Who sets the carrier’s number?

A board assumes the number the adjuster gives them is what the carrier pays. A supply line fails on the top floor of a condo building over a holiday weekend. Water runs through 14 units and the restoration company says the damages total $400,000. However, the carrier comes back at $140,000. The board takes that as the answer. It isn't and the person they've been emailing almost never set that number.

So many different scenarios go into this question.

The first person that's going to be setting the reserve would be the adjuster that investigates

the claim, determines liability, and coverage.

If the claim goes above that adjuster's authority level, then it would go to the supervisor.

And then above that, it would go to a committee who would review the file and determine if

the number is appropriate or whether it needs to be modified.

So a takeaway from that would be to confirm that all information is given to the adjuster so that

they can properly evaluate the claim and set the appropriate reserve for settlement. Ask the

adjuster in writing what their authority level is and who the file goes to above them. One email

today, it tells you whether you have been negotiating with someone who can say yes

or someone that does not have the settlement authority for the claim. For the board, it's

important to have all the documentation in order in order to provide it to the adjuster at the

early onset of the claim. Same answer if you own the building and your lender is going to ask who

at the carrier can actually sign. Know that before they ask, not while they're asking. And if it's

for your house, same machinery, smaller numbers on a house claim, the adjuster's own authority

often covers it. If yours isn't moving, ask who it went to.