Holly K. Soffer, Esq.

Welcome to AAPIA’s legal corner where we will give you a quick summary and legal analysis of what  you need to know about laws that affect your business, and will  inform you about  what you need to do to stay in compliance with new laws and regulations.

Holly Soffer, Esq.
Kellis & Soffer, LLP.
(215)-244-1045
hk.soffer2@verizon.net

Holly has practiced law since 1987,  providing personalized legal services and consulting for small and medium size businesses.  In addition to advocating for public adjusters through AAPIA,  Holly has represented individual public adjusters locally and nationally for more than ten years.

Is your Public Adjuster Contract Compliant?

You are a busy professional who is out soliciting and adjusting claims.  You try to keep current with changes in the law and regulations, and maybe you must do this in more than one state.

One thing to keep in mind is that minor changes in required contract language often go unnoticed in the effort to communicate the larger issues contained in legislative changes, and are often lumped in the “miscellaneous”  section of any report on a change in the law or a proposed Bill.  Very often the disclosure language is amended, sometimes due to a change in a consumer protection statute which you may not be aware of, or the contract requirements are changed in response to a new technology, or other reason that doesn’t get much publicity. For example, in Pennsylvania new proposed legislation will require the initials of the insured next to certain disclosures, a requirement that has largely gone unreported.

Unfortunately, if your contract is not compliant, you will be subject to sanctions under the law, including fines, suspension or criminal charges, or maybe your contract could be viewed as an illegal contract, and you will not be allowed to collect your fee. None of these scenarios is what you want for your career or business.

You should do a contract review on an annual basis to make sure that your contract is compliant. A few hours of work now could save you much cost and trouble down the line.  As always, feel free to contact me if you need help with this contract review.

Louisiana Passes Joint Resolution to Study the Feasibility of Authorizing Public Adjusters to Charge Consumers on a Contingency Fee Basis for Loss Adjustment Services.

Quick Summary by Issue:

Percentage Fee: will be considered
Fee Caps: may be considered
Ability to Negotiate Claim: not considered at this time
    
AAPIA has been involved in negotiating some of these proposals, and more detail on some of the proposed changes in the law and a brief summary of those negotiations is below.

As Gene has blogged previously, he has been appointed, as the president of AAPIA, to be on a committee composed of (1) The commissioner of insurance or his designee;(2) The president of the La. State Bar Association or his designee;(3) The chief executive officer of the Independent Insurance Agents of America or his designee;(4)  The president of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters or his designee; and,(6) A member appointed by the governor to represent licensed public adjusters in LA to study the issue of whether public adjusters can charge a fee that is based on a percentage of the loss.

Throughout the Spring, AAPIA has been involved in discussions with stakeholders in Louisiana including the Department of Insurance, the Louisiana Bar Association,   other public adjusting groups, and staff and members of the Insurance Committee of the House of Representatives to try to introduce amendments to the recently enacted-2005- Public Adjuster licensing law in Louisiana to allow for percentage fees and other provisions  similar to those found in the NAIC Model Act which would allow public adjusters to negotiate and effect the settlement of claims on behalf of an insured.  The current licensing statute does not allow adjusters to negotiate or charge a percentage fee, stating that such conduct is the unauthorized practice of law. An amendment to the statute that we had supported, and helped to create which would allow public adjusters to both negotiate and charge a percentage fee was proposed, but did not pass out of  the House Insurance Committee.  

Nonetheless, we were pleased to be among the stakeholders appointed to the Advisory Committee that was formed to study the issue of the charging of percentage fees. At those committee meetings, Gene will continue to represent your interests in a free and open market, and the interests of consumers, who will be better served with a contingent fee rather than having to pay fees out of pocket for adjusting services. The committee must make its recommendations by February 1, 2011.   If you want to support our efforts, please write to your Representative or Senator, and express your support for the public adjuster’s ability to charge a percentage fee.