Residential Claims
Complete home damage claim management for homeowners, from single-family homes to condos and apartments.
Your home is the largest asset you own, and your homeowners policy is a contract written by the insurer. When something goes wrong, the carrier's adjuster reads that contract for the carrier. Metropolitan Adjustment Bureau has represented homeowners since 1972, through every kind of loss from a dishwasher leak to a total fire loss, and the work is always the same: read the policy for every coverage it provides, document the entire loss, and negotiate the settlement the policy actually owes.
What your policy covers that the estimate leaves out
A homeowners policy has several coverages that work together: dwelling, other structures, contents, loss of use, and in many policies building-code upgrades and debris removal. Company estimates concentrate on the dwelling and treat the rest as afterthoughts. We claim each coverage on its own terms. Contents are inventoried and valued at replacement cost. Loss of use is claimed for the real repair timeline. Code upgrades are scoped against the current building code, which in California alone can add tens of thousands of dollars to a rebuild.
Condominiums, townhomes and HOAs
A loss in a condominium can involve the association's master policy, your own HO-6 policy and a neighbor's policy at the same time. Which policy pays for what depends on the CC&Rs and each policy's language, and carriers are quick to point at each other. We sort out the responsibility, document the loss for each carrier, and keep the owner from being stranded between them.
Rental properties and landlords
Landlord and dwelling-fire policies cover the structure and often loss of rents, but they carry vacancy clauses, tenant-damage exclusions and contents limitations that differ from a homeowners policy. We handle fire, water, wind, vandalism and tenant-damage claims for owners of single rentals and multi-unit buildings, including fair rental value during repairs.
What we cover
Free Claim Review
Send us your policy and any correspondence from the carrier. We will tell you what the claim is worth and whether representation will help. No cost, no obligation.
(818) 905-6800Send a MessageWhat carriers dispute on residential claims
Residential Claims: common questions
As early as possible, and certainly before accepting the carrier's first estimate. The first estimate anchors the claim. That said, most of our residential clients come to us after a low offer, a partial payment or a denial, and a claim can be reopened with proper documentation at any of those stages.
No. Hiring a licensed public adjuster is your right under California law and the law of every state we work in. Carriers may not retaliate for it, and in our experience claims handled by a public adjuster are taken more seriously, not less.
On a replacement-cost policy, the carrier first pays the depreciated value of the damage, then releases the withheld depreciation once repairs are made. Many homeowners never claim the second payment. We track it and make sure it is released.
It depends entirely on the claim, and no honest adjuster will promise a number. Independent studies of catastrophe claims have found settlements several times higher with a public adjuster than without one. Our fee is a percentage of what we recover, so our interest and yours are the same.
We review every claim for free and tell you honestly whether representation will help. Some small, undisputed claims are best handled directly with the carrier, and we will say so.
Related claim services
Comprehensive fire damage assessment and claim management for residential and commercial properties.
Expert handling of water, plumbing, and flood damage insurance claims.
Property theft and vandalism insurance claim documentation and recovery.