A storm tears shingles off your roof, or a fire damages your kitchen, and the claim you filed has stalled. The estimate is low, the letter says no, or the phone calls have stopped. Two kinds of help are on offer, and the choice between a public adjuster vs attorney shapes what happens next.
In short, a public adjuster works on the dollar value of a claim the insurer already accepts. An attorney handles coverage disputes, denials, delays, bad faith and lawsuits. Louisiana's own statutes mark where one role stops and the other begins, and this post walks through those lines so you can match the right professional to your claim.
What a Public Adjuster Does in Louisiana
Louisiana law defines public adjusting as investigating, appraising, or evaluating and reporting to an insured on a first-party property claim. A first-party claim is one you make against your own insurer for damage to your own property. A public adjuster is a licensed person who does this work for the policyholder, and the policyholder pays the fee.
The day-to-day work is hands-on. A public adjuster inspects the damage, measures the roof and the rooms, and builds a repair estimate. The adjuster also puts together an inventory of damaged belongings, gathers photos and records into one claim file, and negotiates the amount with the insurer. For a homeowner who is also hauling debris and living in a disrupted house, that paperwork can be a heavy load to hand off.
Louisiana requires a public adjuster to give you a separate disclosure document before you sign anything, and it spells out three types of adjuster. Company adjusters are employees of the insurance company, they represent the company's interest, and the company pays them. Independent adjusters are hired by contract by the insurer to represent the insurer's interest, and the insurer pays them too. Public adjusters do not work for any insurance company. They work for you, and you hire them by signing a contract that agrees to a fee.
The same disclosure says you are not required to hire a public adjuster, though you have the right to.
What Louisiana Law Does Not Let a Public Adjuster Do
The state's standards of conduct for public adjusters are specific, and most of them draw the line around legal work. A public adjuster cannot render legal advice, including advice on policy provisions or coverage issues. A public adjuster cannot engage in the unauthorized practice of law. A public adjuster also cannot file a complaint with any court of record or state agency on a client's behalf.
Other limits shape the scope of the job. A public adjuster may provide services only on a first-party claim against your own insurer, so a personal injury claim falls outside the role. A public adjuster cannot agree to a settlement without your knowledge and written consent. On a claim the adjuster handled, the adjuster cannot act as appraiser or umpire, and cannot act as a contractor or provide repair services. Solicitation is also barred while the loss-producing event is still in progress, so a knock on your door during the storm itself breaks the rules.
Each limit protects the policyholder. You keep the final word on any settlement, and the person who values your claim has no stake in the repair contract or in the appraisal panel that might review it.
In practice, the question of what your policy covers belongs to a lawyer. Whether an exclusion applies, whether the insurer read a clause correctly, whether a deadline was met: once the question turns legal, the public adjuster's role ends and an attorney's role begins.
What an Insurance Attorney Can Do That an Adjuster Cannot
Anyone weighing a public adjuster vs insurance attorney decision is really asking who can act when the insurer's position becomes a legal one. An attorney reads the full policy, endorsements and exclusions, and advises you on what coverage you have. An attorney answers a denial letter or a reservation of rights, speaks to the insurer on legal footing, and can file suit when negotiation fails.
Louisiana law gives a policyholder real leverage here, and an attorney is the person who uses it. Under La. R.S. 22:1892, an insurer must pay a claim within 30 days after satisfactory proof of loss. When it fails to pay or make a written offer on time and that failure is arbitrary, capricious or without probable cause, the law allows a penalty plus reasonable attorney fees and costs. For catastrophic losses under residential policies, a separate statute sets a 60-day payment window and a penalty with its own minimum. It also requires you to send the insurer a written cure period notice 60 days before you sue for those penalties. A demand like that, drafted correctly and sent on time, is attorney work.
DeJean Law Office handles this kind of claim through its property damage practice, which covers denied and bad faith insurance claims, wind and storm damage, water and flood damage, and business interruption losses for commercial property owners. The firm describes standing with clients "from filing claims to courtroom litigation if necessary," and Andy DeJean's team handles matters in both district and federal courts across Louisiana.
Public Adjuster vs. Attorney at a Glance
The table below sets the two roles side by side, using Louisiana's own rules for each.
| Public adjuster | Attorney | |
|---|---|---|
| Who they work for | The policyholder, who pays the fee | The client |
| Who licenses or regulates them | Louisiana Department of Insurance license | Louisiana law license and the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct |
| Legal advice on coverage | Barred by state law | Yes |
| Filing suit | Barred from filing complaints with a court or state agency for a client | Yes |
| Statutory penalties and attorney fees | No role | Pursues them under Louisiana's claim payment statutes |
| Fee and written agreement | A reasonable fee, stated in full in a written contract with the adjuster's license number. A fee contingent on or calculated as a percentage of the claim paid is void | A contingent fee agreement must be in a writing signed by the client, showing the percentage and the expenses |
| Backing out after signing | Three business days to rescind in writing | The signed agreement sets the terms |
Read down the rows and they split along one line. The adjuster's side covers how much is owed, and the attorney's side covers whether it is owed at all and what happens when the insurer will not pay.
