from a licensed adjuster, no strings.
Friedman & Associates are licensed South Carolina public adjusters, not attorneys, and we do not practise law. Our work is the licensed practice of public adjusting: 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 South Carolina public adjusters. If we take the case, the fee comes from the recovery, never from you.
See if my case qualifies 770-230-2616