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Licensed as a public adjuster since 1979, Michael Fusco, Founder and CEO of Ironclaim…
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU posted thisRecently, several public adjusting firms have made it clear that their growth strategy is to flood the market with newly licensed public adjusters in an effort to rapidly capture market share. That should concern everyone in our industry. This profession requires far more than passing a state licensing exam and completing continuing education. Passing the licensing exam does not make someone prepared to properly represent policyholders on complex insurance claims. That’s like saying passing a driver’s test qualifies someone to race in the Indianapolis 500. Public adjusting demands experience in: - Policy interpretation - Construction and estimating - Damage analysis - Negotiation - Ethics and state compliance - Managing clients during some of the most stressful moments of their lives When inexperienced adjusters are rushed into the field without proper mentorship and training, the consequences are real: - Claims settled short - Claims unnecessarily litigated - Delays in recovery - Damage to consumer trust - Increased scrutiny and regulation on the entire profession And candidly, some of the criticism our industry faces today is self-inflicted. At Ironclaim, we believe the answer is not lowering standards to produce more adjusters. The answer is raising the standard of professionalism across the industry. Public adjusters should be among the most trained professionals in the claims industry, not the least. That means: - Rigorous technical training - Deep policy education - Estimating competency - Ethics and compliance standards - Real mentorship under experienced professionals before independently representing policyholders Protecting the integrity of the public adjusting profession will require collective leadership. I am calling on legacy firms, National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) and industry leaders across the country to help us lead this effort. Chip Merlin and Steven Badger have spoken about this at length and are correct to call the industry out. The future of this profession depends on stewardship, accountability, and professionalism. If we fail to elevate the standard ourselves, we risk having the future of our industry dictated by regulators, carriers, and public perception. The public adjusting profession was built to protect policyholders. We should never lose sight of that responsibility.
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU shared thisToday is the first day of hurricane season. And whether your insurance company actually pays your claim this year is now close to a coin flip, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Journal analyzed the five largest home insurers in the country: State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, USAA, and Farmers. Last year, as a group, they paid nothing on more than 44 percent of the claims they closed. A decade ago, that number was 36 percent. It is getting worse. We saw it after Hurricane Milton. Insurers closed more than 95,000 Florida homeowner claims without paying a dime. As a new season begins today, the article feels like a warning. Now, I do not like to throw stones at the insurance industry. It is not all bad actors, and it is not a conspiracy. But these numbers deserve a closer look. When Florida regulators broke down why those 95,000 Hurricane Milton claims went unpaid, fraud accounted for only eighteen of them. Eighteen. The rest came down to deductibles, paperwork, and claims that people simply withdrew. Claim fatigue is real. It wears owners down. The reality is this: the insurance company has two things... all the time and all the money. In my opinion, multiple things are happening at the same time. The home offices are getting stingy and the carrier staff has gotten thinner, less trained than it used to be. The adjuster who comes out to your property is often trained to be reassuring. Warm. Easy to talk to. You start out feeling like the claim is in good hands. You begin to trust the very party whose bottom line runs contrary to yours. Then you learn that the adjuster standing in your lobby or your living room usually cannot decide anything because they don’t have the settlement authority. The real decisions are often made later, at the corporate office, by people you will never meet based on documentation you never saw and did not control. This is why a serious claim has to be built correctly from day one, and built specifically for the decision makers at the corporate level. That is where your claim lives or dies. Not every claim needs a public adjuster. Plenty are handled fairly. But this Wall Street Journal article speaks for itself. When the odds are a coin flip, you owe it to yourself to know your options. A complex claim deserves more than blind trust. It deserves a real look at the policy and an honest inspection of the damage, before you walk down the path the carrier's adjuster lays out for you. Meet with a qualified, professional, public adjuster (preferably one with decades of experience). Get the information first. Then decide what is right for you, your property, and your business.
