HARD KNOCKSCONSULTING
Stanley Cleveland II
“Most people handle exactly one contested claim in their life. The carrier handles thousands a year. My job is to close that gap — read the policy properly, document the loss properly, and make sure the estimate reflects what it actually costs to put your home back.”
Licensed Adjuster for the Insured, State of Michigan. Retained as independent appraiser and umpire by parties on both sides of a claim — which means the arguments I make on your file are ones I've had to answer from the other chair.
Every file is handled by me, personally — start to settlement.
Why Hard Knocks
The name isn't marketing
A contested claim is one of the few times a family finds out exactly how much of their own policy they understand. Most find out the hard way.
I have never worked a claim for an insurance company. I came into this business on the homeowner's side of the fence — projecting losses, building scopes, and standing in living rooms while somebody explained to a family why the check was less than the repair. Every file I have ever touched, I touched for the insured.
From that seat you see the same pattern over and over: the loss was real, the policy covered it, and the estimate was still short — not because anyone was lying, but because nobody on the homeowner's side knew what to ask for or how to prove it. The families who did well weren't the ones with the worst damage or the best policy. They were the ones who had someone in the room who spoke the language.
Almost nobody had that. So I got licensed to be exactly that person, and built the practice around it — one adjuster, reading the policy properly, documenting the loss properly, and putting a number in front of the carrier they can't wave off. The appraisal and umpire work came later, and it cuts both ways precisely because the scoping discipline is the same either way.
Hard Knocks is what it cost to learn all of that. My clients shouldn't have to pay the same tuition.
How We Work
Three commitments, on every file
One adjuster
01The person who inspects your loss is the person who writes the estimate and argues it. No handoffs, no file-transfer emails, no re-explaining your own claim.
An honest read
02If the carrier's number is fair, we tell you and close the review at no cost. Taking a file we can't improve wastes your time and burns our credibility.
Documented, not asserted
03Every disputed line has a photo, a measurement, a code citation, or a price-list entry behind it. Adjusters settle files they can justify to a reviewer.
Credentials
Licensed, bonded, and on the record
Michigan requires a public adjuster to be licensed and to disclose compensation in writing before any engagement. Ask any adjuster for their NPN — ours is above.
and Financial Services
and umpire appointments
Areas Served
Southeast Michigan, county by county
Based in Royal Oak. Older masonry homes raise matching and code-upgrade issues; newer subdivisions raise installation and spec disputes. Knowing the housing stock is part of the job.
Get Started
Talk to the adjuster who'll handle it
No intake team, no call center. Reviews are read personally, usually within one business day.
Request a free claim review
HARD KNOCKS CONSULTING
220 South Main Street
Royal Oak, MI 48067
(947) 241-2950
stanley@hardknocksconsulting.com
State of Michigan — statewideNPN 20573993