I'm writing about the independent insurance adjusters who are flooding the areas where there was so much damage to homes on the shoreline. I'm aware of them only because of my contractor who was in charge of the rebuilding of our home after a fire. He told us that they would be lined up in our driveway the next morning; they were.

They want 10 percent of the money you get from your insurance company and they'll tell you that they will fight for every last penny due you. What they don't tell you is that they drag it out forever and that you may not see your recovery money for more than a year.

In the meantime, your home sits as it was.

I implore you, wait for the adjusters your insurance company sends out. These independents will tell you what you want to hear and pour on the sympathy, and it will sound good. One of them had me cornered for almost three hours until he finally realized I wasn't buying.

Get your lists done as soon as possible and turn them in to your own insurance company. Ours was handled in a timely fashion and we didn't pay anyone 10 percent to fight for what was ours to begin with.