What a public adjuster actually does — and when you need one (Illinois & Indiana)

A public adjuster is a state-licensed professional who represents the policyholder in a property insurance claim. The adjuster your insurance company sends works for the insurance company. A public adjuster works for you. That is the whole distinction, and it matters most when the two sides disagree about what the damage is worth.

In Illinois and Indiana, public adjusters are paid a percentage of what they recover, disclosed in writing before you sign. You do not need one for every claim. You need one when the carrier’s number does not match what it actually costs to put your property back.

Here is what the job looks like day to day, when it is worth it, and when it is not.

Three kinds of adjusters

Staff adjuster. An employee of the insurance company. Inspects, writes an estimate, and issues payment on the carrier’s behalf.

Independent adjuster. A contractor hired by the insurance company, often after a big storm when staff adjusters are overloaded. Still working for the carrier.

Public adjuster. Hired by the policyholder. Works only for the policyholder, is not paid by the carrier, and does not represent both sides.

None of this makes the carrier’s adjuster a bad actor. It means that on a disputed roof, the only person whose job is to argue your side is the one you hired.

What a public adjuster does on a claim

The work is more paperwork than people expect. In order:

1. Reads the policy. Coverage forms, endorsements, deductibles, matching provisions, cosmetic exclusions, appraisal clause. The policy is the rulebook, and most homeowners have never read theirs.
2. Inspects the property. Every slope, the soft metals, siding, gutters, interior. Photos of every hit, chalked test squares, measurements. This is the evidence file.
3. Writes the estimate in the carrier’s format. Carriers price claims in estimating software with standard line items and regional pricing. A public adjuster writes the scope in that same format so the two estimates can be compared line by line.
4. Submits and negotiates. Sends the estimate with photos and a written explanation of every difference. Follows up. Responds to the carrier’s pushback with more documentation, not louder emails.
5. Handles supplements. When the crew opens the roof and finds a second layer or rotten decking, the public adjuster documents it and submits a supplement for the added scope.
6. Invokes appraisal when talks stall. Most property policies include an appraisal clause: each side names an appraiser, the two pick an umpire, and the panel sets the amount. It resolves disputes about the value of the loss, not about coverage. A public adjuster knows when negotiation is exhausted and appraisal is the better path.

How the fee works

Public adjusters are paid a percentage of the claim recovery. The percentage is stated in the contract you sign before any work begins. Both Illinois and Indiana license public adjusters and set rules for their contracts, including written fee disclosure. If a public adjuster will not tell you the percentage before you sign, walk away.

The fee comes out of the claim proceeds. You are not writing a check up front, and you are not paying if nothing is recovered. Whether the fee makes sense on your claim is a math question: if the carrier’s estimate is already close to right, a percentage of a small increase may not be worth it. We will tell you that on the first call.

When you do not need a public adjuster

Honesty here saves everyone time. You probably do not need one when the claim is small, clean, and already paid in full. A few shingles, a fair estimate, a check that covers the repair. Take the check and fix the roof.

You also do not need one when the carrier’s scope matches your contractor’s scope. If both sides agree on what needs to be done and the numbers are close, there is nothing to adjust.

Where a public adjuster earns the fee is the other cases: a full roof written up as a repair, a “covered but below deductible” letter, an outright denial, a siding claim that pays for one elevation, a commercial roof scoped as cosmetic, or a claim that has stalled for months with no answer.

How Trident’s two companies fit together

Trident Adjusting & Consulting is the public adjusting firm. Trident Construction Group is a general contractor doing roofing, siding, and gutters. The phrase we use is “we adjust the loss and work the construction,” and it means exactly that: one company handles the claim, the other builds what the claim covers.

The advantage is that nothing gets lost in the handoff. The estimate the adjusting side argued for is the scope the construction side builds from. When the crew finds something the carrier’s adjuster missed, the supplement goes in the same day.

You do not have to use Trident Construction Group to build the job. The public adjusting contract and the construction contract are separate agreements, each in writing, and you can hire any contractor you want once the claim is settled. We are not attorneys, and if a claim raises a coverage question that needs legal advice, we will tell you to get it.

If the claim has already been denied, start with the five reasons carriers say no before you decide whether to bring anyone in. And if you want to see how we approach a claim that gets pushback, that is here.

Not sure whether your claim needs a public adjuster? Tell us what you have through the form or call (903) 952-2766. If the answer is “you’re fine,” we will say so.