Public Adjuster Bond

A public adjuster bond — or insurance adjuster bond — covers public adjusters, field and staff adjusters, and independent adjusters. It guarantees the adjuster will comply with state laws and statutes and ethically conduct business in accordance with the rules and regulations as defined by the state insurance department. Obtaining a bond is also a sign to potential customers that the adjuster is safe to do business with.

An insurance adjuster is a professional who investigates claims on behalf of an insurance company when a claim has been made on a specific insurance policy. When a claim is made for a personal injury situation, the adjuster may consult medical records and the professionals involved in the treatment of the insured. When the claim involves property damage, the adjuster will begin by inspecting the damage and then review police reports, interview any witnesses, and talk to nearby property owners as well. Once an adjuster has completed the investigation, they will have a good sense of what the insurance company's liability would be in the situation.

If you are an insured individual and an adjuster is investigating your claim, either for personal injury or property damage, it is well to keep in mind that the insurance adjuster will not be an advocate for you, and certainly does not have your best interests in mind. That's because they are employed directly by an insurance company or have been hired by an insurance company as an independent adjuster, for the purpose of conducting a thorough investigation into a specific claim.

There are three main types of professional insurance adjusters: independents, staff adjusters who are one of several employed by insurance companies, and public adjusters who are most often employed by policyholders. The only way you, as an insured person, can be sure that your best interests are being represented in a claim investigation is to retain the services of a public or independent adjuster yourself, and that person will then become your advocate.

The first order of business for an adjuster is to determine whether any damage that was caused in a specific event is actually covered under the terms of the policy. If that proves to be the case, the insurance company would then be responsible for making good on the costs incurred by that damage, as well as any related hardships which have been incurred as a result of the damage. A good example of this would be when a house becomes so badly damaged that it cannot safely be inhabited. In that situation, the hotel costs would be covered under the terms of the policy.

Along with asking seemingly endless questions, an adjuster will also take photos that will be used as supporting documentation for the investigation. Generally speaking, all the following activities are included in the tasks that a professional claims adjuster would routinely undertake:

• Research and assess damage
• Determine who is liable for the damage
• Inform the insurance company of all details
• Investigate all points of the claim on the policy, to include property damage, content damage, building damage, and related expenses
• Formulate a comprehensive report on all damages, so that specific dollar amounts can be assigned to financial losses
• Coordinate with contractors or specialists who will be needed to effect repairs or reconstruction.

The job of an insurance adjuster is to make the determination in regards to the amount of loss coverage that a company is liable to cover. They spend their time investigating and putting a dollar amount on the damage caused by a business or individual making the claim. It's important to come up with an accurate number because both the client's needs and the needs of the company are in the balance. If they do a poor job, both could be forced to cover an unnecessary or excessive loss.