Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Public Adjuster, Attorney, or Claims Consultant

After a major loss, there's a moment almost every homeowner hits:

You've got a huge rebuild estimate, a tangle of emails from your insurer, maybe a half-finished temporary living situation—and now everyone is telling you:

• "You need a public adjuster."
• "You need a lawyer."
• "Talk to this consultant, they're amazing."

In neighbourhood threads and WhatsApp groups, the same question keeps popping up:

"Who are you using?"

Referrals are helpful, but they don't answer a deeper, more important question:

"What should I be asking before I hire someone to help with my claim?"

This article is meant to give you a framework and question list you can use with:

• Public adjusters
• Attorneys
• Claims consultants
• Contractors / builders

…and to show you where a separate, independent rebuild valuation can fit into that picture.

First, Who Does What? (Quick Role Map)

Before you can ask smart questions, it helps to be clear about the basic roles. Very simply:

Public Adjuster (PA)

A licensed professional who represents policyholders (you) in the insurance claim process.

• Works on your behalf in dealing with the insurer
• Helps document and present the claim
• Typically charges a percentage of the total recovery (often in the 8–15% range, depending on jurisdiction and agreement)

Attorney

A licensed lawyer who provides legal advice and, if needed, litigates.

• Advises you on your legal rights and options
• Can file lawsuits and represent you in court
• Typically charges hourly fees, contingency fees, or hybrids, depending on the arrangement

Contractor / Builder

The person or company who actually builds or rebuilds your home.

• Provides real-world input on construction costs and feasibility
• May or may not be comfortable engaging deeply with insurance paperwork
• Often isn't set up to produce claim-ready, line-by-line valuation reports on their own

Independent Rebuild Valuation Service (ClaimArchitect's Lane)

A service that focuses on documenting what it likely costs to rebuild your specific home, in detail.

• Reviews your policy and the carrier's estimate for valuation purposes
• Reconstructs the home digitally for measurement and takeoffs
• Applies local construction pricing
• Produces a builder-reviewed, claim-ready rebuild valuation report you can choose to share with your advisors

It's not a replacement for a PA or attorney. It's a technical input they might choose to use when they need a more detailed, construction-based number.

Questions to Ask a Public Adjuster

If you're considering hiring a public adjuster, you're effectively choosing someone to represent your interests in the claim process. That's a big decision.

Here are some questions that can help you understand how they work:

1. "How do you typically calculate the true rebuild cost of a home like mine?"

You want to understand whether they:

• Rely mainly on the carrier's estimating system (with tweaks),
• Lean on high-level contractor bids,
• Or are open to detailed, independent rebuild valuations.

Follow-ups:

• "Do you produce your own detailed estimate, or do you mainly review and supplement the carrier's numbers?"
• "Have you worked on high-value, custom homes similar to mine?"

2. "What is your fee structure, and what percentage of total recovery does that usually represent?"

Get clarity on:

• Their percentage fee
• Whether it applies to all payments (including amounts already offered)
• Whether there are any minimum fees or additional costs

This helps you weigh:

A percentage-based structure vs. Flat-fee services like independent valuations that you might use alongside them.

3. "Are you open to working with an independent rebuild valuation if I obtain one?"

This is a key compatibility question.

Some public adjusters:

• Welcome detailed, third-party rebuild valuations as powerful documentation.
• Use them to support their file with more construction depth.

Others may prefer their own internal approaches.

You're not asking them to endorse any specific service—you're asking whether they're comfortable collaborating with additional technical input.

4. "What kind of cases do you turn down?"

This tells you a lot about:

• Their sense of when they can or can't add value
• Whether they specialize in claims similar in size and complexity to yours

If they mainly handle smaller losses or very different claim types, it may or may not be the right fit for a high-value rebuild.

5. "How will we stay informed about progress?"

You're signing up for a relationship, not just a percentage.

Ask:

• "How often will we talk?"
• "Will I get regular updates in writing?"
• "What decisions do you make, and what decisions do you bring back to me?"

Questions to Ask an Attorney

When you're talking to a lawyer, the focus shifts from negotiation and claim presentation to legal rights and strategy.

Some useful questions:

1. "Do you regularly handle property insurance cases like mine?"

Look for:

• Direct experience with property claims
• Experience with large, complex or high-value losses, not just small disputes

2. "How do you generally document the true cost to rebuild in your cases?"

This is where an independent valuation can become relevant.

