Florida Public Adjuster Contract

 Before a Florida public adjuster can  assist the policyholder with their insurance claim, both the insured and the adjuster must sign a contract.  In additon to the limitation on what  a Florida public adjuster can charge for his/her services, Florida Statute requires other specific information to be included within a Florida Public Adjuster's Contract. Below you will find some of  the information required to appear in a public adjusing contract. 

All contracts must be in writing in at least 12‐point type.

They must be titled ‘Public Adjuster Contract’.

 All contracts must contain the fraud statement as it appears in s. 817.234 and 626.8796, F.S.

The fraud statement must appear in a minimum 18‐point bold type before the space reserved in the contract for the insured’s signature.

 All contracts must include the full name, permanent business address, and the license number of the public adjuster.

The phone number and the email address of the public adjuster must be included as well.

 All contracts must include the full name of the licensed public adjusting firm.

 All contracts must include the insured’s full name, street address, phone number and email address.

All contracts should include the address of loss if it’s different from the insured’s current street address.

 All contracts must include a description of the loss.

 All contracts must include the insured’s insurance company name and policy number, if available.

 All contracts must state the percentage of compensation for the public adjuster’s service; and state all methods of compensation and all fees or other amounts required to be paid by the insured to the public adjuster; and any costs to be reimbursed to the public adjuster out of the proceeds must be specified in the contract or an addendum to the contract and it must be signed and dated by the parties.

The information about the compensation must appear in a minimum 18‐point bold type and be placed before the space reserved in the contract for the insured’s signature.

Additionally, the initials of the named insured should appear on each page that does not contain the insured’s signature.

 All contracts must state the type of claim including whether it’s an emergency claim, non‐emergency claim, or supplemental claim.

 All contracts must include the signature and the license number of the public adjuster who solicited the contract and all named insureds.

If all named insureds are not available, the public adjuster must submit an affidavit signed by the available named insureds attesting that they have authority to enter into the contract and settle all claim issues on behalf of the named insureds.

All contracts must include the date the contract was signed by all parties.

Public adjusters must submit an unaltered copy of the executed contract to the insured at the time of execution and within 7 days to the insurer or the insurer’s representative.

However, a public adjusting firm that adjusts claims primarily for commercial entities with operations in more than one state and that does not directly or indirectly perform adjusting services for insurers or individual homeowners is deemed to comply with this requirement if at the time a proof of loss is submitted, the public adjusting firm remits to the insurer an affidavit signed by the public adjuster or public adjuster apprentice that identifies: 

The full name, permanent business address, phone number, email address and license number of the public adjuster or the public adjuster apprentice

The full name of the licensed public adjusting firm o The insured’s full name, street address, phone number, email address together with a brief description of the loss o An attestation that the compensation for public adjusting services will not exceed the limitations provided by law

While there are other requirements concerning the Florida Public Adjusting Contract, the above are a good start in assuring your contract is in compliance.