Imagine the following scenario. Something horrific happens to your home or business property. It has sustained thousands of dollars’ worth of damages. You call your insurance company expecting they will honor your policy and cover all expenses once you have met your deductible. The insurance company sends out an insurance adjuster and determines you are owed only a fraction of your expenses, or perhaps nothing.
That is where a public adjuster steps in to help you.
A public adjuster, like Akey Ahiem of Metro Public Adjustment, Inc., is an advocate for home owners and business owners when there is an insurance claim. Ahiem and his team are trained to make sure clients get paid fully for what is in their policy.”
“We make sure they are treated fairly and paid fully,” he said. “When we have a client who has been denied, we reassess the claim and can reopen a claim for up to one year.”
Ahiem cited the example of a client who received a $334 settlement. He reopened it, and the client received over $6,000.
Metro Public Adjustment is an independent contractor working on behalf of home and business owners. It was formed in 1994 and is based out of Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
“We get paid once we settle,” Ahiem said. “Clients do not get stuck with a bill. If there is a deductible, they don’t pay on that. If we reopen a claim and we find out it still doesn’t go through, we don’t get paid. It comes out of the insurance pocket.”
Ahiem and his team also help people before a crisis hits. They have a free policy review with homeowners to explain what is in their policy and what is not, and offer a free property inspection.
Something to watch out for, adds Ahiem, is the new much larger deductibles for storm related damage, caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, wind storms, or other large scale storms. Insurance companies are getting slicker, Ahiem said, putting a four to five percent deductible on large scale storms. That deductible amount is based on the value of the house, not on the amount of the claim.
He cites the example of a home worth $400,000. Five percent of that value is $20,000. If you file a claim for $21,000 caused by a hurricane, in this situation, the insurance company will pay $1,000, even though under other circumstances the home owner might only have a $500 deductible. Ahiem works with clients to find an insurance broker who offers plans without those waivers.
It is in Ahiem’s nature to be helpful. Becoming a public adjuster has helped him be able to pursue his non-paying passions as a Life Minister performing prison ministry, and as a Big Brother.
“We are building up a mentoring program,” Ahiem said. “I love helping people, especially young people. I help people and I set my own schedule. It is so enjoyable.”
A little over eight years ago, he answered an ad he found on his front porch. At the time he was driving a limousine, but he wasn’t feeling satisfied. For 17 years prior to that, he was a warehouseman, but between the mandatory overtime and strenuous nature of the work, he could no longer continue that work. After a while, he called the number on the flyer. That led to learning the adjusting business, and studying for and passing the test with flying colors.
“There was no office in the Trenton area when I started,” Ahiem said. “Now I am the team leader. Just something that happened. I love doing it. We all understand life happens. You have to be able to take the joys out whenever you can. I always try to take the positive out of things.”
Phone: (609) 213-9823. Web: metropa.com/aahiem.
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