A public adjuster is paid a percentage of what the insurance company pays on your claim, and nothing if there is no recovery. In Florida the percentage is capped by statute at 20%, or 10% for claims from a declared state of emergency during the year after the declaration. In New Jersey there is no statutory cap, but the fee must be set in a written contract and be reasonably related to the work. This page explains how the fee works, what it buys, and how to decide whether hiring a public adjuster is worth it on your claim.
Last reviewed: October 2026
See what a fee comes to on a claim, and what you keep. The fee is a percentage of what the public adjuster recovers, never a bill you pay up front.
Illustration. Florida caps are set by §626.854(11); on a reopened or supplemental claim the fee may be charged only on the new money, not on what the insurer already paid. New Jersey has no statutory cap; the fee is set in the written contract and must be reasonably related to the work. Your signed contract controls.
How Much Does a Public Adjuster Cost?
A public adjuster’s fee is a contingency fee: a percentage of the insurance claim payments the adjuster obtains for you. There is no retainer, no hourly rate and no bill if the claim is denied and stays denied. The percentage is set in the written contract you sign before work starts, and in Florida the law caps it.
| Florida | New Jersey | |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory cap | 20% of claim payments; 10% for claims based on a declared state of emergency, for claims made in the year after the declaration (§626.854(11)(b)) | None. The fee must be stated in a written contract and be “reasonably related to services rendered” (N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.13; DOBI Bulletin 12-16) |
| Existing or reopened claims | Fee only on the new payment obtained, not on money already paid; never above 20% (§626.854(11)(a)) | Set by contract; the 2025 law requires the fee basis to be stated and supported by work records |
| Installment payments | Payment follows the claim: ACV first, holdback as repairs are made (§627.7011) | Since P.L.2025, c.84, a percentage-fee contract may not take the whole fee from the first installment when the insurer pays in two or more |
| Checks | Issued by the insurer to the policyholder (and any mortgagee); the fee is paid from the proceeds under the contract | A contract may not require the insured to authorize checks payable only to the public adjuster (P.L.2025, c.84) |
| Cancellation | 10 days after signing; after a declared emergency, the longer of 30 days after the loss or 10 days after signing (§626.854(7)); also cancel without penalty if no written estimate within 60 days ((12)(b)) | Before midnight of the third business day after signing (P.L.2025, c.84) |
| Homeland | No Recovery, No Fee, within the cap | No Recovery, No Fee, stated in the contract |
How Does a Public Adjuster Get Paid?
The insurer pays the claim to you (and to your mortgage company if there is one). The public adjuster’s fee is paid from those proceeds, as a percentage of each payment as it arrives: the first check, the recoverable depreciation released after repairs, and any supplemental payment. If the insurer pays nothing, the fee is nothing. The public adjuster’s interest and yours run the same direction: the only way the fee goes up is for the claim to be paid correctly.
Is a Public Adjuster Worth It?
It depends on the size of the gap between what the insurer offered and what the loss actually costs to repair. The only independent study of that gap in Florida was done by the Legislature’s research office. In January 2010 OPPAGA compared Citizens Property Insurance claims with and without public adjusters and found:
OPPAGA noted that policyholders’ net settlements were lower than those figures by the fee, which is the right way to read them: on the non-catastrophe claims, a 20% fee on $9,379 leaves $7,503, still more than five times the $1,391 paid without representation. The study is old, Citizens-specific, and the claims it measured were the ones where owners already suspected a problem. It is still the only data of its kind, and it matches what we see: the fee is small next to the difference in scope.
When Is It Too Late to Hire a Public Adjuster?
Later than most people think. A public adjuster can be retained at any point: before you file, after the insurer’s adjuster has inspected, after a lowball payment, after a denial, and during repairs when hidden damage turns up. The limits are the notice deadlines, not the stage of the claim. In Florida, notice of an initial or reopened claim must be given within one year of the date of loss and a supplemental claim within 18 months (§627.70132); the policy’s suit limitation clause sets the outer limit for a lawsuit. In New Jersey the policy’s notice and suit limitation clauses control. If a claim has already been closed with payment, we can still reopen or supplement it inside those windows, and the fee applies only to what we add.
Is There a Public Adjuster on This Check?
If you hired a public adjuster, the insurer may list the adjusting firm on correspondence and, depending on the contract and state rules, on the settlement check along with you and your mortgagee. Under New Jersey’s 2025 law a contract may not require checks payable only to the adjuster, and Homeland’s Florida contracts never make the adjuster the sole payee. If you did not hire a public adjuster and one appears on your check, call the insurer and the Department of Financial Services (Florida) or the Department of Banking and Insurance (New Jersey): someone may have signed a contract in your name.
What You Get for the Fee
Public Adjuster Fees in Florida
§626.854(11) caps a public adjuster’s compensation at 20% of the insurance claim payments or settlements, exclusive of attorney fees and costs. For claims based on a state of emergency declared by the Governor, the cap is 10% for claims made during the year after the declaration; after that year the 20% cap applies. For a reopened or supplemental claim, the fee may be based only on the new payment obtained and may not exceed 20%. The statute also gives you the right to cancel the contract within 10 days of signing (longer after a declared emergency) and, under subsection (12), to cancel without penalty if the public adjuster has not given you a written estimate within 60 days. Homeland’s Florida contracts follow the statute exactly.
Public Adjuster Fees in New Jersey
New Jersey does not cap public adjuster fees by statute. A 12.5% cap was proposed in the Legislature after Superstorm Sandy (S-2472, 2013) and did not pass. Instead, N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.13 requires the contract to state the maximum fee, which must be reasonably related to the services rendered, and the Department of Banking and Insurance has said it will enforce that standard and expects adjusters to keep time and expense records (Bulletin 12-16). The 2025 amendments to the licensing law (P.L.2025, c.84, approved July 1, 2025) add a written-contract requirement with license numbers, a three-business-day cancellation right, an accounting of services performed, and for percentage fees on a primary or secondary dwelling, rules that the full fee cannot be taken from the first installment and that checks cannot be made payable only to the adjuster. Homeland Public Adjusters Corporation holds New Jersey firm license 3003982360 and works on a No Recovery, No Fee basis there as in Florida.
Who Pays a Public Adjuster?
You do, out of the claim proceeds. The insurer does not pay the fee and does not add it to the claim, and it is not an attorney fee. That is why the fee is a percentage: it is only ever a share of money that would not otherwise have been paid, and it is never due if nothing is recovered. Compare the alternatives: a lawyer on a property claim typically takes a contingency of a third or more and, in Florida since the 2022–2023 reforms, cannot recover fees from the insurer on most new claims; a contractor who “handles the claim” for free is practicing public adjusting without a license in Florida and is paid by inflating the repair.
Public Adjuster Fee FAQs
How much does a public adjuster charge in Florida?
How much does a public adjuster charge in New Jersey?
Do I pay anything up front?
What if the insurer denies the claim?
Can I hire a public adjuster after the insurer already paid?
Does the fee come out of the money for my mortgage company?
Is a public adjuster’s fee tax deductible?
Can I cancel the contract?
Public Adjusters Serving Florida & New Jersey
Homeland Public Adjusters represents policyholders throughout Florida and New Jersey on the same fee terms: a percentage of the recovery, no retainer, no hourly billing, and nothing if the claim pays nothing. Call 24/7.
Free Claim Review
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Claims We Handle on a No Recovery, No Fee Basis
The same fee terms apply to every claim type Homeland handles for homeowners, condo associations, landlords and businesses in Florida and New Jersey.