When a Public Adjuster May Be Enough
A public adjuster fits a claim where the insurer accepts coverage and pays something, and the fight is over scope, pricing or missed damage. An adjuster can find the second bedroom of water damage the company adjuster skipped, price the roof at local rates and present the numbers in a form the insurer has to answer. The same goes for a large, detail-heavy claim that is not denied but needs more documentation than you can produce while rebuilding your life.
Louisiana already gives policyholders two tools for value disputes. Residential policies must contain a standard appraisal clause that lets either side demand appraisal when you and the insurer fail to agree on the amount of loss, and each side names an appraiser within 20 days of the written demand. The state also runs a voluntary Hurricane Mediation Program for residential claims with disputed amounts up to $150,000, which applies after a named windstorm under a governor's declared state of emergency when the insurer agrees to take part. The Louisiana Department of Insurance guide explains how it works.
If the insurer raises an exclusion or stops responding, the claim has moved past a value dispute, and the next section applies.
When You Need an Attorney Instead
Several signals show that a claim has become a legal matter. A denial letter or a partial denial is the clearest one. So is an insurer that leans on an exclusion, a late-notice argument or a policy condition. Our post on the reasons insurers give for denying claims shows what those arguments look like, and a roof-specific walkthrough covers what to do after a roof claim denial.
Delay is another signal. Louisiana insurers must begin adjusting a property claim within 14 days after notice of loss, or 30 days after a catastrophic loss, and must pay within 30 days after satisfactory proof of loss. Missing those marks is something an attorney can measure against the statute. An offer with no reasonable relationship to documented damage belongs on the list as well. So do shifting explanations, misstatements of what the policy says, and an insurer that brings in its own lawyers. When the other side has counsel, you need counsel.
The last signal is a lawsuit deadline coming into view. Louisiana does not let a property policy limit your right to sue the insurer to less than 24 months after the inception of the loss, and the deadline in your policy controls within that floor. Claims for statutory penalties carry their own two-year prescriptive period. Negotiations can drag on for months while these clocks run, so a conversation with an attorney while talks are still going protects rights that waiting can cost.
Can You Use a Public Adjuster and an Attorney Together?
Yes, and the two roles fit in sequence. The adjuster's estimate and documentation become evidence an attorney can use, and an attorney can join the claim at any stage. A claim that starts as a value dispute and turns into a denial moves naturally from one to the other.
Louisiana's rules anticipate this overlap. A public adjuster may recommend a particular attorney, but the adjuster is prohibited from collecting any fee or other thing of value for the referral. The adjuster's contract cannot stop you from pursuing civil or judicial remedies. You always keep the right to communicate directly with your own attorney and with the insurer, and once you hire a public adjuster, the adjuster may not restrict communication between you and the insurer.
Cost deserves attention. When you hire both, two fees come out of what you recover, one for each professional. Deciding which role the claim needs comes first, and the sections above give you the tests to apply: how much is owed, or whether anything is owed.
What to Check Before You Sign With Either One
A few checks take little time and protect you whichever way you go.
- Confirm a public adjuster's license with the Louisiana Department of Insurance before you sign. The department's consumer guide lists license checks among a policyholder's rights.
- Read every fee term in the written contract. Louisiana requires the contract to show the adjuster's license number and the full fee or compensation, and bars terms that add collection costs or late fees.
- Note the cancellation window. You may rescind a public adjuster contract in writing within three business days after signing, and anything of value you gave must come back within fifteen business days.
- For an attorney, make sure a contingent fee arrangement is in a signed written agreement. Under the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct it must state the percentage the lawyer receives on settlement, trial or appeal, the expenses to be deducted, and whether expenses come out before or after the fee is calculated. You receive a copy when you sign. The rule is Rule 1.5(c).
- Ask whether the professional can take your claim to court if negotiation fails. A public adjuster cannot, and an attorney can.
Choosing the Right Help for Your Claim
The deciding question is simple: is the insurer arguing about how much it owes, or whether it owes anything? A dispute over the amount points toward a public adjuster. A denial, a delay or a lawsuit deadline points toward an attorney.
If your claim has been denied, delayed or underpaid, DeJean Law Office's Property Damage practice serves property owners across Louisiana, with its office in Baton Rouge and video consultations for clients elsewhere in the state. When you are ready to talk through your options, you can Request a Consultation on the Contact page.