15.2 Public Adjuster Ethics, Fee Caps and the Dual-License Bar

Ethical Standards Specific to Public Adjusters (F.S. § 626.854 & § 626.865)

Public adjusters occupy a unique legal standing under the Florida Insurance Code. Unlike company and independent adjusters who represent the financial interests of insurance companies, a Public Adjuster (3-20) is retained directly by the insured policyholder.

                     FLORIDA ADJUSTER ALLEGIANCE & BOND MATRIX
                                         │
                 ┌───────────────────────┴───────────────────────┐
                 ▼                                               ▼
     COMPANY & INDEPENDENT ADJUSTERS                      PUBLIC ADJUSTERS
     • License: 6-20 / 7-20                              • License: 3-20
     • Represents: Insurer                               • Represents: Insured (Policyholder)
     • Duty: Impartial objectivity & fair dealing        • Duty: Undivided fiduciary loyalty
     • Bond: No individual statutory bond                • Bond: MANDATORY $50,000 Surety Bond
     • Fee: Paid by insurer/firm (salary/fee schedule)   • Fee: Contingency fee capped by law

1. Fiduciary Duty of Undivided Loyalty

Under F.S. § 626.854, a public adjuster owes an exclusive fiduciary duty of undivided loyalty to the insured. The public adjuster must prioritize the policyholder's financial interests above their own compensation, ensuring that all proofs of loss, estimates, and negotiations represent the insured's full, lawful contractual entitlements under the policy.

2. Mandatory $50,000 Surety Bond (F.S. § 626.865)

Before the DFS will issue or renew a 3-20 Public Adjuster license, the applicant must file and maintain a continuous $50,000 surety bond executed by an authorized corporate surety in favor of the Department of Financial Services. The bond protects Florida consumers against financial loss resulting from the public adjuster's fraud, dishonesty, negligence, or breach of fiduciary obligations.

3. Prompt Communication Mandate (30-Day Requirement)

Public adjusters are legally required to maintain open, prompt communications with both their clients and the insurance carriers adjusting the loss. Under the Adjuster Code of Ethics, an adjuster must handle every claim promptly, effectively and completely, and must respond to communications from the insured and the insurer without unreasonable delay. Adjusters should not memorize an invented number here: the enforceable statutory response clocks for property claims come from F.S. § 627.70131, and the department's own inquiry-response deadlines come from F.S. § 626.9541(1)(i).

4. Advertising and Solicitation Restrictions

Florida enforces stringent standards governing public adjuster advertisements and solicitations:

• Mandatory Identifiers: Every advertisement, business card, website, billboard, or promotional flyer must conspicuously display the public adjuster's full licensed name and official Florida license number.
• Solicitation Windows (F.S. § 626.854(5)): A public adjuster may solicit an insured or claimant, directly or through any other person or entity, only Monday through Saturday and only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on those days. Sunday solicitation is barred entirely, as is any solicitation outside that daily window.
• Prohibition on Deceptive Promises: Advertisements cannot guarantee specific monetary recoveries, promise "free roofs," or state that hiring a public adjuster guarantees an increased claims payout.

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Statutory Public Adjuster Fee Caps (F.S. § 626.854(11))

To prevent price gouging and predatory financial exploitation following natural disasters, the Legislature capped public adjuster compensation in F.S. § 626.854(11)(b). Note the subsection: the caps live in paragraph (11)(b), and the reopened/supplemental restriction lives in paragraph (11)(a).

Exam Trap: The Supplemental Claim Fee Restriction

If an insurer issues an undisputed payment of $50,000 and the homeowner then hires a public adjuster who secures an additional $30,000, the public adjuster's fee is computed only on the additional $30,000. Florida law forbids charging a percentage on money the insurer already paid or committed to pay for the same cause of loss before the contract was signed — that is the 0% rule in (11)(b)4.

The Contract Itself

• Right to cancel: the insured may cancel a public adjuster contract without penalty within 10 days after execution. If the contract was entered into based on events that are the subject of a Governor's emergency declaration, the window is the longer of 30 days after the date of loss or 10 days after execution. The contract must recite this right in 18-point bold type immediately before the signature line.
• Written contract required: for contracts entered after July 1, 2023, a public adjuster may not collect a fee on payments made to a named insured without a written contract with that named insured or the insured's legal representative.
• No loans or gifts: a public adjuster may not offer a monetary loan or advance to a client or prospective client, and may not give any article of merchandise worth more than $25 as an advertising inducement.
• No referral fees: a public adjuster may not compensate any person other than another public adjuster for the principal purpose of referring business.
• Advertising disclaimer: written advertisements (newspapers, magazines, flyers, bulk mailers) must carry a bold, capitalized disclaimer beginning "THIS IS A SOLICITATION FOR BUSINESS."

Absolute Ban on Concurrent Licensure (F.S. § 626.864(2))

Florida law safeguards the boundary between insurer representation and insured representation at the licensing level. Under F.S. § 626.864(2), the same individual may not be concurrently licensed as a public adjuster and an all-lines adjuster. Under § 626.864(3), an all-lines adjuster may be appointed as an independent adjuster, a public adjuster apprentice, or a company employee adjuster — but not more than one of these at a time. DFS states the practical rule plainly: an applicant cannot hold more than one adjuster license, and an adjuster license can hold only one appointment.

• An adjuster cannot represent insurance companies on weekdays and handle claims as a public adjuster on weekends.
• An adjuster who leaves an insurer or independent adjusting firm cannot surrender the all-lines license to represent a policyholder on the very same claim previously investigated for the carrier.
• This separation prevents breaches of carrier confidentiality, insider self-dealing, and irreconcilable conflicts of interest.

Do Not Confuse § 626.864 With § 626.8795

Both sections are tested, and they say different things:

The 48-Hour Access Rule Cuts the Other Way (F.S. § 626.854(14))

A company employee adjuster, independent adjuster, attorney, investigator, or other person acting on behalf of an insurer who needs access to an insured, a claimant, or the insured property must give at least 48 hours' notice to the insured, claimant, public adjuster, or legal representative before scheduling a meeting or an on-site inspection. If that notice was not given, the insured or claimant may deny access to the property. This is an obligation on the carrier's side of the file, not on the public adjuster's.