September 1, 2010
Insurance & Financial Advisor
10600 York Road
Suite 203
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
Attention Editor
Re: “Pa. House targets ‘unscrupulous, dishonest’ adjusters”
I represent the American Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (AAPIA) a national organization representing and advocating for public adjusters and consumers, with a strong base in Pennsylvania. I am writing to you to correct a few misstatements with regard to HB 2370, mentioned in the above article that appeared in your latest issue.
During the past few months, AAPIA has been privileged to be part of a process that responded to a need to amend the public adjuster licensing statue in PA to make it stronger, up to date with current technology, address ethical and compliance issues, and allow Pennsylvania reciprocity with other states. We appreciate your intention in writing the article to educate those in and interested in the insurance and public adjusting professions regarding new law in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the article contains a few misstatements regarding the Bill. The latest amendment to the draft Bill, dated 6-18-2010, is the version that was passed by the House of Representatives, and had some changes from the draft that you may have been using to write the article. The errors in the article are as follows:
Right of Rescission: New disclosure requirements contained in the Bill require that the public adjuster’s contract contain disclosure that the policy holder has a “five business” right of rescission, not the 15 calendar days mentioned in your article.
Conflict of Interest: Your article states that HB 2370 will be prohibited from having an interest or receiving any profit from any salvage or restoration business. Pennsylvania law currently prohibits public adjusters from being involved in any salvage work or emergency repairs on an insured’s property, but does allow a public adjuster to perform restoration work as long as it is after the claim has been completely resolved. HB 2370, tracing the language from the NAIC Model Act, will allow an adjuster to have such an interest in a restoration or repair business, but not salvage, as long as such is fully disclosed to the insured, and keeps in place the prohibition on performing such work until after the claim is fully resolved.
On behalf of AAPIA, as well as consumers or adjusters who may rely on the information in your article, we respectfully requests that you correct the mistakes in the article. Please contact me via my contact information on the website if you need any further information regarding the Bill. A complete summary of the Bill is also on our website. Simply click on the tab “Legislation in your state” and then find Pennsylvania on the map.
Thank you for your consideration.
Very truly yours,
Holly K. Soffer
Holly K. Soffer, Esq
Gene Veno, President AAPIA
(Click here for original article)
