A public adjuster is a licensed professional who represents the policyholder — not the insurance company — throughout a property insurance claim. We inspect the loss, document damage in detail, build a line-by-line estimate using the same platforms carriers use, and manage every conversation with the carrier from filing through final payment.

The carrier has its own adjuster. A public adjuster balances the field.

Equitas charges an hourly rate of $200/hour, regulated under Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 22. There is no contingency fee and no percentage taken from your settlement. The initial claim review is free. You receive an estimated range of hours before engagement, disclosed in writing.

Example: a typical $30,000 claim runs 8–20 hours ($1,600–$4,000). Every hour is itemized.

A Florida Legislature study of 76,321 insurance claims found that policyholders who hired a public adjuster received settlements 747% higher on hurricane claims and 574% higher on non-catastrophic claims compared to policyholders who handled the claim alone. That figure includes the PA fee.

Whether it's worth it depends on the size and complexity of your loss. For claims under a few thousand dollars, usually not. For claims where the carrier is underpaying, denying, or stalling, the economics almost always favor representation.

The carrier's adjuster (staff or independent) works for the insurance company. Their job is to evaluate the claim from the carrier's perspective and settle it efficiently from the company's standpoint. They are not obligated to maximize your payout.

A public adjuster works exclusively for you. The same inspection, the same estimate platforms, but every decision is made in the policyholder's interest.

A public adjuster handles the documentation, estimating, and negotiation side of the claim — everything that happens before litigation. An attorney is the right call when a carrier is acting in bad faith, denying coverage improperly, or a claim heads to court.

Most property claims resolve without an attorney. When they do need one, the public adjuster's documented file gives the attorney a strong starting position.

The best time is right after a new loss — before the first carrier inspection. Documentation on day one protects everything that follows.

That said, most of our engagements come after something goes wrong: the settlement offer is too low, the claim is stuck or stalled, supplements are being ignored, or the claim was denied. We step in at any stage, and we can often restart claims carriers thought were closed.

Yes. A denial is not a final answer — it's a position. We review the denial letter, the policy language, and the carrier's stated grounds, then rebuild the file with documented evidence to challenge the denial directly.

Many denials are reversed on a second inspection. In cases where the carrier refuses to reconsider, our documented file becomes the foundation for appraisal or litigation.

Often, yes. Louisiana policies typically allow supplemental claims when additional damage is discovered after the initial settlement. If your scope was incomplete, if hidden damage emerged, or if repairs revealed issues that weren't originally documented, a supplemental claim puts that on the record.

There are time limits. Louisiana RS 22 sets statutory deadlines, and some carriers argue for shorter contractual limits. We review your specific claim and policy language before recommending whether a supplement is viable.

Simple residential water or roof claims typically resolve in 30–90 days from engagement. Hurricane losses with multiple trades, engineering reports, or large contents inventories take longer — sometimes 90–180 days. Commercial files can run longer still.

The biggest delay factors are carrier responsiveness and whether appraisal gets invoked. Having a documented file from day one tends to shorten every downstream step.

Usually not. Most claims resolve through documentation, negotiation, and — when needed — the appraisal process. A public adjuster handles all of that without a lawyer.

Legal counsel becomes necessary in specific scenarios: bad-faith claim handling, coverage disputes (where the carrier denies that the loss is covered at all), or litigation. If your file needs that, we'll tell you, and the documented work product transfers directly to your attorney.

Yes. Louisiana public adjusters are licensed and regulated by the Louisiana Department of Insurance under Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 22. License number #799051 is Equitas's Louisiana PA license. Fees, contract requirements, conflict-of-interest rules, and disclosure obligations are all set by statute.

Anyone offering public adjusting services in Louisiana without an active state license is operating illegally. Always verify the license number before engaging.

Yes. Commercial files — multi-building properties, business personal property schedules, business interruption coverage, equipment breakdown — benefit even more from public adjusting because the numbers are bigger and the coverage is more complex.

Equitas has handled commercial engagements up to $8M in loss value, residential and commercial, across five states.