Licensing and Qualification Requirements
Domain 1 tests whether you can identify who must hold a Delaware public adjuster license, what must be filed to obtain and keep it, and where the boundary lies between public adjusting, producer licensing, and company adjusting.
Who must be licensed
A public adjuster is a person who, for compensation, acts on behalf of an insured to negotiate, effectuate, or settle a first-party claim. Delaware requires a public adjuster license before the person solicits, contracts, or adjusts a claim. A Delaware producer or broker license does not authorize public adjusting. Staff adjusters employed by an insurer represent the insurer and are not public adjusters. Contractors, roofers, restoration companies, and consultants may not “handle the claim” for a percentage fee unless they hold the license. A business entity that offers public adjusting must designate a licensed individual and comply with entity licensing rules.
Qualification and maintenance path
- Be at least 18, submit the application and fees, pass the Delaware public adjuster examination, and provide fingerprints or background information required by the Department.
- File the required surety bond with the Delaware Department of Insurance and keep it in force.
- Nonresidents may qualify through reciprocal licensing if their home-state license is in good standing; Delaware reviews disciplinary history.
- Renew before expiration and complete continuing education, including the ethics component, each renewal term.
- Report administrative actions, criminal convictions, and changes of address or business name as required.
Worked example
A Delaware roofing company tells a homeowner it will “deal with the insurer” for 12% of whatever the insurer pays. The company holds no public adjuster license. Because the activity is adjusting a first-party claim for compensation, the contract is unenforceable by the unlicensed entity and the conduct is reportable to the Department. The homeowner should verify the license through the Department’s licensee search and insist on a written contract with the statutory rescission right. If the roofer instead merely repairs the roof under a construction contract and does not negotiate the claim, the licensing issue changes.
Traps that cost marks
Assuming a producer license covers public adjusting; ignoring business-entity licensing; soliciting before the license is active; allowing the bond or continuing education to lapse; paying a “referral fee” to an unlicensed contractor; and treating a company adjuster’s authority as if it were a public adjuster license.