Pensacola Public Adjusters Serving Northwest Florida (888) 830-2772 · [email protected]
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Serving Northwest Florida

Pensacola public adjusters for storm-damage insurance claims

When you're looking for assistance with your storm damage insurance claim, experience and certifications matter. Florida law caps what any public adjuster can charge a homeowner: 10% of claim payments on claims made within a year after a Governor-declared state of emergency, and 20% on other claims. With the same cap for everyone, choose the Ferrari over the Ford. Our team brings construction, insurance and estimating experience to every claim. Don't settle for less!

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Ask about our reduced fee for active-duty military and law enforcement. Your fee is always stated in your contract.

Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau

What our clients say

Trusted by homeowners across Northwest Florida

This group IS THE BEST. If you will let them handle your settlement issues with your insurance company, you will never regret it.
Mike S, Wewahitchka FL
If you ever have that feeling that your insurance adjuster or company is giving you the runaround, talking to Michael and his team is well worth your time.
David E, Cape San Blas FL
I can't say enough good things about them, Mike and Andy were knowledgeable, professional and compassionate.
Stacy W, Panama City FL
They were fantastic! After hurricane Michael, they were a great asset in combating the insurance company. We would have suffered tremendous financial loss without their expertise.
Gary Z, Mexico Beach FL
When Hurricane Michael struck and the insurance company started the same delay, deny, devalue actions we reached out to Builder's Perspective, best decision we ever made.
Mike B, Youngstown FL
They were not only thorough, but made sure we understood the entire process of what was happening as it was occurring. Job well done!
Jackie, Panama City FL
Very professional and accomplished. Knew all the details of how to deal with the insurance company. If necessary I would use them again.
Ken B, Panama City FL
One of the best things I ever did was to get them to help with my claim. Very professional and speedy service.
Les N, Panama City FL
Highly recommended. They will help you any way they can!
Tom N, Panama City Beach FL
I won't deal with another insurance claim without them!
Mike W, Pensacola FL
I've been totally impressed with you guys!
Sterling D, Jacksonville FL
I wish I found you guys 6 or 8 months ago!
Sid K, Houston TX
I can't thank you enough for your help!
Ray S, Port Arthur TX
Qualifications matter

Experts in all three phases of an insurance claim

Construction

  • 30+ years construction experience
  • Andy Baker holds Florida Certified Residential Contractor license CRC1333524
  • Former building, general, and restoration contractors in several states throughout the country
  • We know exactly what's involved in repairing your home or business back to the condition it was in before the storm
  • Testified as building and construction experts in federal and state court cases
  • Previously certified by manufacturers as master installers: siding, millwork and roofing
  • Trained and certified by IICRC: Applied Structural Drying, Water Restoration, and Smoke/Fire Restoration
  • Tile Roofing Institute Certified High Wind Installer
  • ICC-certified Residential Building Inspector (B1)
  • BPPA does not repair, rebuild or restore property on claims we adjust. Florida law prohibits public adjusters from taking part in repairs on their own claims (Fla. Stat. § 626.8795).

Insurance

  • Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) designation, held by Michael Vitale
  • Associate in Claims (AIC™) designation, held by Michael Vitale
  • Associate in National Flood Insurance (ANFI®) designation, held by Andy Baker
  • Associate in Insurance (AINS®) designation, held by Michael Vitale
  • Property Claim Law Associate (PCLA) designation
  • Senior Professional Public Adjuster (SPPA®) designation, held by Michael Vitale
  • Accepted and frequently hired as experts in state and federal courts for homeowners, business-owners, and flood insurance claims
  • WIND Certified Appraiser® (Windstorm Insurance Network), held by Andy Waltrip

Estimating

  • Xactimate Level 3 ("Xactimate Mastery"), the highest of Verisk's three Xactimate user certification levels
  • Verisk describes Level 3 holders as Xactimate subject matter experts
  • Xactimate is used by 80% of the top property insurance carriers, according to Verisk
Videos

Claim Tips and Advice

Public adjusters signing up homeowners before the insurance company's adjuster comes out is wrong. For claims made within a year after a Governor-declared state of emergency, charging more than 10% is ILLEGAL.
Why is the credibility of your public adjuster important? If they're as inexperienced as your insurance company's field adjuster might have been, or they believe in submitting a crazy inflated claim to take a better negotiating position, then here's some information that may help you.
Questions about your Frontline claim? In this video, I talk about Frontline's immediate demand for a Sworn Proof of Loss, their Claim Acknowledgement and Reservation of Rights letter, adjusters demanding that you file a flood claim even if your home didn't flood, and the appraisal process.
If you have State Farm, here's why you shouldn't hire a public adjuster for your claim, and instead invoke the appraisal process. It also gives an overview of appraisal for other insurance companies.
We've heard People's Trust has been telling their policyholders NOT to hire a public adjuster. Here's why People's Trust saying that is against the law, and then there's information regarding their "Preferred Contractor Endorsement."
Know who's on your side

What is a Public Adjuster?

