You may feel that you're being treated unfairly by an insurance company because:

• They're refusing to pay a claim.
• They awarded you less money than you think you should be getting for a claim.
• They're charging you more in premiums than you think they're allowed.
• They're canceling your policy without a good reason.

1. Talk with your insurance agent: The claims adjuster, who is the person that decides how much the insurance company will pay you for a claim, is usually not the insurance agent who sold you the policy. In some situations, particularly when you have an independent agent, the agent will work with the insurance company to make sure that you get a fair payment for your claim.

2. Hire a public adjuster: Claims adjusters provided by your insurance company are free and most do a good and fair job. But they do work for the insurance company. So if you don't believe you are being treated fairly by your claims adjuster or by the company, you can hire a public adjuster.

The public adjuster works for you and will help you deal with your insurance company by coming up with their own estimate for how much the insurance company should pay you, filling out all the paperwork, negotiating with the insurance company, and even helping you find temporary housing if you need it.

But public adjusters are not free. They will take a percentage of whatever you get from the insurance company (usually between 5 and 15 percent). Get more information about when and why a public adjuster may want to hire a public adjuster.

You can use the NAPIA web site to find a public adjuster. But make sure your public adjuster is licensed by your state. To find out whether they are licensed, contact your state’s Department of Insurance.

3. Complain to your state's Department of Insurance: Each state has a Department of Insurance whose job it is to make sure insurance companies treat customers fairly. They can investigate your complaint and, if they agree with you, force the company to change its behavior or pay a fine. Sometimes, even telling the insurance company that you're planning to contact the Department of Insurance will make them change the way they're treating you. Find out how to contact your state Department of Insurance.

4. Hire a lawyer: This is the strongest action you can take, but it's also the most expensive, time consuming and risky for you. So you should feel strongly that the end result is going to be worth the time and effort before you actually get a lawyer. Sometimes, even telling the insurance company that you're going to hire a lawyer will make them change the way they're treating you.

However, insurance companies are also used to getting this threat so be diplomatic. Consider saying something like: "I would really like to settle this without going to court. Is it possible for you to improve your offer so that we can reach an agreement that we both think is fair?"

Learn how you can find a lawyer.