Ethics
What this domain tests
Montana-specific ethical duties for adjusters and producers: fiduciary handling of money, the rebating and inducement prohibition, fair claims conduct under the UTPA, privacy of claimant information, and conflicts of interest. The exam tests application, not slogans.
Core rules
- Fiduciary money: premiums and claim funds are not the producer's or adjuster's operating cash. Account for and document them; do not commingle beyond what rules permit.
- Rebating: offering any part of premium or commission, or an unearned inducement, to close a sale is prohibited in Montana. A permissible token item must be nominal and not tied to the purchase.
- Fair claims conduct: MCA 33-18-201 requires prompt acknowledgment, reasonable investigation standards, a reasonable affirm-or-deny decision, and a written explanation of denial. Misrepresenting policy provisions is a violation.
- Privacy: Montana's Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act (Title 33, chapter 19) limits collection and disclosure of personal information. Share only with a need to know and use secure channels.
- Conflicts: do not adjust a claim where you have a financial interest in the repair vendor, are related to a claimant, or, as a public adjuster, accept compensation from a contractor. Disclose and reassign.
Worked example
An independent adjuster's brother-in-law owns the restoration company that submitted the bid. The adjuster discloses the relationship to the insurer, does not negotiate the bid, and asks the insurer to assign a different adjuster for the structure portion. That is the correct handling: disclosure plus removal from the decision. Simply being careful is not enough because the conflict is structural.
Traps
- Calling a rebate a marketing expense.
- Sharing a claimant's medical records with a contractor because the contractor needs it.
- Accepting a referral fee from a vendor.
- Treating the UTPA as protecting only the insured, when Montana also reaches certain third-party claim conduct.