My insurance company already assigned me an adjuster. Why would I need a public adjuster?

A Public Insurance Adjuster is a licensed and bonded insurance professional who assists policyholders with the complicated insurance claim process when they suffer an insured loss, such as wind or flood storm damage.

There are three types of insurance adjusters:

  • Insurance Company AdjusterIs employed by an insurance company to represent the insurance company in dealing with your claim. The insurance company adjuster's main responsibility is to protect the interests of the insurance company.
  • Independent AdjusterIs hired by insurance companies to represent them in dealing with you, your loss, and your damages. The independent adjuster's main responsibility is to protect the interests of the insurance company.
  • Public AdjusterIs the only Adjuster specifically licensed to represent you, the Insured. The Public Adjuster's main responsibility is to protect you and your interests in claims against a loss with the Insurance Company.

The first two are hired and paid by the insurance company, and they answer to it. A public adjuster is the ONLY adjuster who works for policyholders like you!

How Will Hiring BPPA Help Me?

You just suffered a devastating, unexpected loss after a catastrophic natural disaster, so it's probably not the best time to take a crash course on how to properly prepare your insurance claim. You may be dealing with a multitude of other matters — such as finding housing or an alternate business location, dealing with the emotional trauma of a loss, or simply going about your daily work and family responsibilities. God forbid you should also be dealing with injuries or the unthinkable in connection with the event. Consider these three points:

It is up to you to prove the extent of your loss to the insurance company.

  • A typical insurance policy is dozens of pages long and contains numerous provisions and stipulations – written in technical and legal terms.
  • It contains various "forms" and "endorsements" which are constantly changing from year to year and which add or exclude coverage from your policy.
  • Most people have difficulty understanding what can appear to be a lot of legal mumbo jumbo.
  • For example, did you know that in order for the insurance company to compensate you for your loss, there are certain conditions with which YOU must comply?
  • Did you know that your failure to satisfy these policy requirements could reduce your settlement amount or even cause your claim to be denied?
  • Don't feel bad. Most people don't know these things.
  • A qualified and experienced public insurance adjuster whom you trust can help make sure you meet all of the policy conditions, document your loss, and ensure you receive the fair claim settlement you deserve.

No matter how organized you and your documents are, filing and receiving payment on a claim is a time-consuming and tedious process.

  • If you are not sufficiently organized and your loss is not properly documented, you may not receive the proper compensation for which you have paid the premium and to which you are entitled.

A licensed, insured, bonded, and qualified Builder's Perspective public adjuster has the experience, knowledge, and expertise to obtain the maximum entitlements under your policy.

  • Remember that the insurance company's adjuster is representing the insurance company.
  • It is not uncommon for the insurance company to misinterpret their own insurance policy or forget to apply case law or Federal Law which supersede their policy.
  • BPPA knows current laws as they affect insurance losses, and how to best represent you.
  • BPPA has the resources to help you through the maze of estimating, documenting, and filing your insurance claims.
Our process

What's The Process?

  1. If you haven't advised your insurance carrier of your loss yet, we will contact them for you to initiate the claim.
  2. We will come to your house, business, condo building, or office complex and thoroughly document the damage using moisture meters, thermal imaging equipment, video, and 360-degree photos.
  3. We will write an itemized estimate detailing the work that will be required to repair your house to its "pre-loss condition." We use Xactimate, the same estimating software most large property insurers use, and our team holds its highest certification (Level 3).
  4. We will work with your general contractor, the remediation company, and the insurance company's adjuster to ensure everyone is on the same page and you're paid what you're owed!
  5. We will keep in contact with you throughout the claim and update you on the status whenever we have an update.
Real claims, real numbers

Past Results

Many public adjuster websites cite a 2010 study by Florida's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA, Report 10-06). It found that Citizens policyholders with a public adjuster on 2005-hurricane claims received a median of $17,187, against $2,029 for those without one: 747% more, before the adjuster's fee. There are a few problems with leaning on that number: the report is more than 15 years old, it looked only at Citizens Property Insurance claims filed in 2008 and 2009 (many of them reopened 2004 and 2005 hurricane claims), and for 2004-hurricane claims the difference was just 19%. In two of our own Citizens claims, one had a 2880% increase from $2,147.36 to $64,000 and the other a 391% increase from $5,810.15 to $28,540.07.

