What is a Public Adjuster?
A public adjuster is a state-licensed insurance professional who works for you, the policyholder — not the carrier. Licensed public adjusters document your loss, interpret your policy, prepare the claim, and negotiate directly with the insurance company so your settlement reflects the true cost of repairs. Unlike the adjuster your carrier sends, a public adjuster answers only to you.
What a Public Adjuster can Provide
A public adjuster is a state-licensed insurance professional who represents you, the policyholder — not the insurance company. They manage the claim process from start to finish, ensuring that your settlement reflects the true cost of repairs or replacements.
Inspects Damage
Files Claims
Negotiates Settlement
Maximizes Payout
What Does a Public Adjuster Do?
A public adjuster manages your property insurance claim from first notice through final settlement. In practice, that means:
- Inspecting and documenting the loss — measuring the full scope of damage, including issues a carrier’s adjuster may overlook.
- Reviewing your policy — identifying every coverage, limit, and endorsement that applies to your loss.
- Preparing the claim — building a detailed, defensible estimate of what it will actually cost to repair or replace.
- Negotiating with the carrier — handling adjuster inspections, correspondence, and settlement discussions on your behalf.
- Reviewing underpaid or denied claims — re-examining prior settlements to recover amounts that were missed or left out.
Because a licensed public adjuster works only for the policyholder, every step is aimed at the claim’s accuracy — not the carrier’s bottom line.
The Three Types of Insurance Adjusters
Not every “adjuster” works for you. Knowing the difference is the first step to protecting your claim.
1. Company (Staff) Adjuster
A staff adjuster is a salaried employee of your insurance carrier. They evaluate your claim on the carrier’s behalf, and their role is to settle it according to the carrier’s interests.
2. Independent Adjuster
An independent adjuster is a contractor the carrier hires to handle claims when in-house staff are stretched — often after a catastrophe. Despite the name, an independent adjuster still represents the carrier that pays them, not you.
3. Public Adjuster
A public adjuster is the only one of the three who works for you, the policyholder. Licensed by the state and hired directly by you, a public adjuster documents your loss, interprets your policy, and negotiates your settlement — start to finish.
How Is a Public Adjuster Different from an Insurance Company Adjuster?
Confused about what a public adjuster actually does? You’re not alone. A public adjuster is a licensed professional who works for policyholders — helping homeowners, contractors, and businesses navigate and maximize their insurance claims after property damage.
Public Adjuster (You)
- Works for the policyholder
- Goal: maximize your payout
- Paid a small % of your claim
- Advocates for fair claim value
Insurance Company Adjuster (Them)
- Works for the insurance company
- Goal: limit company liability
- Paid by the insurer
- Protects insurer’s bottom line
Are Public Adjusters Licensed?
Yes. In most states, public adjusters must hold a state-issued license to represent policyholders, and requirements vary by state. Every Gavnat public adjuster is individually licensed in the states where they practice.
You can verify any adjuster’s credentials through your state’s Department of Insurance or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
Our 6-Step Adjusting Process
Step 1
Assessing Your Loss:
Once you contact us, we send a representative to assess the total damage to your property. Losses to commercial properties also impact the operations and earnings of your business and we take those additional losses into account in the assessment.
Step 2
Filing a New Claim:
When you contact us before filing a claim with your insurance company, we help you document your claim for maximum benefit and help you avoid common mistakes while also preventing delays in the claims process.
Step 3
Reviewing Your Insurance Policy:
Once there is an assessment, we review your insurance policy to determine all applicable coverage. Remember that adjusters sent by your insurance company represent the best interests of the company, rather than working on your behalf to get the fair compensation you’re absolutely entitled to.
Step 4
We Prepare A Claim Report:
We prepare a claim report that meticulously documents structural damage and property inventory and bring in other experts as needed like appraisers, engineers and accountants to further validate your claim. We also document additional expenses, loss of rent and business income as covered by your policy. We then send total claim estimates to your insurance company for evaluation and adjustment.
Step 5
We Negotiate Your Settlement:
We stay in contact with your insurance company to ensure your claim is being handled, is adjusted fairly and results in the best possible outcome. We also advocate for you during inspections with the insurance company adjuster and keep you informed about the status of your claim throughout the process.
Step 6
We Help Maximize Your Settlement:
If you receive a settlement you don’t think is fair, we have the best advocates and loss experts to support and negotiate for you to ultimately receive the settlement amount you are entitled to under the policy. We provide a free claim evaluation and are paid only if we discover areas of under payment or items that were left out of your original insurance settlement. If we discover you were not properly compensated, we re-document and cross-reference every aspect of your loss and work with your insurance company to increase your settlement.
Why Homeowners and Businesses Choose Gavnat
- Licensed and experienced public adjusters
- Deep expertise in residential and commercial claims
- Proven results increasing payouts by thousands
- Transparent, client-first approach
Common Questions About Public Adjusters
View All FAQsA Public Adjuster is a professional insurance adjuster, who is licensed and certified by the Department of Financial Services to work exclusively for the benefit of the policyholder. We prepare, present, and negotiate property claims on your behalf to your insurance company.
A public adjuster inspects and documents your loss, reviews your policy for applicable coverage, prepares a detailed claim, and negotiates with your carrier from first notice through final settlement.
Most public adjusters, including Gavnat, work on a percentage of the claim settlement, and that percentage is capped by law in many states. You typically pay nothing up front.
As early as possible, especially if damage is widespread or complex.
The insurance company adjuster is employed by the insurance company to settle claims while protecting their own interests. A Public Adjuster works exclusively for you, the policyholder. We are authorities in assessing true and total damage, as well as reading the fine print and understanding your policy, coverage, and the insurance company responsibilities in order to negotiate a better settlement.
Absolutely. Even if you’ve received a settlement, we can review and often recover additional funds.