Who Is Jerry Kotler

Because Loss is Only the Beginning
Jerry E. Kotler Associates offers unparalleled knowledge of insurance policies and procedures for the exclusive benefit of you, the policyholder.
Forget what you see on TV: When you call your insurer to make a claim, an agent is not waiting by the phone with a smile and a checkbook. Insurance companies employ teams of adjusters to make sure they pay as little as possible – so you need an ultra-responsive insider with access to an extensive network of engineers, accountants, builders and other professionals on your side.
Fighting for every nickel is our forte, but even after tens of millions of dollars in recovered cash, the most important benefit we offer is compassion. Your crisis is just a case number to them, but to you, it’s personal – and we know that most times, the adversity only starts with the actual loss.
Honesty, reliability, consistent support and an unparalleled track record of securing more settlement money than anyone else: That’s how Jerry E. Kotler Associates has handled thousands of commercial and residential claims over the past four decades. And that’s how we’ll handle yours.

HOW DOES IT WORKS?
More Money, Faster Results
Licensed by state departments of insurance, public adjusters appraise and negotiate property insurance claims on behalf of policyholders. Aside from attorneys and brokers of record, public adjusters are the only licensed professionals who can legally advocate for policyholders throughout the insurance claim process.

It is a critical function. Like any business, insurance companies care most about their bottom lines. When it comes to your very personal, very traumatic insurance claim, that means paying you the least amount of money possible, and dragging their feet before they do.

Because public adjusters earn commissions based on a percentage of each settlement (subject to a state-imposed cap), Jerry E. Kotler Associates’ bottom line is best served by serving your interests. When you call, we respond quickly with a free consultation, then complete a thorough firsthand analysis, apply decades of knowledge to a line-by-line review of your policy and, as necessary, call in an army of top professionals – including construction experts, cleaning companies, temp agencies and others – all to ensure your immediate needs are met and, ultimately, to win you the largest possible settlement in the shortest possible time.

The devil, as they say, is in the details, and nobody knows the small-print details of your policy better than your insurer – except us. In a perfect world, you’d never need our services, but after disaster strikes, the question you need to ask first is: Who’s watching out for you?

WHO IS JK?
It is Jerry Kotler. Who is Jerry Kotler?
Ali, Gretzky … Kotler?
He’s no household name, but Jerry Kotler is still one of the greatest. How do you measure greatness?
As with many things, it’s often in the eye of the beholder – a matter of opinion or taste, not easily defined or categorized. Was Muhammad Ali “The Greatest” because he won the heavyweight title three times, or because of his iconic, electric personality? Wayne Gretzky was “The Great One,” but did he earn that moniker with 61 NHL records or four Stanley Cups?
The truth is, it wasn’t Ali’s boxing or his bombast; it wasn’t Gretzky’s scoring skills or his winning ways. It was the combined weight of all these things, the fruits of hard-fought and carefully constructed careers, and the singular efforts of men determined to be the best on their field. You might never win Olympic gold or have a candy bar named after you, but perhaps you approach your own vocation with the same all-go, no-quit aspirations. Jerry Kotler sure does.
Jerry started calling himself “The Greatest Public Adjuster of Them All” years ago, as an advertising slogan and for humor (get to know Jerry, and you learn quickly that humor is a big part of his persona). It’s not that he didn’t consider himself an excellent public adjuster – “I just pretend that’s my claim,” he says, “or my mother’s” – but he’s not really the sort to toot his own horn. He lets his clients do that for him.
Somehow, though, the slogan stuck. Nowadays, Jerry puts the slogan on everything from refrigerator magnets to notepads to flashlights, for two reasons. First, he thinks it’s humorous. Second, he knows that for people who’ve suffered a property loss, there’s nothing more serious than their insurance policy – and he wants them to know they cannot find a more honest, reliable or skilled public adjuster to protect their insurance interests.
“Whether your loss is $5,000 or $5 million, it doesn’t matter to me,” Jerry says. “What you see is what you get. I’ve handled business and residential claims for 46 years. I deliver the best service by being responsive to my clients’ immediate and long-term needs. I have a good working relationship with the Insurance Company Adjusters – the insurance companies know me and respect me, and they know when I call them, I’m not fooling around.”
It all boils down to honesty, according to Jerry. “I fight for every nickel, but I don’t try to get things that aren’t there,” he says. “Insurers know that if I’m going for it, it’s in the policy and they’re going to have to pay for it. And I never do things like quote false numbers to raise a potential client’s hopes and get some new business. I’ll get you more money than anyone else, but there’s never anything better than an honest answer.”
Honest, and maybe a little funny. “I know the people who call me are uptight, worried and scared,” Jerry says. “And I’m truly sympathetic to what they’re going through. But humor sometimes eases the heart. And they need to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So, yes… sometimes, I try to help them out that way, too.”
Based in Saint James, NY, and licensed to practice across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut (though he’s consulted on cases as far afield as Florida and St. Croix, Virgin Islands), Jerry doesn’t monitor police scanners or otherwise “chase” business. Business comes to him, based on word of mouth recommendations from his very satisfied clients. More than 3,000 clients later, it’s fair to say this approach is working.
So, who is Jerry Kotler? He’s Ali and Gretzky – by any measure, the best at what he does. But don’t just take his word for it: Look at "Who Is Jerry Kotler from Clients" on the top menu to learn what some of the happiest policyholders in the land have to say about “The Greatest Public Adjuster of Them All.”

