“Can a contractor hire a public adjuster to represent an insurance claim to the insurance company?”
This question has been posed to me in various forms by building contractors and policyholders alike. At least in Missouri, the answer is a clear and concise “no”: a public adjuster cannot be hired by a contractor to represent a policyholder with an insurance claim.
Why not?
First, the contractor is not a party to the contract (aka “the insurance policy”) between the policyholder and the insurance company and has no rights under that agreement, particularly the right to represent or hire someone else to represent the insured policyholder who is a party to that agreement.
Second, Missouri law forbids building contractors from representing Missouri policyholders with their insurance claims, and a public adjuster hired by the contractor (should such a thing be allowed) would be responsible for working in the contractor’s best interests, not the insured policyholder.
Third, a public adjuster hired by a contractor would be paid by the contractor rather than the insured policyholder. Since the insurance company would not cover the public adjuster’s fees as a part of the claim and the payment of the claim would be made to the policyholder, which (the contractor or the policyholder) would pay the public adjuster the contractor hired? A conflict of interest arises regarding which party the public adjuster would serve.
Missouri Revised Statutes intentionally separate the roles of contractors and public adjusters to preclude a conflict of interest regarding who is being served and represented in an insurance claim.
Policyholders should hire their own public adjusters when they believe it necessary to use a public adjuster for an insurance claim, and they should ensure that the public adjuster represents their interests in the claim and no one else’s.
All good contractors familiar with successfully adjusted insurance claims will know public adjusters they can refer to their customers and are an excellent source of information. Ask your contractor for a referral and then carefully research and personally speak to a public adjuster candidate. When you have chosen, hire a public adjuster to represent you, and only you, with your insurance claim.
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