What a public insurance adjuster does in Texas — and when to use one

After a storm, more than one person may introduce themselves as an adjuster. This guide explains what a public insurance adjuster is in Texas, what the fee can be based on, and what to check before you sign a contract.

The short version. In Texas, a public insurance adjuster is someone licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) whom you can hire to negotiate with your insurance company to settle your claim, according to TDI's public adjuster page. TDI says public adjusters can charge up to 10% of the total amount the company will pay for your claim, and you can cancel a contract within 72 hours of signing but not after.

Here's what we'll cover: the role, how to check a license, the fee and what it can be 10% of, the 72-hour window to cancel, what TDI says about contractors and door-to-door solicitation, and what TDI's pages say that bears on whether to hire one. Whether to hire anyone for your claim is your decision.

What a public adjuster is

A public insurance adjuster in Texas is someone a policyholder hires to deal with the insurance company on a claim. TDI's page Public adjusters: What to know before you hire one describes the role this way: "You can hire a public insurance adjuster to negotiate with your insurance company to settle your claim."

The same TDI page adds that public insurance adjusters understand the claims process and are licensed by TDI. It presents hiring one as one of your options if your homeowners claim is denied or you think your insurance company should pay more for repairs.

The rest of this guide looks mostly at the fee and the contract, the two things you agree to when you hire a public adjuster.

How to check a public adjuster's license

You can check whether a public insurance adjuster is licensed in Texas before you sign a contract. The public adjuster page suggests calling TDI's Help Line at 800-252-3439 to find out if the public insurance adjuster is licensed by TDI, how many complaints have been filed against them, and if TDI has taken any disciplinary actions against them.

TDI also has a page called How to find a licensed insurance agent or adjuster, which says you can search by name or license number.

Asking for the license number and looking it up is a small step you can take before any paperwork is signed. Of the two, the Help Line is the route TDI's public adjuster page names for complaint and disciplinary history.

What TDI says about the fee

TDI describes an upper limit on what a public insurance adjuster in Texas can charge. Its public adjuster page says: "Public adjusters can charge up to 10% of the total amount the company will pay for your claim."

The base for that percentage matters. TDI's next sentence on that page reads: "The fee can be based on the total amount of the claim settlement, not just the amount you’re disputing."

TDI gives its own example on the page: "If the company wants to pay $100,000 for your claim and you’re disputing $20,000, the public adjuster could charge $10,000."

TDI makes three more points about cost on that page:

Fee as a dollar amount. You can ask the public adjuster to put their fee in a dollar amount, instead of a percentage, in the contract, according to TDI.
Negotiating the fee. TDI's wording is that you can try to negotiate a lower fee.
Paying when the offer doesn't change. TDI says that if your insurance company doesn't increase its offer after you hire the public adjuster, you might still have to pay the public adjuster, and that you still have to pay your deductible.

For you, this means the fee question has two parts: the percentage, and what the percentage is applied to. Both are worth having in the contract in words you can check.

If a hail claim is what brought you here, our guide to filing a hail or storm damage claim in Texas covers the claim process itself, and how the wind and hail deductible works explains that deductible.

The contract and the 72-hour window to cancel

A public insurance adjuster's contract in Texas comes with a short period to cancel after signing. TDI's public adjuster page puts it in two sentences: "If you change your mind, you have 72 hours after you’ve signed a contract to cancel it." and then "You can’t get out of the contract after 72 hours."

TDI also suggests making sure the contract answers three questions: whether the public adjuster will inspect your damaged property, whether they will talk to your insurance company and ask for a larger amount, and how long it will take to settle your claim. TDI links a sample contract from the same page.

Because the window TDI describes is measured in hours, it helps to note the time you signed. If you have second thoughts, acting inside the 72 hours TDI describes matters more than waiting to see how things go.

