What is a public adjuster?
“A public adjuster is a professional claims handler/claims adjuster who represents the insured/policyholder in their insurance claim. Depending on the state, licensed public adjusters are required to prove competency in a variety of ways; written examination, experience time frames, and background checks. In many states, a public adjuster is a lawful fiduciary under either state or federal jurisdiction (e.g. FEMA) to legally and professionally represent the rights of an insured/policyholder during an insurance claim.
The role of a public adjuster is to recover the best possible indemnification for their claims. Individuals may prefer to avoid the stress of claims handling themselves, and choose public adjuster representation to guide them through the process and minimize the time which must be spent to file their claim properly. Public adjusters negotiate with insurance companies/carriers for an adjustment or settlement. Primarily, public adjusters review the applicable insurance policy to determine coverage for the loss, assess the cause of loss to determine applicable coverage, assist the insured to prepare detailed scope and cost estimates to prove their loss.
Public adjusters also provide insurance policy interpretation to determine if coverage exists, and to negotiate with the insurance company/carrier to a final and fair settlement. Most public adjusters charge a percentage of the settlement.
A public adjuster is a representative of the insured/policyholder who advises, manages, and submits a claim to the policyholder’s insurance company. A public insurance adjuster advocates exclusively for policyholders.”
– Wikipedia
Your insurance company hires its own adjusters, which can be either staff adjusters or subcontracted/ independent adjusters. The insurance company’s adjusters are sometimes at a disadvantage if they do not have the correct training, experience, tools, or even enough time to adjust your loss correctly due to the volume of loss from a catastrophic event.
The first and most obvious difference between an insurance company adjuster and a public adjuster, is that the insurance company adjuster works solely for the insurance company, NOT the policyholder. Public adjusters on the other hand, work only for the public and are paid by the public, not the insurance company. It is also much more difficult to become a state licensed public adjuster than it is to become a standard staff adjuster or independent adjuster. Many states require an apprenticeship for public adjusters in order to ensure that they have enough experience to correctly handle losses. Staff and independent adjusters are not required to apprentice for 6 months or any set amount of time as a trainee. The motive is different, the program is different, the testing is different, and of course the state license and regulation is different. A staff or independent adjuster can become a public adjuster, but they have to concede to all of the requirements and relinquish their current license as a staff or independent adjuster. They cannot represent both the insurance company and the property owner because that would obviously be a major conflict of interest.
Staff and independent adjusters can often be one-sided, biased, and nit-picky, scrutinizing the damages to avoid awarding proper payment, or denying legitimate claims all together. The insurance company they work for keeps a record of how much they are paying out, and if it reaches a certain number, their job could be in jeopardy. So, they are pressed to keep their claim payouts as low as possible, in order to save the insurance company money.
Public adjusters are there to tip the balance scale back the other way, to look out for the interest of the policyholder. No longer are you left at the mercy of a job-scared biased party. A public adjuster can be hired by you, the insured, to assess the claim, negotiate* with the insurance company, and sometimes go to court (as an expert witness) to resolve your claim and get you the money you deserve for restoration of damages.”
Why/ When Should you Hire a Public Adjuster?
Filing a claim can be a grueling experience, and if you make any mistakes or omissions, it could affect your pay out. Did you know that, according to your insurance policy, it is your responsibility to prove your damages to the insurance company?
Most People Do Not Know (Quote Below from an Umpire During Appraisal):
“The Burden of Proof is with the Policy Holder and not the Insurance Carrier in the State of Texas. If the following items do not have documentation, they cannot be included in the award”
The insurance company is not your friend, despite what they say in their catchy slogans. Public adjusters provide professional guidance throughout the claim process and will make sure the full scope of damages is included in your report and that your payout will adequately cover all the expenses related to your damages. Public adjusters save you time and energy. You may have a full-time job, or a business to run, or you may be busy caring for children. Even if you do not have any of these, you still do not want to deal with the hassle and stress of dealing with the insurance company. Insurance policies are full of legalese that are, by design, difficult for the average person to understand. Let us handle all of the headache and the hassle for you.
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