Public Adjusters Help Policyholders, Period.

"Hey, Clint---what's a public adjuster?"

This is a common question I receive from policyholders after they

experience a loss. The term adjuster is used in the insurance industry

to describe someone who inspects a loss, documents the loss, and

determines whether the loss is covered. The insurance companies hire

what they claim are independent adjusters. But those "independent"

adjusters are hired by and work at the direction of the insurance

company. Luckily, policyholders have their own advocates on the

adjusting side: public adjusters.

Public adjusters work for homeowners and business owners. The laws

regulating public adjusters help ensure that policyholders are treated

fairly and ethically. Public adjusters provide crucial services to their

customers, including:

• Inspecting the loss;

• [[Documenting the

loss]](https://clintco.legal/2020/08/06/theres-a-storm-coming-now-what/) with

photographs, videos, and sketches;

• Working with other professionals, like contractors and mitigation

experts, to fully estimate the cost for repair or replacement of the

damaged property;

• Interpreting insurance policy provisions to determine whether a loss

is covered by the policy;

• Communicating with the insurance company on your behalf throughout

your claim;

• Advocating for compliance with time limits imposed on insurance

companies;

• If your claim is denied or underpaid, by communicating with [[your

attorney]](https://clintco.legal/) to help facilitate

any legal action taken.

Public adjusters are usually paid a percentage of what they recover for

you. For hurricane losses, if the claim is made within the first year

after the date of loss, then the fee is limited to 10% of the recovery.

After year one, and for all other losses, fees range from 10%-30%, with

most being in the 10-20% range. This is where an attorney may be able to

put more money in your pocket.

Attorneys can usually recover their fees separately from the indemnity

paid to the client. That means the client would pay the public

adjuster's percentage from their indemnity check. However, if a client

hires an attorney, that attorney can pay the public adjuster a flat fee

to provide the same level of service. Depending on the amounts of the

fee, claim, deductible, and total coverage limits, this could put

thousands of dollars into the client's pocket.

For example, on a \$100,000 paid loss with a 20% public adjuster fee,

the client pays the public adjuster \$20,000 and keeps \$80,000.

However, if that same client hired an attorney and that attorney hired

the public adjuster for a flat fee of \$2,000, then the client walks

away with a total of \$98,000 (with attorney's fees paid separately).

For those familiar with this industry, there are certainly more factors

to consider than the simple example above. However, the fact remains

that public adjusters provide valuable, necessary services to

policyholders. Clint & Company, P.A. works with many of these

outstanding public adjusters regularly and can assist policyholders in

obtaining their services.

Call me right now at (407) 212-7598 or email me at office@clintco.legal.