FAQ’S

A public insurance adjuster assists policyholders in the preparation, presentation and adjustment of property insurance claims. You retain a public adjuster to help you fulfill the requirements stipulated in your insurance policy, following a loss to your property.

A public adjuster has the ability to prepare accurate, detailed and thorough claims for your property losses. In fact, a professionally prepared claim will be much more detailed and thorough than a claim prepared by most individuals or businesses. This detail oriented claim preparation results in larger, more satisfactory claim settlements than most people would ever achieve on their own.

Consumers should look for a public adjuster that is both accredited and certified by the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA). An accredited public adjuster acts according to a strict code of ethics established by NAPIA and is recognized by the association for their expertise and professionalism. A certified public insurance adjuster is an accredited adjuster that has demonstrated his professionalism by passing a rigorous examination, meeting minimum experience requirements and participating in mandatory continuing education. A certified public adjuster has earned either the designation CPPA, Certified Professional Public Adjuster, or SPPA, Senior Professional Public Adjuster.

Public insurance adjusters are licensed in New Jersey under the auspices of the “Public Adjusters’ Licensing Act”, NJSA 17:22B-1, and regulated by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. In almost all of the other States in the U.S. public insurance adjusters are both licensed by the individual States and regulated by their respective Departments of Insurance.

Homeowners and some business owners in New Jersey are protected from deceptive or unfair claims practices by the New Jersey Unfair Claims Practices Act and Regulations, NJ Admin. Code 11:2-17.1 to 11:2-17.14 (1981/1991) [1,2,3].

Before selecting a public insurance adjuster, we recommend asking the adjusters you are interviewing the following questions to ensure you receive the best representation:

• References
• Past case examples
• Office location
• Your adjuster able to be reached at all times
• Size of firm
• When sole proprietor goes on vacation, your claim goes on vacation
• Small enough to care, large enough to manage

• Own estimators
• Use own inventory
• Do not accept referral fees from any outside contractors
• Copy client on all correspondence, phone call recaps as they happen
• Oldest firm in New Jersey
• Continuing education a mandatory requirement for all adjusters
• File review every Thursday