All Florida Public Adjusters Need to Attend FAPIA’s Annual Meeting held July 7-9

“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain, and most fools do.”
–Benjamin Franklin

I thought of Benjamin Franklin this morning while responding to a comment raised by a public adjuster to recent Florida legislation. A number of comments were posed to Florida Legislative Update for Public Adjusters, and the last was:

Chip,

One last question.

What is to prevent every insurer in the state bellying up to the Legislature and asking for the same rights and privileges as Citizens?

Is there any talk from other companies?

Also, you say this will be fought in court. Is there a time-frame and who is lining up to challenge the legislation?

I replied:

You asked three questions, not one.

Here are the answers:

1. Nothing.
2. Yes.
3. I cannot tell you because of attorney client confidentiality. However, many public adjusting firms are losing money and policyholders are as well because of this legislation. I expect there will be many challenges to this aspect of the law.

Finally, all public adjusters should go to the FAPIA annual convention this summer. This will be a major topic of conversation and united opposition is needed. (emphasis added)

There has been far too much bellyaching about FAPIA by public adjusters— members and non-members. Not all the criticism is unwarranted. I know those toiling in FAPIA’s leadership have an impossible task because people have significantly different opinions about ethics and what “good policy” should be reflected in law and insurance regulation.

While thinking about the problems we face, I instantly thought of Franklin’s quote above. Many speak and complain but give little time or money to fight the good fight. They are foolishly undermining the “good” and inviting the “bad” to make some “ugly” legislation which will negatively impact everybody.

In Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters Urges Policyholders to be Prepared for Hurricane Season 2011, Nicole Vinson briefly wrote about FAPIA and the upcoming Convention July 7-9, in Ft. Lauderdale. She provided the registration form. FAPIA has further information available here.

I urge all public adjusters to join FAPIA and constructively become involved with raising the standards and competency of public adjusting. Another of Benjamin Franklin’s famous statements, made at the time of signing the Declaration of Independence, inspired me to emphasize this point:

“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”