You found damage. Your insurer sent someone out, and the number they came back with does not match what a contractor wants to charge. Somewhere in that gap you heard the words public adjuster. Here is what one does, what it costs, and when it is worth the call.
A public adjuster works for you
An adjuster is the person who inspects the damage, reads the policy and decides what the claim is worth. Every claim has one. The question is who they work for.
The adjuster your insurer sends is employed or hired by the insurer. A public adjuster is licensed by the State of Florida, hired by you, and paid only from what your claim recovers. Same title, opposite side of the table.
In Florida the profession is defined and regulated in one statute, 626.854. That statute sets the fee caps, the cancellation window, the hours we may contact you and the rules for how we advertise. Most of what follows comes from it, quoted.
What a public adjuster does on a claim
Four things, in order.
- Reads the whole policy. Coverages, endorsements, exclusions, limits, deadlines. Most homeowners have never read theirs. Most insurer estimates quietly rely on that.
- Inspects with instruments. A drone over every slope of the roof. A thermal camera on walls and ceilings, because wet shows cold. A moisture meter wherever the camera points. Test squares and chalk on the shingles. Every finding photographed and logged.
- Writes the estimate and files the claim. A line item estimate in the format insurers use, with the photos and readings behind each line, filed complete so there is nothing to send back for.
- Negotiates until the number matches the damage. The insurer's adjuster deals with us instead of you. If the first check comes up short, we file the supplement. If the claim was denied, we reopen it.
Through all of it, the homeowner gets one number to call and plain updates. That is the whole service. What we handle.
What it costs, set by Florida law
Nothing up front. The fee is a share of what the insurer pays you, and the statute caps the share.
“A public adjuster may not charge, agree to, or accept from any source compensation, payment, commission, fee, or any other thing of value in excess of: 1. Ten percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, exclusive of attorney fees and costs, paid to the insured by the insurer for claims based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor. This provision applies to claims made during the year after the declaration of emergency. After that year, the limitations in subparagraph 2. apply. 2. Twenty percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, exclusive of attorney fees and costs, paid to the insured by the insurer for claims that are not based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor.”
Florida Statute 626.854(11)(b)
So: 20 percent on a normal claim, 10 percent for the year after a declared state of emergency. On money the insurer had already agreed to pay before you signed, the fee is zero (626.854(11)(b)4). On a reopened or supplemental claim, the fee is capped at 20 percent of the supplement, not of the whole claim (626.854(11)(a)). No recovery, no fee.
Is it worth it? What the state found
The Florida Legislature's research office, OPPAGA, compared claims handled with and without a public adjuster. Its report found an average payout of $2,029 for policyholders without one and $17,187 with one. Source: Florida OPPAGA Report.
Those are averages across many claims and many years. They are not a promise about your claim; nobody honest makes one. What they show is the size of the gap between the insurer's first number and a documented one.
When to call one
- You just found damage and have not filed yet. This is the best time. A claim that has not started is easier to work than one that has been denied.
- The insurer's offer will not cover the repair.
- The claim was denied, or closed, or has gone quiet.
- A contractor wants you to sign an assignment of benefits and you are not sure what it means.
- You do not have the time, or the stomach, to argue with an insurance company for months.
The one time not to call: when the insurer has already paid the full policy limit promptly and nothing was missed. We say so on the first call if that is your situation.
How to pick one, and how to check
Three checks, all free.
- The license. Every Florida public adjuster and every public adjusting firm has a license number from the Department of Financial Services. Ask for both, then look them up under Licensee Search at myfloridacfo.com. Ours: firm W844279, Jeremy Suarez W632646.
- The fee, in writing, inside the caps. If a contract asks for more than the statute allows, walk away. The statute calls any workaround a violation (626.854(11)(f)).
- The cancellation window. Florida gives you 10 days to cancel a public adjuster contract without penalty, or 30 days after the loss for a declared emergency, whichever is longer (626.854(7)). A firm that hurries you past it is telling you something.
Then ask how they inspect. If the answer does not include getting on the roof, opening a wall, or a thermal camera, the estimate will be written from the ground, and that is the estimate you already have.
What to do right now
Stop the damage from spreading: tarp the roof, shut the water off. Photograph everything before it is cleaned up. Keep every receipt. Do not sign anything on the driveway. Then call. We tell you what the damage means and whether a claim is worth filing, and you decide.
