What is the difference between a public adjuster and an independent adjuster?

Most of us spend our entire lives working to have enough resources that can help us lead peaceful lives. For some people, this peace comes from doing what they love, but it comes from financial security for most of the use. Financial security means having enough money to support your lifestyle or working towards your financial goals.

We relate financial stability to mental peace in so many ways that now we get peace of mind from the idea of our loved ones being financially secure even when we are not around. Life is unpredictable, and all kinds of uncertainties could crop up at any time; things like medical emergencies and deaths are not in our control but what we have control over how we prepare for such situations.

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Whether the damage is caused to our health or to the things we own, these unforeseen situations guarantee one thing, and that is a burning hole in our pockets. When you are unprepared and face such unpredictable conditions, the last resort is to dip into your savings, which is not ideal for most people because these savings require numerous sacrifices to be there in the first place.

Importance of Insurance 

Insurance plans have proven to be highly beneficial for people looking to protect the things they love. So to make sure that we stay financially secure and when we are not around our families, we go for insurance coverage. You can choose from various insurance options such as life plans, health plans, education plans, and home plans.

How it Works 

Insurance plans are also known as policies, and to get insured; you have to pay for these policies and make regular payments. These periodic payments are also known as premiums. These premiums help you cover the loss costs protected under the procedure; however, this only happens when you claim to your insurer.

We don’t have to make insurance claims as such things happen once in a lifetime, so when we are not claiming the insurance, our premiums get pooled with other policyholders to help them with their situation.

People Involved in Insurance 

Different parties are involved in insurance. For example, you would mostly see the person covered by the insurance, the company providing the insurance, and the insurance brokers who give you professional advice. However, one more person proves to be crucial in this process: an insurance adjuster.

What is an Insurance Adjuster?

When an insured person faces a loss covered under the insurance policy, he claims the company. The company then has to do their due diligence and confirm whether the claiming client is honest about their situation and whether his condition falls inside the policy’s coverage.

This is where an insurance adjuster or a claims adjuster comes in; an insurance adjuster shows the company that the claim isn’t fraudulent and determines how much they should pay to the insured person after investigating the nature and severity of their loss.

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Different Types of Insurance Adjusters

It gets pretty confusing for people who are just starting to distinguish between the different types of claim adjusters and understand how they work. There are usually two insurance adjusters: a public adjuster and an independent adjuster. To help you know the difference between the two, we will explain everything you need to know.

The Independent Adjuster

The independent adjuster is the one who won’t charge anything for his services, but that doesn’t mean he works for free because the company will pay him. His job is to handle your claims while representing the rights of an insurance carrier.

When they hear the word independent, most people think that the adjuster is some free-wheeling mercenary, but that is not true. Independent adjusters are also known as staff adjusters because when you make an insurance claim, the company assigns their staff members to manage your claim. 

There are also cases when an independent adjuster is working for different companies, which is completely fine because it keeps them neutral to various situations. Finding independent adjusters has become easy since you don’t have to contact the company to look for an independent adjuster directly. All you have to do is search for things like independent insurance adjusters near me or independent adjusters in my area.

Like every other adjuster, an independent adjuster is obligated to analyze all the facts of your claim with complete honesty and then determine the proper compensation, but since they get paid by the company, they try to minimize the amount of loss. Independent adjusters are also specially trained to help save the insurance company money.

The Public Adjusters

On the other hand, there is a public adjuster licensed by the states to represent you, also known as private adjusters. Most people who make claims are doing it for the first time, and they want to make sure that they get everything right because a lot of their money is at stake. They don’t want to risk their coverage with an independent adjuster, so they hire private adjusters to help you with all the intricacies of your claims.

Public adjusters either work independently or work in a large firm of numerous other public adjusters. When you hire a public adjuster, he starts negotiating on your behalf with the insurance company or with the independent adjuster hired by the insurance company. Since you hire them, they don’t work for free, and you have to pay them out of your pocket. 

There are different ways a pubic adjuster can charge you; for example, some like an upfront fee, whereas others charge hourly rates. Generally, when you hire a public adjuster, you should expect to pay him a flat rate of approximately 10% of the final claim settlement.

How to assess their performance? 

The most important before working with an adjuster is to assess his performance, and that is not done by looking at how much fee they take but how quickly they settle the claims. The settling of claims is known as “closing” or “clearing,” Most adjusters have to clear more than 70 claims in a month. Another way to assess an adjuster is by looking at how many claims he has closed without involving lawyers and insurance company supervisors.

Final Note 

Claims are one of the touchiest subjects in insurance and should be handled entirely because the person making claims is already mourning some loss. Both the public and independent adjusters are qualified professionals who can represent your case and understand your situation as a person. There are also claim bots that some people rely on instead of adjusters, but that is not recommended in most situations.