Public adjusters
National Fire Adjustment
National Fire Adjustment Co., Inc. (NFA) is a public adjusting firm whose licensed adjusters represent the policyholder rather than the insurer. It handles commercial and industrial losses, governmental and institutional losses, and residential and condominium losses, across perils including fire, flood, lightning, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, explosion, collapse, pipe burst, riot and civil authority, and vandalism and theft.
The firm was started in 1922 by a residential insurance broker who saw that insurers had their own adjusters while the insured did not, and it has since marked its 100th year in business. It opened its first branch office in Jamestown, New York in 1968, added Rochester in 1969 and later Syracuse and Elmira, and acquired the Buffalo firm New York Fire Adjustment Corp. in 1982. Its corporate headquarters is in Amherst, New York.
The work is claim preparation and negotiation: establishing replacement cost and actual cash value, valuing building damage, stock, fixtures, equipment and personal property, and preparing business income claims, where the period of interruption is analysed as the reasonable time needed for the insured to resume business and the policy is checked for extended period of indemnity coverage. Other questions the firm addresses include whether debris removal is payable in excess of the policy limit, whether inflation guard applies, and whether increased cost of construction and code coverage is in the policy.
NFA offers a review of an existing policy at no cost and no obligation. It does not publish its fee, so ask how the fee is calculated and what it applies to before signing a representation agreement.
Best for
Owners of commercial, institutional or residential property facing a large or disputed fire, water, wind or catastrophe claim who want their own adjuster. Not worth engaging for a small claim the carrier is already paying in full.
What they do
- Public adjusting for commercial and industrial losses
- Business interruption claim preparation
- Governmental and institutional loss claims
- Residential and condominium claims
- Catastrophe and weather loss claims
- Replacement cost and actual cash value valuation
- No-cost insurance policy review
- Claim documentation and settlement negotiation
Details
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1922 |
| Other offices | Amherst, NY, Jamestown, NY, Rochester, NY, Syracuse, NY, Elmira, NY |
What stands out
- Started in 1922 and has marked its 100th year in business.
- Opened its first branch office in Jamestown, New York in 1968, followed by Rochester in 1969, then Syracuse and Elmira.
- Acquired the Buffalo-based New York Fire Adjustment Corp. in 1982.
- Offers a review of an existing insurance policy at no cost and no obligation.
- Corporate headquarters is in Amherst, New York, with a Buffalo-area office list covering Erie and Niagara counties.
Common questions
- How is a business income loss measured after a covered loss?
- Business income is hard to prove because of its theoretical nature, and several factors, such as changes in marketing and pricing, may need to be considered. The period of interruption is the reasonable amount of time necessary for the insured to resume business, which is not based on the damage alone but on the time needed to restore the business to the level it would have reached had the loss not occurred. Whether an extended period of indemnification is included in the policy can be critical.
- Is debris removal paid in addition to my policy limit?
- It depends on the policy. Debris removal is the necessary expense of cleaning up and removing debris after a covered peril, and depending on the policy it may be included within the policy limit or recoverable in excess of it. NFA offers a review of the policy at no cost to determine which applies.
- What is the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value?
- Replacement cost is what it would cost to replace the damaged item today with like kind and quality, which is difficult for historic buildings, antiques or items no longer in production. Actual cash value can equal replacement cost minus depreciation, which is why establishing the correct replacement cost matters; it can also mean a broad evidence approach to market value, and a state-by-state review is important.