What TDI says about contractors and public adjusters

In Texas, the public insurance adjuster on a claim and the contractor doing the repairs are separate roles. On its public adjuster page, TDI says public insurance adjusters who work on your claim can't act as your contractor, and that contractors can't advertise that they'll handle your insurance claim.

TDI adds that public adjusters can't get referral fees from attorneys, contractors, or anyone else involved in your claim, and can't keep you from talking with your insurance company.

So if one person offers both to negotiate your claim and to do the repair work, that offer does not match the roles TDI describes. TDI's page gives a number for reporting a public adjuster, 800-252-3439.

What TDI says about door-to-door solicitation

TDI lists limits on how a public insurance adjuster in Texas can approach you. According to its public adjuster page, public adjusters can't knock on your door asking for business during a natural disaster or after 9 p.m., and can't wear a badge while they're working as a public insurance adjuster.

The same list says public adjusters can't practice law or provide legal advice, and can't work on health care claims.

When it's worth considering

Whether to hire a public insurance adjuster in Texas is your decision, and TDI does not say which claims suit one. Its public adjuster page describes hiring one as one of your options if your homeowners claim is denied or you think your insurance company should pay more for repairs. No one can promise a particular outcome.

What TDI's pages say that bears on the decision:

The fee base. In TDI's example above, the fee could be $10,000 where $20,000 is in dispute, which works out to half of the disputed amount. TDI also says you might still have to pay the public adjuster if your insurance company doesn't increase its offer.
What TDI lists as other steps. TDI's page on homeowners and renters insurance complaints, which covers claim disagreements in general, lists talking to your insurance company as step 1, asking for an appraisal or hiring a public adjuster as step 2, and filing a complaint with TDI as step 3. That page says your policy may include an appraisal process and that the company might raise its estimate after hearing your concerns. It also says TDI can't make a company pay a claim unless the failure to pay violates a law or the terms of your policy, and can't settle disputes when you and the company disagree about the facts.

Questions you can ask before you sign. These are Credify's own suggestions, built on the TDI points above:

What's your Texas license number, and may I verify it before signing?
Is the fee based on the total settlement or on the additional amount, and where does the contract say so?
Can the fee be written as a dollar amount?
Do you, or anyone you're connected to, have any interest in the repair work?
Will you inspect the property and talk to my insurance company, and how long do you expect it to take?

Key facts

TDI's public adjuster page says you can hire a public insurance adjuster to negotiate with your insurance company to settle your claim, and that public insurance adjusters are licensed by TDI.
On fees, the same TDI page says public adjusters can charge up to 10% of the total amount the company will pay for your claim, and that the fee can be based on the total settlement and not only the amount in dispute.
If the insurance company doesn't increase its offer after you hire the public adjuster, you might still have to pay the public adjuster, and you still have to pay your deductible, according to that TDI page.
On cancelling, TDI's page says that if you change your mind you have 72 hours after signing a contract to cancel it, and that you can't get out of the contract after 72 hours.
Public insurance adjusters who work on your claim can't act as your contractor, and contractors can't advertise that they'll handle your insurance claim, per TDI's page.
TDI's list of limits says public adjusters can't knock on your door asking for business during a natural disaster or after 9 p.m.
TDI's How to find a licensed insurance agent or adjuster says you can search by name or license number, and TDI's public adjuster page gives its Help Line, 800-252-3439, for license, complaint and disciplinary information.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, Public adjusters: What to know before you hire one, How to find a licensed insurance agent or adjuster and homeowners and renters insurance complaints. This page is general information, not legal advice. For questions about your legal rights, check your policy or contact the Texas Department of Insurance. Credify is an insurance agency and does not act as a public insurance adjuster.

Take the next step

Before you sign with a public insurance adjuster, check the license, read how the fee is calculated, and note the time you signed.

If the claim behind all this has you wondering whether your policy was the right one in the first place, that's a separate question. Our guides to how to choose home insurance in Texas and independent agency vs direct cover how the shopping side works.

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Credify is a licensed insurance agency in Texas (License #3309669 · NPN 21516523).