Category: Business

Shawn Thompson, the owner of Compass Claim Solutions, first began advertising in the Neighborhood News in 2022, as Hurricane Ian was expected to make landfall in or very close to Tampa. But, when that major hurricane devastated Ft. Myers and much of southwest Florida instead, Shawn spent a lot of time in that area, helping to make sure that the people there — who had literally lost everything — were properly compensated by their insurance companies.

The New Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas were largely spared from the brunt of that storm, as well as from the wrath of Hurricane Nicole six weeks later, but what if this year’s hurricane season hits even closer to home? Who will make sure you get properly compensated when your insurance company offers only a minimal payment that won’t cover all the damage or even denies your claim outright?

A Licensed Florida Public Adjuster, Shawn is an independent expert who is ready to fight for you. He can help you file or contest property damage claims related to not only hurricanes, but also due to lightning, floods, wind, storms, fire, mold, theft, vandalism, plumbing, and more.

Shawn says it can be extra tricky to understand your hurricane coverage. Does your claim fall under the hurricane deductible? Is flooding separate? With hurricane season fast approaching, Shawn can help with questions like these and more.

“Last year, this area was spared from major hurricane damage,” says Shawn. “I was glad to be able to assist many people in and near the Ft. Myers area by giving licensed estimates of the damage they incurred, filing and adjusting claims, and negotiating with their insurance companies.”

Born and raised in Ocala, Shawn graduated from St. Leo University near Dade City in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Business Management. After ten years at CVS Pharmacy, including in upper management, Shawn decided to make a change.

Thankfully, he was introduced to the public adjuster industry by his brother-in-law Leonard Pisciotto, Jr., and, in 2012, began the process of getting licensed himself. This included a one-year apprenticeship with Leonard at his family business — Equitable Public Adjusters — which had more than 50 total years of experience. Shawn also worked for six months handling claims for insurance companies. 

Since 2015, Shawn has been working full time as a Licensed Public Adjuster and has helped thousands of clients get fair and better settlements from their insurance carriers.

 Shawn provides free insurance claim assessments for homeowners, business owners and organizations like HOAs (homeowners associations) to evaluate for missed opportunities to increase the value of their claims, such as inadequately reported damages, uninvoked clauses in your insurance policy, or loss of business income. He is very familiar with the homes and businesses of this area, having moved to New Tampa in the mid-2000s, and to Wesley Chapel in 2010, where he is now living with his wife Lindsay, their children, Kasey and Luke and their puppy, Wrigley.

“To offer the most benefit, I always recommend contacting me first, as soon as you think you might need assistance with your insurance company or a claim,” says Shawn. “There are three main ways I can initially help with insurance companies: directly communicating with their insurance adjusters on site with required documentation, providing a licensed estimate of all damages and interpreting insurance policy language.”

But, he adds, it’s never too late to involve a public adjuster, even if your claim already has been closed. 

“We can get involved at any point of the process,” he says. “Sometimes, a claim is evaluated as falling under the deductible, so the insurance company will only pay the deductible — or less — and it’s not enough to cover the loss. We can argue this as a diminished payout to recover additional funds. And, if a claim is denied outright, we can look for opportunities to overturn that claim.” 

If there is ever a reason to dispute an insurance claim, Shawn says the next step is to negotiate with the insurance company and their claims adjusters. But sometimes, talking to the insurance company can become a long, drawn-out process.

 As recent client Jackie Graziano describes, “Shawn really stepped up to resolve my homeowners claim.  I was struggling for two years and, in a few short months, Shawn had it done and I was financially compensated by the insurance carrier.”

Another client, Carolyn Mayer, says her only regret was that she didn’t reach out to Shawn earlier. “We had a major loss that was very tricky to navigate with the insurance company,” she says. “Shawn took a HUGE burden off our chests and took sole responsibility to help us navigate the very tricky process of insurance claims. His knowledge and persistence allowed us to recoup about three times what the insurance company initially offered. If we had called him earlier, he could have prevented the very poor clean-up done by the insurance contractor and helped to prevent further damage.”

Shawn says that negotiations are usually successful for the majority of claim disputes. But, if further actions are ever needed, such as involving an independent appraiser, going through mediation or, as a last resort, taking legal action, Compass Claim Solutions is prepared to do whatever is necessary keep you from leaving money on the table.

“Legally, there are only two parties that can represent a policyholder through the insurance claim dispute process — a public adjuster like me and an attorney. In all the cases I’ve been involved in, I can count on my hands the number of times litigation was required. Contacting a public adjuster to help contest a claim is always a good first step.”

 So how much does it cost to hire a licensed public adjuster? With Shawn, the answer is zero dollars up front. He will only collect if you collect.

“In Florida, a public adjuster’s fee is capped at 20% of what’s recovered. But, I always tell my clients that my fee is negotiable,” says Shawn. “My goal is to help you recover much, much more than you would have gotten before my involvement. It’s not unheard of to get 10-20 times more than what you would have gotten initially.”

Compass Claim Solutions is available 7 days a week, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, see the ad on pg. 22, call (352) 502-5928 or visit CompassClaimSolutions.com.