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU posted thisThere's a question I ask at the beginning of almost every new claim. I've been asking it for decades and it tends to stop people. “What do you, me, and the insurance company all have in common?" - Nobody knows for sure how much your loss is worth. - Not you. Not me. Not the adjuster on the other side. Not the engineer they hired. Not the contractor who walked the site and gave you a number in a day. Nobody. A claim has to be built. That's the part many people don't understand going in, and it's the part that matters most by the time it's over. Building the claim means site visits. Many, sometimes. It means reading the policy… the actual policy, the boring long one, every page and finding where the language helps you and where it doesn't and what falls in between. It means understanding what the client’s goals are, not just what happened. It means understanding what the insurer's position is and why, not so you can fight it reflexively, but so you can address it specifically. The claims that go well aren't the ones where someone yelled loudest. Or where some handshake deal was struck behind the scenes. They're the ones where the work is done. Where the scope was built carefully. Where the gaps between what each party understood got closed, one by one, with documentation and argument and occasionally just the willingness to sit in a room until it was resolved. This is old-school work. I'm aware of that. There's no algorithm for a site visit. There's no shortcut for reading a 60-page policy. (Well, there are, but it’s lazy and insanely risky.) The collaboration is where claims are won, and collaboration is, almost by definition, slow. But here's what I've found across 45 years of doing this: The moment everyone understands that we're all starting from the same place, that nobody in the room knows the answer yet, and that the answer has to be built together, things can change. And mutual success for everyone is possible. Our industry needs more of this. It needs professionals willing to maintain a high standard and deliver results for ourselves and our mutual clients. It needs a whole host of other things too, but this is a good starting point.
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU posted thisI don't post very often. In fact, my family has told me I’m categorically bad at social media. To be honest, I never really saw the point. The work was the point. The team was the point. What we built in a conference room or on a claim site or on the phone after hours guiding a client who didn't know what to do with the pipe that just burst… that felt like enough. I've been doing this for a long time. 45 years. Public adjusting. Which means I've spent my life sitting across tables from people who just lost something: a building, a business, a city hall. Sometimes the thing they spent their whole life building. Trying to help them figure out what comes next inside a system that is, at its best, complicated, and at its worst, genuinely exhausting to navigate alone. I'm not going to tell you the insurance industry is broken. That's not my point and it's not entirely true. What I will tell you is that it is vast and it can sometimes move slowly. It does not always move in your direction without someone in your corner who knows how to read the fine print and argue the details and show up to the site visits again and again and again. The people who do that work, my people, spend a lot of time away from their families. A lot of weekends. A lot of flights to cities that are still smoking. They do it because they're great at it and because, I think, they understand that on the other side of the paperwork is a person who needs this to go right. Our clients. I've never been particularly interested in talking about that publicly. Posting about wins felt phony. Self-promoting felt worse. But I'm starting to think that keeping quiet about it has been its own kind of mistake. Not because we need the credit. Because the people who need what we do often don't know we exist until it's too late to do it right. So, here I am. Really, here we are. Former New Yorker. Georgian by choice. Father of seven (which actually prepared me pretty well for this industry). Forty-five years in. Still showing up. More to follow.
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU posted thisAs a frequent flyer and resident of Atlanta, I am appalled that the federal government has held the traveling public hostage for over 30 days due to their inability to reach an agreement on legislation to reopen the government. I urge my friends in business in Atlanta, as well as the traveling public, to write to their government representatives and the office of the President. It is crucial to put the country first and get our dedicated TSA workers back to work as soon as possible. In times of conflict, TSA is on the front lines of our domestic safety. Let’s ensure our collective voices are heard in support of this vital issue.
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU posted thisWinter storm warnings are in effect, signaling snow, ice, and below-freezing temperatures. It is crucial to monitor heat levels and vacant units to prevent frozen pipes. If a loss occurs due to broken pipes, notify your agent and contact a mitigation company to limit further damage. Once the situation is stabilized, reach out to Ironclaim. We will document the damage, collaborate with the insurance company's team, and present your claim. By utilizing advanced claim technology, including Matterport and Xactimate, we strive to expedite the claim process and maximize your recovery. Trust the Shield!
