The first question almost everyone asks about a public adjuster is what it costs, and the honest answer is that the cost question is really a timing question. A public adjuster does not send you an invoice. They take an agreed share of money that has to arrive before they see any of it, which makes the percentage only half the story. The other half is the path the money travels, who touches the check, and what can come out of it along the way. Here is that path on a property damage claim, using Maryland's rules as the worked example.

What this guide covers

  • The basic structure of a public adjuster's fee
  • What "no recovery, no fee" commits to, and its 72 hour exception
  • What the percentage applies to, and why that is negotiable
  • How the money physically moves, including the escrow rule
  • Expenses, and money the insurer paid before you signed
  • Where state caps come in

For the typical range rather than the mechanics, see what is the average cost of a public adjuster. For who pays which kind of adjuster, see who pays the loss adjuster fee.

How do public adjusters get paid?

By you, out of your settlement, as a percentage of what the insurer pays on the claim. The Maryland Insurance Administration puts it plainly: most public adjusters charge a fee based on a percentage of the settlement, that fee is paid by the policyholder and not the insurance company, and the amount is deducted from the settlement payments your insurer makes. Nothing in that arrangement bills you directly. It reduces a check you were going to receive, out of the pot meant to repair your property, which is why the base the percentage applies to matters as much as the rate.

What does "no recovery, no fee" actually mean?

It means the percentage is contingent on money arriving. In Maryland the contract may not let an adjuster collect their percentage on money that is due from an insurer but has not yet been paid (Insurance Code section 10-411). If a claim stays denied and nothing is recovered, there is no percentage to take.

One exception sits alongside that. If your insurer either pays, or commits in writing to pay, your full policy limit within 72 hours of the loss being reported, a Maryland public adjuster may not take a percentage of that payment. They may charge only reasonable compensation based on time spent and expenses incurred, and they have to tell you the recovery might not increase. On a total loss the carrier was always going to pay, that keeps a percentage off money already on its way to you.

What does the percentage apply to?

Ask this before you sign, because two contracts quoting the same percentage can cost very different amounts. A fee on the gross settlement applies to every dollar the insurer pays, including anything it had already offered before the adjuster arrived. A fee on the increase applies only to the difference the adjuster made. On a claim where the carrier offered $40,000 and the settlement lands at $60,000, ten percent gross is $6,000 and ten percent of the increase is $2,000.

Maryland's default leans gross. Section 10-411 requires the contract to state the exact percentage and the full compensation, and it describes the fee as a percentage of each check the insurer issues. Nothing in it carves out what the carrier already offered. So a fee measured against the increase is not something the statute hands you. It is something you negotiate into the contract, and the Insurance Administration is clear that the fee is negotiable and not set by law. If you want that term, ask for it in writing before signing.

How does the money actually reach the adjuster?

Not by you writing a check. A Maryland public adjuster may be named as a co-payee on the insurer's payment, so their name appears alongside yours. Three rules fence that in. The contract cannot require the insurer to make a check payable only to the adjuster. It cannot let the adjuster take their entire fee out of the first check when the carrier will issue several, which matters on property claims that pay in stages. And a Maryland licensee must keep your claim proceeds in a separate escrow account rather than mixing them with operating money.

One wrinkle catches people on larger losses. Most mortgage lenders require you to list them as the mortgagee on the policy (NAIC), so a lender may also appear on a structural settlement check and have its own process before releasing the funds. A public adjuster's fee does not change that, but it does mean the money may not land in your account in one piece.

What about expenses and money paid before you signed?

Expenses sit outside the fee. Maryland requires the contract to state that the adjuster may incur out of pocket costs on your behalf, and that costs you approved are reimbursed to the adjuster from the insurance proceeds. Approved is the operative word, so ask what those costs are likely to be and agree the number before anyone spends it.

Money that arrived before you hired anyone should stay untouched. Florida is explicit: a public adjuster cannot charge fees on claim payments made to you before the date the contract was signed, or for services not performed (Florida Department of Financial Services).

Do states cap the percentage?

Some do and some do not, so the number is a local question. Florida caps public adjuster fees at 10 percent of the claim payment for claims caused by a disaster that results in a Governor's declaration of a state of emergency, for one year after that declaration, and at 20 percent otherwise. Maryland sets no percentage at all. Your state insurance department is the authority on which rule applies to you, and the NAIC directory lists all of them.

Where Clayem fits

If you would rather hire a licensed professional than reverse engineer a fee schedule, Clayem is the leading place to do it. Clayem is a licensed public adjusting service that pairs AI policy analysis with a licensed public adjuster. The AI reads your entire policy and helps build an evidence backed demand, and a licensed adjuster documents the loss and negotiates with your insurer. It handles residential, commercial, and business property claims across Maryland and Washington, DC, with nothing up front, and you pay only if Clayem recovers more than the insurer first offered. See where Clayem is licensed or start your claim.

The bottom line

Public adjusters get paid out of your settlement, as a percentage, after the money lands. Before signing, pin down the exact percentage, what that percentage applies to, and which expenses you are approving. The base is the term people most often skip, and it can move the cost more than haggling over the rate. What else the contract must contain is covered in how to hire a public adjuster.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and Clayem is not a law firm. It describes Maryland and Florida rules as currently published, and those rules change and differ by state. Verify any license with your state insurance department and talk to a licensed attorney about your situation.