During the First Party Claims Conference last week, New York attorney Jonathan Lerner and I discussed the new public adjuster regulations that had just come into effect in New York on October 8. The New York Department of Financial Services listed the following in a press release announcing these new regulations:
The new consumer protections include the following:
• An insurer must include the public adjuster in any written or oral communications the insurer initiates with the insured unless instructed otherwise by the insured;
• A public adjuster initiating any mediation, arbitration, or litigation proceeding involving a dispute between an insured and a public adjuster regarding a New York loss must file it in New York and not another jurisdiction;
• A public adjuster may not require an insured to use a specific contractor for repairs;
• A public adjuster must include the fees for any services rendered by an outside expert or consultant retained by the public adjuster in the compensation agreement between the adjuster and the insured;
• An insurer must follow the insured’s direction, subject to the interests of any loss payee or mortgagee, as to who should be named on the insurer’s check; and
• A public adjuster may not condition doing business with an insured on the insured directing the insurer to make a check payable to the public adjuster for the adjuster’s fee.
Here is a link for all the new regulations, including new contract provisions, which all New York public adjusters should follow.
Thought For The Day
I believe that as a part of good governance, all agencies should be reviewing regulations and cleaning up those that may be outdated, redundant, or unnecessary.
—Seth Moulton
