The Pacific Coast Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (PCAPIA) will hold its 2024 Annual Meeting on November 11 and 12 in Marina Del Rey. I know some public adjusters are wondering if the “P” was simply added to the California Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (CAPIA). It was. Those Californians decided to be more inclusive and invited everybody from Hawaii to Seattle to the party.

I have been traveling the public adjuster association circuit lately. While public adjusting has been growing throughout the United States, there are certainly many important and repetitive issues arising that make these organizations and active participation in them essential. The insurance industry is increasingly implementing anti-public adjuster policy exclusions that forbid hiring public adjusters. Some carriers are re-writing appraisal clauses or removing them in favor of arbitration. The recurrent issues of commercial free speech versus the unauthorized practice of public adjusting are of common concern and are being challenged in court.

PCAPIA leadership has intentionally added time at the end of each day of the conference to discuss these challenges. If you are a West Coast public adjuster, I highly recommend attending this event, if for nothing other than to hear and learn of the upcoming challenges facing your profession. The traditional public adjuster trade organizations have been responsible for the successful growth and licensing of public adjusting. However, they can only do so if public adjusters take the time and make the effort to participate actively.

Public adjusters who actively participate in trade organizations like PCAPIA gain crucial advantages. Beyond advocacy, membership provides invaluable professional development opportunities and access to educational resources that help adjusters stay current with industry trends and best practices. The networking benefits are particularly valuable, allowing adjusters to learn from their more experienced peers, share knowledge, and build relationships that can prove invaluable during complex claims. These organizations play a vital role in maintaining high professional standards and protecting the industry’s integrity through Codes of Ethics, which often find their way into state regulations. Most importantly, active participation in trade organizations helps public adjusters better serve policyholders.

I also want to give a shoutout to the leadership of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA.) At each of the recent regional meetings of the various public adjuster associations, NAPIA officers and board members have been present and actively participating. Such efforts are noticed and appreciated by the regional associations.

Here is the agenda for the upcoming PCAPIA meeting:

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11

11:45 am > Registration & Refreshments

12:00 pm > “Appraiser & Umpire Certification Prep,” Robert Norton, CPCU, AIC, General Adjusting Services and Joel Gumbiner, Esq., Williams & Gumbiner

2:00 pm > “Appraiser & Umpire Certification Course,” Robert Norton, CPCU, AIC, General Adjusting Services and Joel Gumbiner, Esq., Williams & Gumbiner

5:00 pm > Certification Examination (optional)

5:30-6:30 pm > “Fireside Chat – A Conversation with Claims Professionals” (members only – NDA required)

6:30-7:30 pm > Reception

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12

7:15 am > Registration & Breakfast

7:45 am > Welcome & Introductions, Denise Hsu Sze, Esq., PCAPIA President, Blue Oaks Public Adjusting

8:00 am > “Real Life Analysis of a Public Adjuster File,” Michael Duffy, Esq., Merlin Law Group

9:00 am > “Understanding and Applying Newly Approved Standards S700 and S760 for Assessing Fire and Wildfire Damage to Buildings,” Jonathan Bowers, Clean Environmental Solutions

10:00 am > Vendor Presentations

10:15 am > Break, sponsored by Walker Consultants

10:30 am > “Ethics – What PAs Need to Know,” Derek Chaiken, Esq., Merlin Law Group

11:30 am > “Identifying Secondary Damages and Common Oversights by Public Adjusters in Property Damage Assessment,” Taylor Babb, Pacific Public Adjusters

12:30 pm > Lunch

1:30 pm > “Competing Legal and Engineering Perspectives Impacting Insurance Claims,” Cam Sinsir, PhD, PE, Walker Consultants; Dilip Khatri, PhD, SE, Khatri International and Joel Gumbiner, Esq., Williams & Gumbiner

2:30 pm > PCAPIA General Session (members only)

  • Officer & Committee Reports
  • Annual Elections

3:00 pm > Closing Remarks

Here is the link for registration. I hope to see you there.

Thought For The Day

Every man owes a part of his time and money to the business or industry in which he is engaged. No man has a moral right to withhold his support from an organization that is striving to improve conditions within his sphere.
—Theodore Roosevelt