Every claim is different, and results vary widely. No public adjuster can guarantee a 747% increase on your claim, and it's much easier to take a claim from $2,029 to $17,187 than from $75,000 to $250,000. What experience buys you is a claim that's documented, estimated and presented properly.

The table below shows claims BPPA has handled. Amounts are total insurance payments before our fee, which is a percentage of the additional amount recovered. These are not average or typical results: many claims settle for smaller increases, and some for none. The rows are shuffled each time the page loads, so no single claim always appears first.

Insurance Payments Before BPPAFinal Claim SettlementIncrease After BPPA Was Hired% Increase
$2,147.36$64,000.00$61,852.642880%
$117,675.79$273,709.90$156,034.11133%
$4,902.88$77,348.24$72,445.361478%
$32,563.86$114,825.00$82,261.14253%
$15,221.58$113,972.64$98,751.06649%
$151,742.84$326,742.84$175,000.00115%
$18,259.82$133,277.11$115,017.29630%
$27,818.19$117,818.19$90,000.00324%
$11,361.18$101,000.00$89,638.82789%
$25,209.65$109,449.84$84,240.19334%
$4,139.53$19,139.53$15,000.00362%
$18,079.83$157,986.30$139,906.47774%
$47,363.60$270,863.60$223,500.00472%
$82,489.04$178,236.66$95,747.62116%
$38,075.51$174,155.07$136,079.56357%
$24,639.31$125,435.71$100,796.40409%
$5,810.15$28,540.07$22,729.92391%
$28,314.65$87,572.88$59,258.23209%
$29,837.85$45,000.00$15,162.1551%
$35,339.16$126,022.81$90,683.65257%
$164,632.29$344,035.81$179,403.52109%
$123,536.15$377,963.75$254,427.60206%
$19,341.26$39,759.42$20,418.16106%
$14,174.73$95,249.13$81,074.40572%
$227,814.79$929,177.98$701,363.19308%
$11,500.77$217,185.67$205,684.901788%
$8,301.96$81,101.96$72,800.00877%
$38,755.52$128,755.52$90,000.00232%
$48,692.71$141,508.55$92,815.84191%
$36,196.00$67,578.22$31,382.2287%
$107,044.35$258,185.91$151,141.56141%
$124,569.14$286,576.03$162,006.89130%
$64,028.43$112,364.80$48,336.3775%
$19,545.20$97,850.77$78,305.57401%
$68,799.35$133,918.82$65,119.4795%
Below Deductible$92,178.10$92,178.10—
$100,000.00$2,000,000.00$1,900,000.001900%
$22,482.50$69,296.33$46,813.83208%
$44,789.98$211,417.41$166,627.43372%
$41,154.30$131,447.58$90,293.28219%
$23,767.20$296,188.17$272,420.971146%
$26,644.56$175,384.40$148,739.84558%
$23,570.62$127,870.52$104,299.90442%
$31,482.06$204,381.08$172,899.02549%
Below Deductible$65,000.00$65,000.00—
$68,015.26$170,495.46$102,480.20151%
$76,395.63$148,169.75$71,774.1294%
$6,250.78$105,398.87$99,148.091586%
$13,064.08$66,526.75$53,462.67409%
$1,026,584.29$1,502,500.00$475,915.7146%
$71,930.79$225,050.62$153,119.83213%
$28,636.99$128,636.99$100,000.00349%
$38,206.62$128,206.62$90,000.00236%
$4,986.86$48,945.64$43,958.78881%
$4,464.20$50,187.49$45,723.291024%
$35,884.68$94,683.52$58,798.84164%
$53,517.89$150,000.00$96,482.11180%
$32,732.25$89,547.76$56,815.51174%
$4,972.64$47,476.65$42,504.01855%
$6,304.61$56,375.33$50,070.72794%
$376,410.66$2,258,932.06$1,882,521.40500%
$8,147.95$48,147.95$40,000.00491%
$66,782.63$241,782.63$175,000.00262%
$5,288.85$55,335.25$50,046.40946%
$48,506.04$298,270.74$249,764.70515%
$55,681.13$266,031.90$210,350.77378%
$5,335.60$104,856.62$99,521.021865%
$138,950.16$316,450.16$177,500.00128%
$31,275.68$147,304.40$116,028.72371%
$6,291.12$76,922.75$70,631.631123%
$29,931.27$85,837.57$55,906.30187%
$30,052.34$131,245.17$101,192.83337%
$37,812.25$237,004.95$199,192.70527%
$7,788.73$104,234.21$96,445.481238%
$43,650.52$78,420.37$34,769.8580%
$22,122.21$74,636.49$52,514.28237%
$51,656.30$158,075.26$106,418.96206%
$49,443.52$94,452.98$45,009.4691%
$152,274.30$310,213.95$157,939.65104%
$29,947.57$100,961.09$71,013.52237%
$38,932.63$214,633.84$175,701.21451%
$93,939.28$412,728.84$318,789.56339%

