Insurance Regulation and Licensing in Florida
The two regulators
Florida splits insurance oversight, and which agency does what is a favorite exam topic. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), operating under the Financial Services Commission, licenses insurers, approves policy forms and rates, and conducts market-conduct examinations. The Department of Financial Services (DFS), headed by the elected Chief Financial Officer, licenses agents, agencies, and adjusters through its Division of Consumer Services, fields consumer complaints, and houses insurance fraud investigators in the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services.
Adjuster license categories
Florida licenses all-lines adjusters, who represent insurers, and public adjusters, who represent insureds for a fee. Company and independent adjusters must be appointed by an insurer; a license by itself gives no authority to settle claims for a carrier. Public adjusters must maintain a $50,000 surety bond, work under a written contract that discloses a three-business-day right to rescind, and may not charge more than 20% of the amount paid on a claim - 10% when a state of emergency has been declared for the event that caused the loss. Renewal is biennial, with continuing education that includes a law-and-ethics update.
Traps
- Confusing DFS with OIR. Exams love 'which entity licenses the adjuster?'
- Assuming a public adjuster may also act for the insurer on the same claim.
- Forgetting that unlicensed adjusting, or paying a commission to an unlicensed person, is itself a violation.
Rule of thumb
Ask who pays the adjuster. Insurer-paid means an all-lines/company adjuster. Insured-paid means a public adjuster, with bond, written contract, and fee cap.