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU shared thisLast night I had the great pleasure to celebrate our dear friend Karen Cohen & her family. Karen was named Gatway Centers Volunteer of the Year! Congratulations Karen, we are very proud of you! #GatewayCenter, #HumanClay, #Gateway
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU posted thisI had the great pleasure of attending the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Gateway Center, an organization that has been working tirelessly for two decades to end homelessness in the City of Atlanta. It was an honor to celebrate this milestone alongside our incredible guests, fellow Board members, our dedicated CEO Raphael Holloway, MA, LPC, and my wife Denise, who has volunteered at the Center for over 14 years. "Everybody versus Homelessness" is more than a motto. It's a mission that needs all of us. If you're interested in joining Denise and me in supporting this important cause, I’d love to connect. Congratulations again on 20 years of impact. Here's to many more to come! #GatewayCenter #EndHomelessness #Atlanta #CommunityImpact #EverybodyVsHomelessness #NonprofitLeadership #GiveBack #Ironclaim
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisMichael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisCrime rates can deeply impact the value of a property - in any given area. You can buy and renovate a property to absolute perfection… But if it’s in a high crime area? It doesn’t matter. People will do their research and you’ll have a hard time filling vacancies. Here’s what you should be paying attention to…
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisMichael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisAlpharetta has become one of Georgia’s most walkable cities. The Greenway, Alpha Loop, parks trails, and sidewalks connect people and places and provide a gateway to Alpharetta’s natural beauty. It’s all a just short walk from home.
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisMichael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisSupport those experiencing homelessness in a big way. Join us at our annual Human Clay fundraiser on September 17th and help us make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring. Tickets👉 https://lnkd.in/ecW6RjQ8 See you there.
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisMichael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisAFTERDISASTER was a proud sponsor of the WillowBridge Golf Classic today benefiting the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. 🇺🇸 Thank you to everyone who made this event such a success. We’re grateful for the opportunity to support those who have sacrificed so much for our country and our communities. 🇺🇸 AfterDisaster – 24/7 Emergency Response & GC Services. 🇺🇸 Sarah Brown Eric Hooks Benjamin Nelms Brian Deering Lee King Niki Kogut Bob Kesselring
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisMichael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisWhat if the biggest obstacle to franchise growth is not the system, the strategy, or the market? What if it is the mindset of the people responsible for making growth happen? A franchise can have a proven model and still struggle when leaders resist change, teams avoid accountability, or destructive AutoThoughts™ influence daily decisions. That is why I wrote Leverage Your Mindset for Franchise Growth. This book explores how strengthening the mindset behind the business can ignite leadership, strengthen culture, elevate the customer experience, and create sustainable growth. Because every franchise has an operating system, but its most important operating system is its people. Releasing August 4th. Amazon: https://amzn.to/4vPr5YI Motivation fades. Mindset sticks. #FranchiseGrowth #FranchiseLeadership #GrowthMindset #FranchiseSuccess #LeadershipDevelopment #mindset #LeverageYourMindset Sound Wisdom Franchise Speakers
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisMichael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisPlease join us in welcoming Thomas Rowe as ECI Group's new Chief Financial Officer! With more than 30 years in real estate development, construction, and public-sector finance, Thomas brings deep expertise structuring capital and scaling finance teams to fuel growth. He steps in as Ben Engel retires after 10 years of outstanding leadership. Thank you, Ben — and welcome, Thomas! Read more at the link in the comments below. #Multifamily #CRE #Apartments #ECIgroup
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisMichael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisLarge-loss mitigation in an active commercial environment requires more than placing drying equipment. This recent water loss affected approximately 40,000 square feet within an operating grocery facility, including the bakery, kitchen, customer service, checkout, and produce areas. With the store remaining operational, much of the response had to be coordinated overnight and around ongoing business requirements. The drying operation included four commercial desiccant dehumidifiers, two diesel generators, extensive overhead air-distribution ducting, containment, atmospheric and moisture monitoring, cleanup, and detailed documentation. This video captures portions of the initial conditions, equipment deployment, field coordination, and visible cleanup progress, including before-and-after conditions in the kitchen and produce areas. Proud of the AdvantaClean team and our project partners for the long hours, adaptability, and disciplined coordination required to keep this complex mitigation operation moving forward. Video created and produced by Kevin M Ferrara Director of Large Loss and Training. #LargeLoss #WaterMitigation #CommercialRestoration #EmergencyResponse #DesiccantDrying #AdvantaClean Crystal Gordon Daniel Martinez Jim Thoma, CFE Kevin M Ferrara
