Can a public adjuster really increase an insurance settlement?

Yes, and the mechanism is documentation rather than argument. An insurer prices what its adjuster recorded on site; anything unrecorded is priced at zero. In one hurricane claim on this page the carrier's opening position was that the loss fell below the deductible — nothing owed — and the same carrier settled it at $500,000, before the deductible, once the damage was documented and the claim rebuilt on evidence. All settlement figures on the page are stated gross, before deductibles are applied.

Why are the clients on this results page not named?

Insurance settlements are private, not public court records, so nothing about a claim becomes public unless the policyholder chooses to publish it. Friedman & Associates publishes the verified figures and withholds names, addresses, and photographs of client property. Named cases appear only with a client’s written consent.

Case results

The carrier's first number is an opening position, not a valuation.

An insurance company prices what its adjuster wrote down. Damage nobody documented is priced at zero — which is exactly how a hurricane claim gets called "below the deductible." Every case below is real: the number the carrier opened with, and what the claim settled at once the loss was documented and the claim rebuilt on evidence.

$1,664,329.83

Settlement dollars won above what the carriers first offered — across 10 files

These 10 are a sample. Friedman & Associates has represented policyholders since 2014, across thousands of files. Every figure below is a gross settlement amount, stated before deductibles are applied.

A hotel the carrier said was owed nothing

National-brand hotel Hurricane

The carrier's first answer was that the hurricane damage would not even reach the deductible: zero dollars owed. We documented the loss and rebuilt the claim from the evidence. The same carrier settled it at $500,000 before the deductible.

Carrier's first position

Below the deductible — nothing owed.

What the claim settled at

$500,000

Settled — before the deductible is applied.

From nothing owed +$500,000 above where the carrier started

Estimated at $525. Below the deductible. Nothing owed.

Single-family residence Storm damage Allstate

Allstate wrote the loss up at $525. Because that sat under the policy deductible, the carrier owed nothing at all — the claim was effectively closed on a number smaller than most people's monthly premium. Documented for what the damage actually was, the same claim settled at $51,405.42.

Carrier's first position

Their estimate came to $525 — under the deductible, so nothing was payable.

What the claim settled at

$51,405.42

Final settlement on the claim.

From nothing owed +$51,405.42 above where the carrier started

Six thousand five hundred, against a six-figure loss

Single-family residence State Farm

The carrier opened at $6,535.78 — precise to the penny, and nowhere close to the loss. Once the damage was documented and the claim rebuilt on evidence, the same insurer paid $112,000.

Carrier's first offer

$6,535.78

The insurer's opening number, to the penny.

What the claim settled at

$112,000

Final settlement on the claim.

17× the first offer +$105,464.22 above where the carrier started

Already approved — at nine hundred and forty-four dollars

Allstate

Allstate approved the claim at $944.82. Approved — evaluated, accepted, and priced. Re-documented and rebuilt on evidence, the same claim closed at $41,515.01: forty-four times the figure the carrier had already signed off on.

Carrier's approved amount

$944.82

Not a denial — the insurer approved the claim at this figure.

What the claim settled at

$41,515.01

Final settlement on the claim.

44× the amount Allstate approved +$40,570.19 above where the carrier started

Below the deductible. Then eighty-seven thousand.

State Farm

State Farm's position was that the loss fell below the deductible: no payment owed. The damage was documented and the claim rebuilt on evidence, and the same carrier settled it at $87,147.41.

Carrier's first position

Below the deductible — nothing owed.

What the claim settled at

$87,147.41

Final settlement on the claim.

From nothing owed +$87,147.41 above where the carrier started

Nothing owed — on a six-figure loss

Allstate

Allstate's position was that the damage fell below the deductible: nothing owed. Documented and rebuilt on evidence, the same claim settled at $127,975.10 — a six-figure loss the carrier had valued at zero.

Carrier's first position

Below the deductible — nothing owed.

What the claim settled at

$127,975.10

Final settlement on the claim.

From nothing owed +$127,975.10 above where the carrier started

A hurricane loss priced at fourteen thousand

Hurricane Allstate

Allstate opened at $14,399 on a hurricane loss. Documented and rebuilt on evidence, the claim was approved at $150,000 before deductible and policy limits — better than ten times where the carrier started.

Carrier's first offer

$14,399

The insurer's opening number on a hurricane loss.

What the claim settled at

$150,000

Approved — before deductible and policy limits.

10× the first offer +$135,601 above where the carrier started

A six-figure offer that was still $170,000 short

USAA

Not every underpayment looks like an insult. USAA valued this loss at $198,992.15 — a substantial offer, and one most policyholders would have signed. Rebuilt on documented evidence, the same claim settled at $369,746.78: another $170,754.63 the carrier's own number had missed.

Carrier's first offer

$198,992.15

A serious six-figure number — the kind most policyholders accept.

What the claim settled at

$369,746.78

Final settlement on the claim.

+86% above the first offer +$170,754.63 above where the carrier started

Valued under a $5,000 deductible. Settled at $139,320.93.

Allstate

Allstate's position was that the damage did not reach the $5,000 deductible: nothing owed. Documented and rebuilt on evidence, the same claim settled at $139,320.93 — nearly twenty-eight times the deductible the carrier had hidden behind.

Carrier's first position

Below the $5,000 deductible — nothing owed.

What the claim settled at

$139,320.93

Final settlement on the claim.

From nothing owed +$139,320.93 above where the carrier started

A fire loss the carrier had already paid

Fire Esurance

Esurance did not deny this fire claim. It paid it — $237,726.78, issued, file closed. Reopened and rebuilt on documented evidence, the same loss settled at $543,817.71: another $306,090.93 on a claim the carrier had already considered finished.

Carrier's initial payment

$237,726.78

Not a denial — paid, and the file closed.

What the claim settled at

$543,817.71

Final settlement on the claim.

+129% above the amount already paid +$306,090.93 above where the carrier started

Every figure on this page is taken from the settled claim file, and every settlement figure is stated gross — before the policy deductible is applied. Past recoveries describe what happened on those claims and are not a prediction about yours; every policy and every loss is different.

No recovery, no fee

What did your carrier open with?

If that number felt wrong, it is worth ten minutes to find out. We have been doing this since 2014, across thousands of files just like yours. A licensed public adjuster reviews your claim, tells you honestly whether it is worth fighting, and you pay nothing unless we recover.

Start my free case review 770-230-2616