I've been a licensed to practice as Public Insurance Adjuster in California and Nevada for over 30 years. 

What is a public insurance adjuster? It's a professional insurance claims handler licensed by the states of California and Nevada to advocate for the policyholder in appraising and negotiating their insurance claim. They appraise the damage, prepare an estimate and other claim documentation, read the policy of insurance to determine coverages, and negotiate with the insurance company to ensure the policyholder receives the maximum settlement.

As a Public Insurance Adjuster, I have fought for and obtained enhanced settlements and increased payments to policy holders for claims resulting from wildfires, fires, floods, earthquakes, and weather disasters.

My client list includes attorneys, doctors, and a California administrative law judge. Business and residential accrued claim losses in excess of $35 million.

My disaster claims handling experience includes the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, San Diego wildfires of 2003 and 2007, Sonoma County and Marin floods of 2005-2006, Santa Barbara Fire of 2008, wildfires in Manton in 2012.

Experience

I trained in all aspects of construction prior to my switch to public adjusting, which provides me with an advantage in dealing with most insurance company adjusters.

The years I spent working under Keith Charleston of Charleston and Assoc. is also a critical weapon in my arsenal, as Keith had worked for insurance companies for decades and explained the inner machinery of insurance carriers and the policies.

Thus I found myself with a decade of training even before I began my practice. Few public insurance adjusters can make a similar claim, and the results I show in the case studies I’ve posted here show how critical that training is.

I have been accepted as an expert witness in San Francisco Superior Court, mediations, and insurance appraisals, of which all those outcomes were successful.

One of my client’s settlements became quite famous. The insurance company offered inadequate compensation for the client’s expensive art collection that was lost in the Oakland Hills fire. With my help, the client’s sued in Alameda County Superior Court, in Walrod vs. State Farm. During that case, Keith Charleston and I discovered the critical flaw in the policy language, and provided that information to attorney Robert Knox, who led the charge. The resulting landmark decision forced the insurance companies to raise contents coverage for hundreds of policy holders.

This case was reported by former Calif. State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi as “the best-handled claim in the Oakland Hills firestorm” in a speech he gave to San Diego wildfire survivors in 2003.