What is the difference between a home insurance adjuster and a public adjuster?
Side by side on a roof claim
- Who hires them: the carrier assigns its adjuster after you report the loss. You choose and sign a contract with a public adjuster.
- Who pays them: the insurer pays a staff salary or a per file fee to an independent adjuster. A public adjuster takes a share of what the insurer pays you, set in the contract.
- What they produce: the carrier's adjuster writes the estimate the insurer pays from, usually in Xactimate. A public adjuster writes a competing estimate and pushes for the difference.
- Who has the final say: neither. The insurer decides what it owes under the policy, and disagreements over the amount can go to appraisal.
What changes once a public adjuster is involved
The insurer's adjuster still inspects the roof. The difference is that your public adjuster attends, presents their own measurements and photos, and handles the back and forth. Checks usually list the public adjuster as a payee so the fee can be taken out before you receive your share.
Where the roofer fits
A roofing contractor is neither. In Georgia a contractor cannot negotiate your claim as your adjuster, but a good roofer can document damage, meet the carrier's adjuster on the roof, and send a supplement for items the estimate missed. On a typical hail or wind replacement, that is often enough without giving up a percentage of the claim.
A public adjuster tends to earn the fee on large, complex losses such as fire, major interior water damage, or claims already stuck after a reinspection. See public adjuster vs roofer for how the roles differ in Georgia.