10.1 The Adjuster’s Role: Staff, Independent & Public Adjusters, and the Relationship to the Legal Profession

Three Kinds of Adjusters

Louisiana's required public adjuster disclosure (R.S. 22:1704(E)) defines the three types in plain language:

The two licenses are firewalled. A licensed claims adjuster may not represent or act as a public adjuster (R.S. 22:1674.1(A)(20)), and a licensed public adjuster may not act as a company or independent adjuster in Louisiana (R.S. 22:1706(H)(1)).

Duties and Responsibilities of an Insurer-Side Adjuster

• Investigate promptly and thoroughly, determine coverage, evaluate damages and report truthfully (standards (9) and (11)).
• Adjust strictly under the insurance contract and treat all claimants fairly (standards (5)–(7)).
• Communicate within statutory timelines: R.S. 22:1892 adjustment and payment clocks, and the R.S. 22:1896 14-day response rule for property insureds.
• Complete assignments thoroughly and timely and report to the party that assigned the claim; failure is a license ground (R.S. 22:1672(A)(18)).
• Handle only claims within the adjuster's competence and license lines (standard (18); R.S. 22:1666).

Louisiana Public Adjusters (R.S. 22:1691–1708)

What Public Adjusting Is (R.S. 22:1692)

Public adjusting means investigating, appraising, or evaluating and reporting to an insured on a first-party claim under a contract insuring the insured's property. It also includes advertising, soliciting, or holding oneself out as a public adjuster of first-party property claims. It does not include claims for damage to or arising from the operation of a motor vehicle, or anything that is the unauthorized practice of law.

License, Crimes and Exemptions (R.S. 22:1693)

• No one may act or hold out as a public adjuster without a license. A licensee may not misrepresent that he represents an insurer.
• A business entity needs its own public adjuster license and a designated licensed public adjuster responsible for compliance.
• Exempt: Louisiana attorneys in good standing, and people employed only to gather facts or provide technical assistance to a licensed public adjuster or attorney, such as photographers, estimators, private investigators, engineers and handwriting experts.
• Crime of unauthorized public adjusting: a natural person faces up to two years' imprisonment at hard labor, a fine up to $1,000, or both. A business entity violating the entity-license requirement faces a fine of up to $5,000 per violation.
• Applicants file the license application before scheduling the public adjuster exam; the LDI then tells PSI the applicant may schedule Series 301.

Financial Responsibility, Fees and Contracts

Public Adjuster Standards of Conduct (R.S. 22:1706)

• Serve the insured with objectivity and complete loyalty.
• Do not solicit an insured during the progress of a loss-producing occurrence.
• No unlicensed staff doing licensed work; no financial interest beyond the contract fee; no interest in salvage.
• No soliciting work for, or taking fees from, attorneys, contractors or subcontractors. A public adjuster may recommend one but may not collect anything for the referral.
• No power of attorney to choose who performs repairs, and no filing complaints in court or with agencies for the insured.
• First-party claims only; no personal injury claims; no legal advice; no unauthorized practice of law.
• No settling without the insured's knowledge and written consent.
• May not serve as appraiser or umpire on a claim the public adjuster adjusted, and may not act as a contractor or subcontractor on a claim he processed.
• Act 372 of 2026 added a duty to include the Louisiana license number in electronic communications to the insured, other than text messages (R.S. 22:1706(H)(12)).

Relationship to the Legal Profession

Adjusters negotiate claims every day, but they are not lawyers:

• Public adjusters are expressly barred from legal advice and the unauthorized practice of law (R.S. 22:1706(H)(7)–(8); the practice of law is defined in R.S. 37:212–213).
• Claims adjusters may not advise a claimant against getting legal advice or hiring counsel (standard (16)). They may not negotiate with a represented third-party claimant without the attorney's consent (standard (14)). They may not knowingly misrepresent pertinent state laws (standard (17)).
• Louisiana attorneys acting as attorneys are exempt from both adjuster licenses (R.S. 22:1662(1); 22:1693(E)(1)).
• When a claim is in suit, the adjuster works with defense or coverage counsel, preserves evidence, and follows counsel's direction on communications.

Direct Action and Reservation of Rights (R.S. 22:1269)

Louisiana was long known for letting injured people sue liability insurers directly. As amended in 2024, R.S. 22:1269(B)(1) now says the injured person, or the survivors listed in Civil Code arts. 2315.1–2315.2, has no right of direct action against the insurer unless one of these applies:

Additional adjuster-relevant rules:

• An insurer sued under the section is not named in the case caption, and the court does not disclose insurance to the jury unless Code of Evidence art. 411 requires it.
• Filing suit against the insured interrupts prescription against all insurers whose policies cover the claims.
• Reservation-of-rights notice timing (R.S. 22:1269(E)): a liability insurer that denies coverage must send the named insured written notice of reservation of rights within 90 days after determining a coverage defense exists, and in no case later than 30 days before trial. Notice goes by trackable mail or courier to the last known address, or by hand delivery.