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every claim is different.

Credentials

Certifications

  • The InstitutesCPCU®, AIC™, AINS®, ANFI® and SPPA® designations from The Institutes
  • Xactimate Certification Level 3Xactimate Level 3 ("Xactimate Mastery") certificationVerisk's highest Xactimate user certification
  • IICRC CertifiedIICRC-certified Applied Structural Drying and Water Damage Restoration Technician
  • International Code CouncilICC-certified Residential Building Inspector (B1)
  • InterNACHIInterNACHI Certified Roof Inspector
  • Windstorm Insurance NetworkWIND Certified Appraiser®
  • National Flood Insurance ProgramFormer authorized NFIP flood adjuster
  • CertainTeed Master CraftsmanPreviously manufacturer-certified master installers of siding, millwork and roofing
  • Tile Roofing Institute Florida High Wind CertifiedTile Roofing Institute Florida High Wind certified installer
  • Matterport CertifiedMatterport 3D documentation of property damage
Who you'll work with

Our Team

Andy Baker, ANFI

Managing Partner · Public Adjuster, FL license A011798

After serving our country for six years in the Navy, Andy remained in the Pensacola area upon an honorable discharge from his final assignment at NAS Whiting Field. He became a master framing carpenter where he specialized in framing custom beachfront piling homes along Perdido Key, Pensacola Beach, Navarre Beach, and Destin.

After Hurricane Katrina, he became a general contractor focusing on post-disaster restoration. Because of his vast construction background, he knows firsthand where hidden damage may be located following a natural disaster and the cost to properly restore a building back to its pre-storm condition. That's why many attorneys throughout the country hire him to testify as a construction and estimating expert for claims in litigation.

Michael Vitale, CPCU, AIC, AINS, SPPA

Managing Partner · Public Adjuster, FL license W473896

Prior to becoming a public adjuster, Michael spent most of his life in law enforcement serving his community. As a law enforcement officer, he took an active interest in impaired driving enforcement to keep fellow motorists safe and received an award from Florida Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for Outstanding Dedication to DUI Enforcement.

He transitioned into public insurance adjusting to help prevent victims of natural disasters from becoming further victimized by their insurance companies. Since becoming a public adjuster, he has achieved numerous certifications and designations — including the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) designation. He is also a licensed unaffiliated insurance agent, which allows him to advise policyholders on their coverage. He holds Verisk's Level 3 Xactimate certification, its highest user certification.

Andy Waltrip

Public Adjuster · FL license W437210

Prior to joining BPPA, Andy spent time adjusting claims for a major insurance company after Hurricane Irma. It was shortly after joining the BPPA family that he realized just how undertrained he was by the insurance company. He now works relentlessly to ensure his clients receive the fair claim settlement they deserve. Andy is a Florida certified contractor, an energy consultant and building envelope specialist, and a WIND Certified Appraiser®. He previously spent years as a building superintendent for a custom home builder, and he was also a construction liaison to the Army Corps of Engineers at Hurlburt Field Air Force Base on multiple projects over two years.

Andy is also extremely active in the community and always has some great stories to share (like being in Germany the night the Berlin wall came down). He has been a Boy Scout Assistant Scoutmaster for five years and a Perdido Bay Recreational Soccer coach and board member for 13 years.

Based in Pensacola

Proudly Serving Northwest Florida

From Pensacola to Port St. Joe, we help homeowners and business owners across the Panhandle with their storm damage insurance claims.

  • Pensacola
  • Pensacola Beach
  • Gulf Breeze
  • Milton
  • Pace
  • Navarre
  • Fort Walton Beach
  • Destin
  • Crestview
  • Panama City
  • Panama City Beach
  • Mexico Beach
  • Port St. Joe
Contact us

We Are The Insurance Claim Experts That Can Help You!

Contact us today: (888) 830-2772 (830-BPPA) or [email protected].

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