Public adjusters in Shelby Township, Michigan.
The median owner-occupied home in Shelby Township is valued at about $354,500, and on Christmas Eve 2022 frozen pipes burst inside the township's new library on Van Dyke after the heat apparently shut off. Larger homes, more belongings and hard cold all change what a loss here costs to put right, and how the insurance company reads it.
AdjustFair works only for the policyholder, from our Ferndale office, about 15 miles to the south. We read the policy, document the full loss, price the repair the way a contractor would have to build it, and put that number in front of the insurance company with the proof behind it.
Where claims here get underpaid.
Three kinds of loss account for most of the serious claims we see from Shelby Township, and each one has its own way of coming up short.
- Frozen and burst pipes. When the library's pipes froze in December 2022, water reached the technology lab, meeting rooms and offices. In a house the same thing happens when a furnace quits during a cold snap or while the family is away, and an upstairs tub, toilet or sink that overflows can do the same damage, running across a floor and down through the ceiling below. Water claims are decided in the first week, so the drying logs, moisture readings and photos taken before anything is torn out carry as much weight as the repair estimate.
- Fire and smoke. In May 2017 a candle that tipped over at the Pebble Creek Apartments, off West Utica Road near Mound, damaged ten units and sent dozens of people looking for somewhere else to stay. Smoke reaches rooms and units the fire never touched, and it often gets written up as a wipe-down. In larger houses the bigger gap is usually contents and finishes: room by room inventories get undercounted, and custom work gets priced as builder grade.
- Trees through the roof. On May 18, 2026 storms brought down trees near 22 and 23 Mile at Schoenherr, and the National Weather Service logged a large tree down on a house and car just southwest of Utica; in August 2024 it recorded two large trees down along Southfield Drive. On an impact claim the insurance company often prices the shingles and decking and declines to open the ceilings below, where cracked rafters and damaged framing sit. Those belong in the estimate, and written findings from a contractor or engineer usually settle it.
Called two days after the fire, and it never needed appraisal.
A kitchen grease fire put smoke through the house. We were engaged two days after the loss, and the scope was settled by negotiation without appraisal.
Questions we get here.
The heat failed while we were away and the pipes froze in our Shelby Township home. Is that covered?
Often it can be, but it depends on the policy and the facts. Many policies expect heat to be maintained or the water shut off, and the insurance company will look at why the heat failed. A furnace breakdown is not the same as leaving a house unheated. Keep the furnace repair records and have the policy read before you accept a no.
Do you handle larger and custom homes in Shelby Township?
Yes, and that is where estimates most often come in short, on both materials and contents. Custom cabinetry, trim and flooring get priced as builder grade, and a house with many rooms gets an inventory that misses whole closets. We list what was actually there and price the repair to the house you had, not a generic version of it.
How long does it take to get someone to Shelby Township?
Shelby Township is about 15 miles from our Ferndale office, close enough that it is part of our regular ground. Call the number on this page and you will talk to someone who can tell you what to do first, what to keep, and when an adjuster can come out to see the damage.
Nearby
See every city we cover from our Metro Detroit office in Ferndale.
Let's find out where |your claim stands.
Tell us what happened and we'll tell you honestly what your policy covers and what we would do next. It costs nothing to ask.
