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Toward National Uniformity In The Treatment Of Public Insurance Adjusters Under State Unauthorized Practice Of Law Provisions, Clayton P. Solomon

Student Articles and Papers

At present, forty-four of fifty states, plus the District of Columbia, license public insurance adjusters to assist policyholders in the settlement of claims for property loss under insurance contracts. In the six states that do not license public adjusters, however, state authorities may at any time conclude that the profession as a whole, by its very nature, constitutes the unauthorized practice of law (UPL). Arkansas flatly prohibits public adjusting on this basis.

By restricting public adjusting activities to members of the bar, policyholders are obliged to pay higher fees for legal representation where the services of a non-attorney adjuster would …