Third party fire adjust
It depends on how much work you are willing to put in making calls and reading your policy. I would suggest getting estimates from a couple contractors familiar with fire repairs and comparing those with the estimate from your insurance carrier.
The third party adjuster will try to get you more on the claim but they will also take a portion of the entire claim for their services.
If you get your own estimates you may find out that "battling the insurance company" isn't necessary. For example - if your company says the damage is $10k and two contractors both say something close to that number than there isn't much to fight about. However if both contractors say the damage is $25k then show their written estimates to your carrier and ask why there is such a difference?
The type of coverage you have also matters a great deal. If you have Actual Cash Value (ACV) coverage your insurance company will estimate the amount of damage then adjust for depreciation on the age of your units. If you have done any recent renovations start digging up those receipts now for proof of the work being done. It will help off set the depreciation.
Depending how your policy is set up you could also have co-insurance involved if the property is insured for less than 80% or 90% of the estimated replacement cost.
If you don't already know those details call your agent and ask what type of coverage you have (Replacement Cost? or ACV?) And is there any co-insurance clause applied to your policy?
Thanks Michael Norris for your input. The policy is replacement. I rather deal with the insurance company myself. I have already engaged a contractor to get me an estimate but might get a second opinion on that. The insurance adjuster was very prompt in getting in there and start working on the claim. At this point it is a waiting game to see what the numbers came back at. I just want to get the units repaired and re rented as app as possible. Thanks again.
Aqil Dharamsey Insurance companies will generally pay out the ACV of the repairs almost immediately and then pay the rest at the end of construction. If you have replacement cost You will get the lesser of the actual cost to replace and your limit of insurance. For that reason there is really no need for a third party adjuster.
Even if you got a 3rd party adjuster and he disagreed with the insurance adjuster you would then have to hire an attorney to sue the insurance company for more money. This will delay repairs, require lots of legal fees and likely end in non renewal at the policy expiration. Your agent should serve as a resource in representing you in the negotiations.