If you're a roofer, general contractor, plumber, or mitigation professional working in South Florida, you have been in this situation: you complete an inspection, write an honest estimate for the work required, and the insurance carrier comes back with a number that is 30–50% lower than yours. The homeowner looks at you. The carrier adjuster won't budge. You're now in the middle of a dispute that has nothing to do with your workmanship — and everything to do with how insurance claims work.
The instinct for most contractors is to negotiate directly with the carrier adjuster — to defend their estimate, push back on the line items, and try to get to a number that lets the job get done right. This instinct, while understandable, consistently produces worse outcomes for everyone involved: the homeowner, the contractor, and the claim.
Insurance claims are a specialized field governed by policy language, state statutes, and established estimating conventions. Carrier adjusters are trained professionals who work in this environment every day. Most contractors, regardless of their expertise in their trade, are not equipped to negotiate on equal footing — and the carrier knows it.
Contractor submits a $28,000 roof replacement estimate. Carrier adjuster counters at $16,500, citing depreciation, matching limitations, and a disputed wind-vs.-wear causation argument. The contractor spends three hours in phone calls, adjusts the estimate twice trying to compromise, and eventually agrees to $19,000 — enough to do the job poorly or not at all. The homeowner signs off because they don't know what's normal. The relationship between the homeowner and the contractor is strained.
The fundamental problem with this dynamic is that the contractor is negotiating with their own business interest in direct conflict with the homeowner's interest. The contractor needs to win enough to do the work. The homeowner needs to win enough to have the work done correctly. These are not always the same number, and the carrier exploits that gap.
A public adjuster's role in a contractor-involved claim is to remove the contractor from the negotiation entirely — replacing it with an independent professional who has no interest in winning a job, only in securing the right scope and settlement for the policyholder.
Contractor submits a $28,000 estimate and immediately refers the homeowner to a PA. The PA independently prepares a matching estimate using Xactimate, documents causation with weather data and inspection photos, and negotiates directly with the carrier from a documented position. The contractor does not participate in scope negotiations. The settled scope comes back at $25,500. The contractor does the work as estimated. The homeowner is made whole. The relationship is intact.
Scope disputes create friction between you and your client even when neither party is at fault. A PA takes the negotiation off your plate entirely.
When you negotiate directly, you compromise your own numbers. A PA defends scope independently — your original estimate stands as professional documentation.
Clients who get fair outcomes remember who helped them get there. The contractor who referred a PA becomes the contractor they call and recommend for the next job.
Florida's Assignment of Benefits reforms (SB 2-A, 2023) significantly restricted the use of AOB agreements in insurance claims. Contractors who previously obtained AOBs — taking assignment of the policyholder's claim rights — are no longer able to use that mechanism effectively in most residential claims.
This change has a direct implication for how contractors engage with insurance claims. Without AOB, the claim belongs to the homeowner. The homeowner needs their own representation to advocate for a fair scope. A public adjuster is that representation — working within the post-AOB framework rather than around it.
There is no contract, no formal program, and no referral fee involved. A working relationship with a public adjuster is exactly what it sounds like: when you encounter a client who has a legitimate insurance-covered loss and is facing a difficult claim, you make an introduction. The PA evaluates the situation at no cost to the client and no obligation on your part.
What you get in return is not a transaction. It's a cleaner process, a client who is better served, and a professional relationship with someone who is going to help you get paid for the work you actually do — not the work the carrier agreed to fund after a compromise negotiation you shouldn't have been part of in the first place.
Your job is to do excellent work. Our job is to make sure the insurance company pays for it. We work better when neither of us is doing the other's job.
If you're a contractor, roofer, plumber, mitigation professional, or property manager working in South Florida, reach out. No paperwork, no commitments — just a conversation about how we can make your clients' claims go better.
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