Individuals wanting to become insurance claims investigators will now need an endorsement coming from either the Association of Philippine Adjustment Companies (APAC) or Philippine Institute of Loss
Adjusters (PILA), the government regulator said.
Insurers are now filling the claims
adjuster talent gap with temporary or interim staff and calling on retirees during peak catastrophe seasons.
The Public Adjusting industry worked closely with Senator Jeff Klein, Counsel to Governor Cuomo and representatives of the Department of Financial Services to draft language that had the best hope of protecting consumers from conflicts of interests that could arise if an unscrupulous
adjuster conspires with a contractor they control to take advantage of a fire victim by unfairly profiting from the loss while doing substandard repairs.
The notification came following inquiries regarding use of public
adjusters to negotiate fees, said the Oklahoma Insurance Department.
My client had $50k in UM coverage and told the
adjuster that she was still treating; the
adjuster had no idea of the adverse drivers' coverage, but still decided to ask the insured to sign a UM release.
Joiner said having a public
adjuster, though, could reduce the number of lawsuits.
Trey Stone, CEO of Houston-based Guardian Equity Management, which owns and operates 3,500 apartments, says he hires a public
adjuster for every claim that he estimates to be $50,000 or more, but says smaller owners may want to hire one for claims as small as $ 10,000.
* Hurricane Katrina stretched the
adjuster pool to its limits, and put a spotlight on the differences between
adjusters employed by insurance companies versus independent adjusting firms.