We will soon introduce legislation that updates the Public Adjuster Licensing Law (Act 72 of 1983), last amended in 2012, based on current national standards and industry best practices.

When property owners experience a significant loss, often resulting from a traumatic fire or weather-related disaster event, they may be solicited by and decide to hire a licensed public adjuster to manage their insurance claim. Unlike insurance adjusters who work for a policy holder’s insurance company, public adjusters represent the insured property owner. Public adjusters provide services such as gathering information on the loss, filing a claim, and negotiating payments with the insurance company. Current law is silent on how much a public adjuster can charge, often expressed as a percentage of the claim amount, for their services.

While many public adjusters serve their clients with fidelity, the Public Adjuster Licensing Law needs updates to strengthen consumer protections, oversight rules and enforcement measures that align with the latest national standards.

Our bill will:

• Provide consumers with disclosures and a window of time in which they can cancel a contract.
• Increase the minimum bonding requirement to be licensed as a public adjuster.
• Strengthen the licensing provisions to ensure no person can represent or advertise themselves as a public adjuster without a license.
• Strengthen the conflict of interest provisions that prohibit public adjusters from receiving financial benefits from contractors.
• Place a limit on the amount a public adjuster may accept as compensation for a claim.

This proposed legislation is being developed in collaboration with the stakeholder community, the Insurance Department, and the Pennsylvania House to ensure all perspectives are taken into consideration during the drafting and the final product has broad support.

Please join us in co-sponsoring this bipartisan legislation codifying best practices.