A public adjuster charges a percentage of the settlement that they obtain for clients. Public adjusters in Florida have a maximum of 20 percent they can charge for a claim. However, if the governor’s office declares an emergency, the fee is reduced to 10 percent for claims made within the first year after the loss was incurred. At the end of that year, the fee reverts to 20 percent.

Public adjusters in Florida that are members of the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters are held to a stringent code of ethics. They’re highly trained professionals that provide an extensive variety of services to clients. They work for the benefit of clients that hire them – not insurance companies. Public adjusters are the adjusters specifically licensed by the state to represent individuals. Their job is to protect the interests of their clients.

Few people truly understand their homeowner’s policy, what it covers, and exclusions. The typical policy will be filled with industry jargon and terms with which the average individual is unfamiliar, and terms change on a regular basis. Public adjusters examine policies and provide clients with essential information. They’re trained to recognize flimsy claims on the part of insurance companies and act on the client’s behalf.

The typical strategy utilized by many insurance companies is to delay a claim or outright deny it, then defend their decision. Individuals must satisfy certain conditions for a loss to be covered and it’s up to the policy holder to prove they’re entitled to claim the damages. Public adjusters obtain the required information and they’re cognizant of any changes in laws that affect clients.

Public adjusters aren’t affiliated with insurance companies and work hard to obtain the full dollar amount to which their clients are entitled. The 20 percent fee they charge on the amounts they recover is well worth the cost when compared to the low dollar amounts that insurance companies typically offer.