What Makes Jerry "The Greatest?"
Policyholders praise the prince of public adjusters

TYPE OF LOSS:
Our professional staff offers expert assistance with commercial property damage claims including:
▪ Broken pipes ▪ Smoke damage
▪ Fire damage ▪ Vandalism
▪ Leaky Roofs ▪ Vehicles hitting building
▪ Mold damage ▪ Water and wind damage
▪ Plumbing damage ▪ And many others!

Fire Damage
A fire is a traumatic and often life-changing event. When your home or business burns, it can feel as though your sanity has gone up in smoke, too. Personal brushes with extreme danger, the loss of critical or sentimental possessions, the terrifying specter of homelessness … throw in uncooperative insurers more focused on their own interests than yours, and you can be quickly overwhelmed.
The professional staff at Jerry E. Kotler Associates will douse the flames of uncertainty and clear away the smoky confusion of your claims process. More than 80 percent of the firm’s business involves commercial and residential fire claims – now’s the time to put that expertise to work for you.

Water Damage
And then the flood came, and for many residential and commercial property owners, life was never the same. As furious as fire, as wicked as wind, water can devastate physical property and leave policyholders high and dry – especially if they sink or swim on the whims of self-interested insurers.
Over the past four decades, Jerry E. Kotler Associates has helped clients deal with some of the worst flooding situations Mother Nature (and the lords of busted pipes) could conjure. When it comes to securing post-flood funds, this professional staff is not exactly wet behind the ears – let them help you navigate your troubled waters.

Mold
There are few damages to physical property as insidious as mold. Slow to develop and extremely difficult to remediate, mold will make you sick, weaken your structure and drive you out of your mind.
Insurers have traditionally covered mold damage to covered items like pipes. But as public awareness of mold’s health hazards increases and mold-detection techniques improve, many insurers are refusing to write mold coverage into new policies – and doing everything they can to avoid covering mold in their existing policies. Now more than ever, commercial and residential policyholders need an expert like Jerry E. Kotler Associates on their side when it comes to the insurance ramifications of this silent enemy.

Others
From acts of God to acts of bad drivers, you never know how or when your property will suffer damage – and if it does, you probably don’t know what to do about it. The professional staff at Jerry E. Kotler Associates knows, because when it comes to commercial and residential property damage, they’ve seen it all before.

TESTIMONIALS from Clients

▪ “Jerry Kotler was a blessing. We were totally devastated by our house fire. He came in with understanding and humor, which loosened us up. He is extremely meticulous … we could not have gone through this without him. He is a life-saver.”
Nationwide policyholders James and Patricia Carroll

▪ “Jerry Kotler is the ultimate professional. He is thorough in his work and available 24/7. His knowledge and expertise made our situation less stressful.”
Kemper policyholders John and Patricia Brennan
▪ “Jerry put together a highly detailed claim (50 to 60 pages) and submitted it very quickly. He worked closely with GEICO’s adjuster and they arrived at a settlement … far beyond what I could have ever considered. Even though GEICO was extremely slow in processing the paperwork, Jerry got us interim checks that were more than sufficient to get our rebuilding done and accommodate our living expenses.”
GEICO policyholder Marilyn Rosenbaum

▪ “We were approached by many people after our fire. There are a lot of unsavory people out there. It is a frustrating, confusing, frightening time. Jerry made it okay. He is a warm, compassionate, caring man, and a consummate professional.”
Cambridge Mutual policyholders James and Stacy Herschneider

▪ “I found Jerry much more low-pressure, gentlemanly and efficient than the others. His follow-up was terrific – he always returned calls within five minutes!”
Network Adjusters/Pawtucket policyholders Mary and Bob Kiernan

▪ “On behalf of myself and the Wyandanch Volunteer Fire Co., I would like to thank you for a job well done and the legwork you did setting up all the appointments for adjusting the claim of Nov. 11 … Working with a competent person like yourself made everything a pleasure.”
Wyandanch Volunteer Fire Co. Board of Directors President William Goglas

▪ “We were very pleased with Jerry Kotler and his professional staff. After the flood, Mr. Kotler was able to find many house, foundation and personal items that were damaged and/or destroyed due to water and wind damage that we would have overlooked or not thought to include.”
State Farm policyholders Barbara and Bill Nicholson

▪ “Jerry should open a school for public adjusters. His personality alone makes him a pleasure to have around in a crisis. His sense of humor makes a tragedy a positive experience. It is so rare to meet someone so committed to a job.”
Hartford policyholders Norman and Barbara Brofman

▪ “We met Jerry Kotler at 8 a.m., and by 6 p.m. we had a place to live, the insurance company starting its work and some piece of mind that life would get back to normal. Jerry was calming and efficient. It was great to have an expert on our side.”
Metropolitan policyholder Susan Zampella

▪ “Faster than a foot-dragging insurance company adjuster. More powerful than a tight-fisted insurance company. Able to leap the tallest tower of red tape with a single bound. Look, up in the sky! It’s Super P.A. Jerry!”
Allstate policyholders James Rick and Karen Wolkenberg

Fighting The Power