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisMichael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisThere is nothing quite like unboxing your own book. Today, I held the first copy of my third book, Leverage Your Mindset for Franchise Growth. This book represents more than two decades of working with franchise leaders, owners, and teams. It is a practical guide to overcoming limiting beliefs, embracing change, strengthening accountability, and igniting growth. Seeing it in print made this journey real!!! Officially available August 4th. Motivation fades. Mindset sticks. ##FranchiseGrowth #Leadership #GrowthMindset #Franchising #FranchiseSpeaker #LeverageYourMindset
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Michael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked thisMichael A. Fusco, CPPA , FIICP , CPAU liked this𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁. I carry fear with me all the time. Some days it's bigger than others. Some deals, some decisions, and some opportunities are so significant that the fear can feel paralyzing. But I've learned that 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹. Looking back, every decision seems obvious. Hindsight is always 20/20. In the moment, we're all making the best decision we can with the information we have. That's why I've started to 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘 in myself, 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘 in my team, and 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘 in the journey. I've also discovered that opportunities rarely look the way you imagined they would. Sometimes they begin in one direction and end somewhere completely different. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁. Adapt. Learn. Pivot. Stay flexible. Don't become so attached to your original plan that you miss an even better opportunity standing right in front of you. 𝗕𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻. Be open to new ideas. Be open to changing your perspective. Be open to learning. Be open to being wrong. Be open to growing. Life isn't about standing still and waiting for certainty. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Sometimes you lead. Sometimes you follow. Sometimes the music changes—and you have to change with it. We all carry baggage: fear, failure, disappointment, and lessons we never wanted to learn. Carry those experiences with you, but 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻. Let them make you wiser. Let them make you stronger. Life will always put obstacles in your path. There will always be problems to solve. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀. 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘 in yourself. 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘 in your team. 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘 in your journey. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. Don't be afraid to speak up. Don't let the fear of what other people think determine the direction of your life. Your past has shaped you. 𝗜𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. Keep moving. Keep learning. Keep adapting. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴—even when the music changes. Chaz Y. Lazarian, Esq. Wendy Craft #Leadership #Mindset #Resilience #Courage #Adaptability #Entrepreneurship #CommercialRealEstate #RealEstateLeadership #Growth #Success
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McCutchen Vaught Geddie & Hucks, P.A.
After an accident, the stress doesn’t stop with medical appointments—it often continues when insurance companies get involved. 🚗📄 Many people in South Carolina are surprised to learn how insurance adjusters evaluate injury claims and why initial settlement offers may feel low. Understanding this process can help you feel more confident and prepared. Insurance adjusters review medical records, treatment timelines, and documented expenses to understand the nature of your injuries. They also look at how those injuries affect your daily life, including missed work, physical limitations, and long-term recovery needs. Police reports, witness statements, and South Carolina’s comparative negligence rules can also play a role in how a claim is valued. Every detail matters, and incomplete documentation can significantly impact the outcome. In Myrtle Beach and throughout the Grand Strand, McCutchen Vaught Geddie & Hucks, P.A. works with injured individuals navigating these conversations with insurance companies. Having guidance through the claims process can help ensure your situation is fully and accurately presented, especially when insurers focus on limiting payouts. If you’ve been hurt and are unsure what your claim may involve, taking the time to learn your options is an important first step. 📞 Reach out to discuss your situation, ask questions, and better understand how injury claims are evaluated in South Carolina. https://lnkd.in/eAQcVcUA #MyrtleBeachSC #SouthCarolinaInjuryLaw #PersonalInjurySC #InsuranceClaims #GrandStrandLaw #CarAccidentHelp #KnowYourRights
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Micah Salas
Your website is something underwriters review when deciding how they want to price your insurance or even quote your insurance at all. Having no website is better than having a website if your website is inaccurate, lists scopes you never do, odd projects you haven't done in a decade, and shows pictures of OSHA violations. This is nothing new, underwriters have been looking at your website since the internet has been around. Here's what's changing though: Now with AI being used by some underwriters (and probably eventually all) as a pre-quoting filter, it's even more critical your construction company has an accurate website. Humans might make exceptions, but AI will just follow rules. This is what it might look like in real life: Your agent enters your information to obtain a quote through an online carrier portal. One of the pieces of information they ask for is your website. All you might do is water utility work, but your website says something about levee work or road construction. AI will scan your website, and it it sees something that doesn't fit in the box, it will decline to quote. You might not get another shot with this company or if you do, now the underwriter will have some doubts about what you do - potentially driving up the price. Don't worry about a fancy website, an accurate one will do just fine.
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