Sourced Data Hub

Public Adjuster Facts

The numbers behind public adjusting, with the source attached to every figure — statutory fee caps, documented DCS case outcomes, and Texas disaster claim volumes. We publish what we can source, and leave out what we cannot.

By Dependable Claims Specialists Public Adjusters · TDI Firm License #3134924 · FL DFS Firm #W820363

Last updated: July 13, 2026

What Do the Data Say About Public Adjusters?

Quick Answer

Public adjuster fees are capped by statute — 10% in Texas (Ins. Code Ch. 4102) and 20% in Florida, or 10% in a declared-emergency year (§626.854). We do not publish an industry-wide “public adjusters increase payments by X%” figure, because no current public dataset supports one honestly. What we publish instead is documented: the statutes, our own case results with the specifics attached, and disaster claim volumes from NOAA, TDI, and post-event reporting.

Public Adjuster Fee Caps by State

Texas and Florida both cap public adjuster compensation by statute. The caps apply to the fee percentage, and each state adds consumer protections around the contract itself.

State	Fee Cap	Conditions	Source
Texas	10% of the insurance settlement	All claims. Contract must be on a TDI-approved form; three-business-day right to cancel; no percentage commission if the insurer pays policy limits within 72 hours of the loss report.	Tex. Ins. Code §4102.104
Florida — standard claims	20% of the claim payment	Non-emergency claims. The fee cannot be based on the deductible or on payments the insurer already made for the same loss.	Fla. Stat. §626.854(11)(b)(2)
Florida — declared emergency	10% of the claim payment	Claims based on a declared state of emergency, made within one year of the declaration.	Fla. Stat. §626.854(11)(b)(1)

Model the capped fee on your own claim with the public adjuster fee calculator. Appraiser and umpire engagements are compensated differently: hourly or flat-rate, with the umpire’s fee typically split 50/50 under the standard appraisal clause.

Documented DCS Case Outcomes

These are verified DCS public adjusting results — real claims with documented carrier initial offers and final settlements. They are individual case results, not averages, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Full write-ups are on the case studies page.

Claim	Year	Carrier Initial Offer	Final Settlement	Multiple
TWIA windstorm — Galveston, TX (Hurricane Beryl)	2024	$26,000	$118,000	≈4.5×
Tornado — Spring, TX	2024	$21,682.74	$122,602.83	5.65×
Hail & roof leak — Fulshear, TX	2024	$17,248.00	$111,525.05	≈6.5×
Concealed water / HVAC — Friendswood, TX	2024	$10,000	$250,000+	≈25×
Hurricane Beryl (partial denial reversed) — Alvin, TX	2024	$78,035	$157,879	≈2×
Hurricane Beryl — Texas Fair Plan, Houston, TX	2024	$18,450.48	$99,461.41	≈5.4×
Hurricane Ian — Sanibel Island, FL	2022	$88,884.45	$270,074.73	≈3×

Source: DCS verified case files (see the case studies page for carrier, client, and claim detail). Outcomes reflect public adjusting engagements under a contingency contract. Every claim turns on its own policy language, facts, and documentation; these results describe what happened on these specific claims and nothing more. Separately, when DCS served as the policyholder’s party-appointed appraiser on a Hurricane Ian loss the carrier had valued below the deductible, the appraisal panel issued a binding award of $1,427,372.70 (Sanibel Island, FL, 2023) — an appraisal-role outcome, distinct from public adjusting.

Texas Disaster Claim Volumes

Claim volume shapes claim handling: after major events, carriers process enormous surges, which historically stretches inspection and processing timelines. Key figures from our Houston claim-statistics analysis.

Event	Figure	Source
Hurricane Beryl (July 8, 2024)	More than 250,000 property insurance claims across Texas	NOAA/NCEI and TDI post-event reporting
Winter Storm Uri (February 13–17, 2021)	Over $10 billion in insured losses and well over a million property claims statewide — the costliest natural disaster in Texas insurance history	TDI post-event statistics / industry estimates
Tax Day Flood (April 17–18, 2016)	Over 10,000 flooded homes in the Houston area; more than $2.7 billion in total estimated economic losses	NOAA NCEI historical data
Memorial Day Flood (May 25–26, 2015)	Approximately 4,000 properties flooded in Houston	City of Houston post-event reporting

Claim counts and insured-loss totals are point-in-time estimates from post-event reporting and are frequently revised in later analyses; statewide totals are not Harris-County-only figures.

Related Resources

Public Adjuster vs. Insurance Adjuster

Who each adjuster works for, who pays them, and when to use each.

What Is a Public Insurance Adjuster?

The license, what a PA does during a claim, fee caps, and when to hire one.

DCS Case Studies

The full documented outcomes behind the table above — carrier, client, and claim detail.

Public Adjuster Fee Calculator

Estimate the statute-capped fee on a Texas or Florida claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can a public adjuster legally charge?

Fees are capped by statute. In Texas, a public adjuster’s total commission may not exceed 10% of the insurance settlement (Tex. Ins. Code §4102.104). In Florida, the cap is 20% of the claim payment for most claims and 10% for claims based on a declared state of emergency made within one year of the declaration (Fla. Stat. §626.854(11)); the Florida fee cannot be based on the deductible or on amounts the insurer already paid.

Do public adjusters actually increase claim payments?

It depends entirely on the claim, and anyone who answers with a single percentage should be treated with caution. There is no current, reliable, industry-wide public dataset on this. The figures most often quoted in public adjuster marketing come from a 2010 study of one Florida insurer, and they are widely criticised because that study did not establish cause — representation concentrates on larger, more complex, already-disputed claims, so the comparison is not like-for-like. What can be said honestly: a public adjuster documents and values the loss independently, which matters most when the insurer’s scope is incomplete or the claim has been denied, delayed, or underpaid. Where it does not change the scope, it will not change the payment. Our documented case results are published individually, with the specifics attached, rather than averaged into a headline number.

Are the DCS settlement multiples typical results?

No. The outcomes on this page are documented individual DCS case results — real claims with verified before-and-after figures — not averages and not projections. Every claim turns on its own policy language, facts, and documentation, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes. They are published to show what documented re-presentation of a claim can look like, with the specifics attached.

Where can I verify these facts?

Every figure on this page carries its source: the Texas and Florida fee caps are in Tex. Ins. Code §4102.104 and Fla. Stat. §626.854(11); disaster claim volumes come from NOAA/NCEI, TDI, and municipal post-event reporting; and the DCS case results are documented on our case studies page. We deliberately do not publish industry-wide payment-increase statistics, because the available public data does not support a trustworthy figure.

Educational Information - Not Legal Advice

The information on this page is for general educational purposes only. Dependable Claims Specialists is a licensed public adjusting firm - not a law firm. Public adjusters help policyholders inspect, document, evaluate, and negotiate property insurance claims, which includes reading and applying your policy in the ordinary course of adjusting (coverage parts, exclusions, endorsements, scope). We do not practice law and we do not provide legal advice. For legal opinions, demand letters, Chapter 542A pre-suit notices, statutory remedies under the Insurance Code, or litigation, consult a licensed attorney in your state. Texas public adjusters operate under TX Ins. Code Chapter 4102; Florida public adjusters operate under FL Statute §626.854.

Want to Know What Your Claim Is Actually Worth?

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