Often times, a public adjuster serves as an adjuster and also as a disinterested party in their client’s appraisal procedure. The appraisal procedure is commonly invoked to determine the amount of a covered Loss and find a prompt resolution of a claim without the need to file a lawsuit in court. See State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Licea, 685 So. 2d 1285, 1287-88 (Fla. 1996).
Now, the Fourth District Court of Appeals is asking the state’s Supreme Court to decide if the insured needs to hire another professional (other than the retained public adjuster) to serve as a disinterested party to the appraisal procedure. See State Farm Florida Insurance Company vs. Joseph Valenti, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D2953a, (Fla. 4th DCA December 11, 2019). See also, State Farm Fla. Ins. Co. v. Sanders, No. 3D19-927, 2019 WL 3309217, (Fla. 3d DCA July 24, 2019), where the Third District Court of Appeals found that that the insured’s public adjuster could not act as a disinterested appraiser under the insurance policy where the public adjuster.
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