Ask:

• "Do you usually rely on builder bids, expert reports, or specialist valuations?"
• "Would a detailed, builder-reviewed rebuild valuation be useful evidence from your perspective?"

You're not asking them to commit to any specific provider—you're getting their philosophy on how they like to prove the numbers.

3. "What are the likely paths, and what are the pros and cons of each?"

You want to understand:

• Settlement negotiation vs. litigation
• Timing, risk, cost, and emotional toll
• How long similar cases have taken in their experience

4. "How do your fees work, and what costs might I be responsible for?"

Legal work can involve:

• Contingency fees (percentage of recovery)
• Hourly billing
• Case expenses (experts, filings, etc.)

Ask for plain-English explanations. A good attorney will be happy to walk you through it.

Questions to Ask a Contractor or Builder

Builders are closest to real-world costs, even if they aren't involved in the claim side.

Helpful questions:

1. "Based on what you're seeing right now, could you realistically rebuild my home for this number?"

Show them the carrier's estimate (or summary) and ask:

"Ignoring policy and insurance, is this a workable budget in today's market?"

If their immediate reaction is, "No, we can't do this for that," that tells you something important.

2. "What would you expect the per-square-foot rebuild cost to be for a home like mine?"

This gives you a quick sense of how far apart the estimate and the builder's real-world experience might be.

3. "What kind of documentation would help you compare your numbers to the insurer's estimate?"

Some builders struggle with claims paperwork because:

• Their own bids are structured differently
• They don't have time to reformat everything into carrier-style line items

A detailed, independent rebuild valuation can sometimes bridge this gap by:

• Speaking "contractor" and "carrier" at the same time
• Translating builder-level detail into claim-ready documentation

Where an Independent Rebuild Valuation Fits In

If you're talking with public adjusters, attorneys, and builders, you'll often hear a common theme:

"We think the estimate is low—but we need better documentation to prove it."

That's the narrow lane where an independent rebuild valuation can be useful.

What an Independent Rebuild Valuation Does

A service like ClaimArchitect focuses specifically on:

• Reviewing your policy and your carrier's estimate for valuation purposes
• Digitally reconstructing your home for measurement and takeoffs
• Running detailed quantities (square footage, linear footage, materials, finishes)
• Applying local construction pricing that reflects current market conditions
• Having a licensed contractor review and sign off on the numbers
• Delivering a comprehensive rebuild valuation report that you own

That report can then be used by:

• You, to understand where the gaps might be
• Your public adjuster, if you choose to hire one
• Your attorney, if you decide to pursue legal options
• Your builder, to align on realistic budgets

What It Does Not Do

Equally important, an independent valuation service like ClaimArchitect does not:

• Negotiate or settle your claim
• Provide legal advice
• Serve as a public adjusting firm
• Represent you before your insurer, courts, or regulators

We stay in the lane of technical, construction-focused valuation—so that you and your advisors have better numbers to work with.

Key Questions to Ask Everyone You're Considering

No matter who you're speaking with—public adjuster, attorney, consultant, or valuation provider—some questions apply across the board:

"Have you worked on claims like mine before?"

High-value home, total or near-total loss, type of disaster, complexity.

"How do you get your numbers?"

Do they rely on the carrier's system, quick rules of thumb, or detailed valuations?

"How do you like to work with other professionals?"

• Are they collaborative with builders, attorneys, and other experts?
• Are they open to using an independent rebuild valuation?

"How do you get paid, and what am I responsible for?"

Percentage vs flat fees vs hourly vs hybrid. Any minimums, caps, or extra costs.

"What's a realistic best-case and realistic worst-case?"

Honest professionals can't promise outcomes, but they can describe ranges and risks.

You Don't Have to Choose Blindly

A lot of homeowners feel rushed into signing something—any representation—because they're tired, displaced, and overwhelmed.

Slowing down just enough to ask the right questions can:

• Clarify who's a fit and who isn't
• Reveal whether someone actually understands high-value rebuilds
• Show whether they're open to detailed, independent documentation of the rebuild cost

Whether you decide to bring in a public adjuster, an attorney, an independent valuation, or all of the above, the goal is the same:

To understand, with as much clarity and detail as possible, what it really costs to rebuild your home—and then decide, with proper professional advice, what to do about it.

Final Reminder

This article is meant to give you a starting point for conversations, not to tell you who to hire or how to handle your claim.