Posts by Brandon McWherter
“What’s an Appraiser?” The Appraisal Process in Insurance Claims
When you buy an insurance policy for your property – no matter whether that property is commercial or residential – that policy is most likely going to have an appraisal clause. Although few people take advantage of the appraisal process, nearly all insureds have the option of using appraisal to resolve disputes over the “amount…
Read MoreThe Role of the Public Adjuster in the Claims Process
There are primarily three different types of adjusters. There are independent adjusters who work for the insurance company. They’re not employed by the insurance company, but they work only for them, not for the policy holder. There’s in-house adjusters, who’re actually employed by the insurance companies. Then the third type are public adjusters, and public…
Read MoreAssignment of Claim after a Loss: What Homeowners Should Know
Let’s start with the basics. If you, as a homeowner, sustain property damage or losses because of a covered event (like a fire, for example), you will need your home repaired. You choose a contractor or restoration company to do the work – but the check from the insurance company has not come through yet,…
Read MoreWhat Do I Do if My Claim Has Been Denied?
If your claim has been denied, the first thing you need to do is talk to a lawyer. Call us. We’d be happy to take a look at it. Your claim can be denied for a variety of reasons, and there’s no way to know if the reason that’s been given is a legal one,…
Read MoreWhat Are Your Fees?
One of the most common questions that we get is, “How do you charge for your time?” And that’s a fair question. If I was a consumer, I would want to know that too. We charge based on contingency fee, so we get a percentage of whatever we get for you. Sometimes it’s low, sometimes…
Read MoreWhat is Contents Insurance Coverage?
Contents coverage, also known as personal property coverage, is insurance for damage or loss to property within a home, apartment, condominium, office, or any building. If property is damaged due to fire, theft, or other causes, the policyholder is entitled to be paid for the amount of the damage to the property – provided the…
Read MoreHow Can Brandon Help?
Most of the claims that we handle involve disputes about how much is owed. Sometimes it’s if you’re owed anything at all, but most of the time it’s a dispute about how much. And so what we do here at McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, is we have assembled a team of experts from all over…
Read MoreIs a Lawsuit My Only Option?
There are options other than filing a lawsuit. Oftentimes, when we get involved in a claim, we will present the claim, negotiate with the adjuster, negotiate with the opposing attorney, and try to get something worked out that’s satisfactory to the client before we even file a lawsuit. Sometimes we can avoid a lawsuit by…
Read MoreRecovery of General Contractor’s Overhead and Profit
One item of particular interest to contractors is the inclusion of overhead and profit in insurers’ payment of insurance losses. In Tennessee and in many other states, the general standard is that insurance companies must include overhead and profit in their calculation of the amount of loss when the job is of a type that…
Read MoreSingular Focus on Representing Policyholders
All I do are insurance claims. I work for the policyholder: for the person who suffered a loss, who’s not being paid enough, who’s not being paid at all, whose claim has not been denied. That’s all we do. We handle property claims primarily: homeowners, commercial, industrial, churches, non-profits – the whole gamut. From the…
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