Policyholder Guides
Three guides written for people who have just had a fire and do not want to become experts in insurance — they want to avoid the handful of mistakes that are expensive and permanent. Download them, print them, forward them. There is no form, no email address to hand over, and nothing to sign.
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What To Do After a Fire Loss
The first 72 hours, the first week, and the first 30 days. What to photograph before anything moves, what not to sign, what the first check usually is, and the six mistakes that cost the most.
Download the PDF -
Smoke Damage and the Experts Who Prove It
Why smoke damage is the most disputed part of a fire claim, and which experts produce evidence a carrier has to answer — industrial hygienist, fire investigator, engineers, contents specialist, lab.
Download the PDF -
Understanding Additional Living Expense
What ALE covers and does not, why “comparable” housing is a fact question, how the time limit catches people out, and how to document it so it actually gets reimbursed.
Download the PDF
Who these are for
They are written to the policyholder, in plain language, and they are general information rather than advice about any particular policy. Contractors, restoration companies, community organisations and disaster-relief groups are welcome to download and hand them out — no permission needed and no attribution required.
Each guide states plainly where a public adjuster is worth considering and where the honest answer is that you do not need to hire anyone. That is deliberate. Each also carries the full licensure and state solicitation disclosures in the back, so the document stands on its own wherever it ends up.
What is not in them
None of these guides interprets your policy, tells you what your claim is worth, or predicts an outcome. Your policy language, your endorsements and the facts of your loss control all three, and no document written for a general audience can do that work. If you want your own policy read, that is a conversation.
Licensure and solicitation rules
Every licence number, in all 18 states, along with the states that regulate when and how a public adjuster may contact you, is published on the licensure and state disclosures page.
Who wrote this, and what we get out of it
Public adjusting work is performed by William J. Addis, individually licensed as a public adjuster in 18 states. Resolution Claims Consulting, LLC is licensed as a public adjusting firm in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and Rhode Island only; where the firm is not licensed, representation is by William J. Addis individually. Every licence number is published here and can be verified with the state regulator. Like nearly all public adjusters, we are paid a percentage of the claim, agreed in writing before any work begins and subject to any applicable state limit. The guides are free and there is no charge for a review. You should weigh that interest when reading anything here.
Free help exists too. Every state’s Department of Insurance assists policyholders with claims at no cost and takes no percentage of your recovery, and will confirm whether anyone contacting you is actually licensed — including us. Verify any public adjuster before hiring them.
This is general information, not advice. It is not legal advice, not an interpretation of your policy, and we are not a law firm. You have the right to negotiate your own claim directly with your insurer and the right to consult an attorney; you are not required to hire a public adjuster.
Our role, when we are engaged, is to help policyholders reach a fair and reasonable settlement of a covered loss under the terms of their own policy. Each claim turns on its own facts, policy language and jurisdiction. Kansas readers: under K.S.A. 40-5500 et seq., Kansas public adjusters are limited to first-party commercial property claims and may not represent residential homeowners.