How Do I Become A Public Adjuster In New York?
How do I become a public adjuster in New York?
Being a public adjuster can be a very rewarding career choice.
There is great satisfaction to be gained when you are able to help homeowners and business owners recover from a loss event.
In New York, the diversity of the city is a huge reason to be a public adjuster.
Every loss is different. There’s a lot of opportunity.
You have the high rises, but also brownstones and bungalows.
You’ll meet every type of person, with many interesting backstories.
Becoming a Public Adjuster, however, is no easy task.
The formal requirements are straightforward:
New York Public Adjuster Licensing Requirements
Fingerprints
Public Adjuster Examination
Application and Licensing Fee
$1,000 Bond
Five Letters of Character
This is the same process that all adjusters must go through to get licensed by the state of New York.
The public adjuster licensing test is largely the same test that independent adjusters take to get the general adjusters license.
New York is known to have one of the hardest tests in the nation.
It includes many subjects within property insurance including:
Residental
Commercial
Farm
Policy Types
Exclusions
The Claims Process
And more.
Currently, there are approximately 15,000 licensed independent adjusters in New York, but only approximately 500 licensed public adjusters. So what makes a public adjuster so special?
How Are Public Adjusters Different?
A public adjuster is different from an independent adjuster.
It’s more than just title.
Public Adjusters are the only adjusters who are licensed to work on behalf of policyholders.
A Public Adjuster must know the nuances of the claims process better than the independent adjuster or staff adjuster. They must be able to communicate these nuances to policyholders in a way that is digestible and actionable.
Whereas independent adjusters generally do not spend much time on each claim, public adjusters may spend months or more helping a policyholder navigate the claims process.
Here’s a link to our article describing the different types of adjusters: What is a Public Adjuster?
What Does It Take To Be A Successful Public Adjuster?
A successful public adjuster must be fluent in all areas of the claims process to navigate the claim successfully through the claims process including notice of loss, investigation, negotiation, final settlement, and/or disposition.
You also need to be expeditious. You don’t get paid until your client gets paid, so you need to be diligent to get claims through the claims process. Carriers will delay claim settlement. The will ignore emails, ignore calls, make false promises, not provide you with documentation, fumble the claims between adjusters, and other disruptive things that prevent a speedy and full recovery.
Why Become A Public Adjuster?
Some insurance companies bully and take advantage of homeowners and business owners who don’t know the nuances of the property insurance claims process.
As a Public Adjuster, you can fight on behalf of policyholders, help them navigate the pitfalls of the claims process, and ultimately and make a huge difference in their lives.
