Are you interested in shaping the legislative landscape within your region? Embrace the opportunity to serve on the NAIIA legislative committee! Your perspective and expertise can make a real difference. Contact NAIIA Executive Director Sheri Csom for more details about serving on the committee and upcoming events. You can also view other members serving on the committee in your region at https://naiia.com/naiia-committees/
From our very own Regional Legislative Chair, Christopher M. Davis, CPCU, AIC, HCI-C:
KENTUCKY UPDATES PUBLIC ADJUSTER REGULATIONS
Kentucky Legislators have passed House Bill 232 which was later signed into law by Governor Andy Beshear. The law includes several provisions to increase fee transparency and protect consumers. Public adjuster fees are now capped at 15% for non-catastrophe claims and 10% for catastrophe claims. As is common in most states, an insured has up to three business days to rescind a public adjuster contract after it has been signed. To protect against conflicts of interests, public adjusters are prevented from being paid by contractors. Public adjusters could be fined up to $5,000 for a violation of the new law.
The new law requires that all public adjuster contracts be submitted to the Kentucky Department of Insurance for approval prior to their execution. Then, once a contract is executed, a copy of it must also be sent to the Department of Insurance within three business days. Kentucky Insurance Commissioner Sharon P. Clark issued Advisory Opinion 2023-07 stating that contracts allowing for the public adjuster to collect fees for claim payments negotiated or adjusted prior to the execution of the contract are generally prohibited. In other words, public adjusters may only collect a fee on new money that they help collect for their clients.
In other news from The Bluegrass State, Commissioner Clark issued Advisory Opinion 2023-08 which provides clarity about the state’s “matching” statute 806 KAR 12:095 Section 9(1)(b). The opinion states that “line of site” is not an applicable test to determine the scope of repair or replacement of a damaged item when the item cannot be reasonably matched. For example, if shingles on the damaged slope of a roof cannot be reasonably matched, replacement of the entire roof should be paid for by the insurance company, not just replacement of that damaged slope.
Thank you to Christopher for this submission! You can reach Christopher M. Davis at Chris@Davis.claims.
THANK YOU TO OUTGOING LEGISLATIVE CHAIR, BARRY PARKS!
Thank you to Barry Parks from Hausch & Company for serving as the National Chairman of the NAIIA Legislative Committee.
During Barry’s tenure as Legislative Committee Chair, we have seen enormous growth in the committee. He has been integral to the important advances the committee has made, particularly in the areas of holding quarterly meetings, creating regional committees, adding local legislative insurance attorneys to the committee, and adding quarterly updates to the NAIIA Newsletter.
Thank you for all the time and effort you put into improving the Legislative Committee!
