They are licensed insurance professionals that work for the public to represent policyholders when they’ve experienced damages or a loss. They are highly regulated by the state in which they practice, who make sure that the PA is operating according to state standards and statutes. In the state of Florida, Public Adjusters must not only finish an insurance course and pass a state administered bar, but comply with fingerprinting and background checks, be bonded for $50,000, and then apprentice under another licensed Public Adjuster for an entire year. For more details click here.

Insurance mediation refers to the process of settling disputes arising from certain types of insurance claims. The dispute will be between the insured and the insurance company. The Insurance company will have a representative to argue their prospective and thoughts on the insurance claim and the policyholder should have a representative to argue their prospective and thoughts on the claim. Many times policyholders go to mediation alone, which usually cost them a lot more than they bargained for.  Both representatives come together at a scheduled time and place and hash out what a fair allotment will be. For more detail, please click here.

Insurance companies have their own adjusters that they send out to assess the legitimacy of an insurance claim, called Staff Adjusters or Independent Adjusters. They are very different from Public Adjusters. The first and most obvious difference is that they work for the Insurance company and NOT the policyholder. Public Adjusters work only for the public and are paid by the public, not the insurance company. They are also different in that it is much more difficult to become a state licensed Public Adjuster than a standard staff adjuster or independent adjuster. Another major difference is the apprenticeship. Staff and Independent adjusters are not required to apprentice for a year 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 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, as that would be a major conflict of interest.

The Insurance company is made up of a multitude of people. While there is definitely some friction between Public Adjusters and Insurance companies in general, most of the negative emotions will be expressed toward your Public Adjuster from people in the corporate office during the negotiation phase,* and you won’t have to hear about it. We are professionals and we don’t take it personally. Your Insurance Agent (the person who sold you your policy) most likely will have no dealings with your claim whatsoever, so there should be no hard feelings. As a matter of fact a lot of agents refer their clients to us, because they can’t legally represent the policyholder and they want to keep their clients happy.