South Carolina regulates insurance adjusters and caps public adjuster fees

People and businesses handling insurance claims generally need licenses from the South Carolina Department of Insurance. These rules cover adjusters working for insurers or people who insure themselves, and public adjusters paid to help policyholders settle claims for their own property. Licensing exceptions include lawyers acting as lawyers and people providing only technical help. Training exemptions cover certain recently licensed people and out-of-state license holders. Separate rules apply to people also licensed to sell insurance. Adjusters handling workers’ compensation claims must complete at least three hours of training on South Carolina’s rules for those claims. Public adjusters must maintain a bond or bank-backed promise to pay of at least $20,000. Their authority ends if that backing ends or becomes impaired. The law took effect on May 19, 2026.

Public adjusters must use written contracts, limit their charges, and allow customers to cancel within five business days. These rules cover public adjusters paid to help policyholders settle claims for damage to their own property. Customers pay the adjuster’s fee from money recovered on the claim. Contracts cannot impose collection costs or late fees. If the insurer pays or promises in writing to pay the full policy limit within five business days of the loss report, charges must be based only on time and expenses, within the 10% cap. Customers must cancel in writing by mail, email, or delivery to the adjuster’s contract address. After receiving a timely cancellation notice, the adjuster must return anything received under the contract within fifteen business days.

Insurers and adjusters must follow rules against payment conflicts, and public adjusters must protect customers’ claim money and settlement choices. Insurer payment rules cover people adjusting losses. Public adjuster rules cover paid representatives of policyholders. Insurers must pay adjusters a fixed salary or stipend and cannot pay them a share of claim savings. Public adjusters cannot refer customers to repair providers in which they have a financial interest or from which they may receive a referral benefit. Public adjusters must keep customers’ claim money in a separate, federally insured trust account in South Carolina. When a policyholder contests a denied claim, a licensed insurer-side adjuster must review the denial with that person.

Property insurance policies may limit who can receive transferred rights to claim payments. The rule covers property insurance policies that allow rights and benefits to be transferred. A policy that allows transfers may restrict them to someone legally authorized to represent the policyholder or a later owner who receives title to the property. Authorized representatives include licensed public adjusters and people given power of attorney, which means authority to act for someone else. The permission covers policies issued before or after the law took effect.