House Insurance panel hears bill to bar public adjusters from residential claims

The House Insurance Committee opened a hearing on House Bill 24-61, a measure that would bar public adjusters from negotiating or effectuating settlements for residential and other personal-lines insurance claims and add the word "exclusively" to several definitions to limit licensed public adjusting to commercial lines.

Eileen, who presented the bill to the committee, said the measure ‘‘adds a new section . . . to definitively state that no public adjuster shall negotiate for or effectuate the settlement of any insurance claim for loss or damages arising from residential and personal lines of insurance,’’ and that other edits in the draft conform statutory language to current drafting practice.

Stephen Carrer of the Kansas Department of Insurance told the committee the department had received numerous inquiries about whether public adjusters could handle residential claims and asked the Attorney General for guidance; he said the Attorney General issued an opinion on 09/18/2025 that found the statute unclear on whether residential public adjusting required a license, which prompted the bill and the committee’s review.

Opponents said the bill would reduce homeowners’ access to professional help. Jade Bence, a licensed public adjuster speaking for the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters, said HB 24-61 ‘‘would essentially block the residential consumer from accessing equivalent professionals to that of the insurance companies’’ and warned it would ‘‘stack the deck in favor of insurance companies and lawyers.’’ Bence also told the committee that 46 of 50 states and the District of Columbia license public adjusters for residential lines and urged regulation and continuing education instead of prohibition.

David Cowan, a Kansas resident and adjuster, told the committee the bill would ‘‘eliminate consumer choice’’ and leave homeowners ‘‘to take it in the shorts’’ or to hire expensive legal counsel. Cowan said public adjusters work on contingency and often secure larger recoveries for policyholders, and estimated the number of currently licensed Kansas public adjusters (limited to commercial lines) at roughly 350.

Industry supporters urged the committee to restore what they described as settled law. Marley Carpenter of the Kansas Association of Property and Casualty Insurance Companies said CAPSIC members requested HB 24-61 in response to the Attorney General opinion and argued the pre-opinion statutory interpretation limited public adjusters to commercial work. Carpenter warned that allowing residential public adjusters would raise costs and reduce insurer settlements for Kansans and said the group would supply comparative data on other states and premium impacts upon request.

Committee members spent extensive time questioning witnesses about practice and enforcement: whether surrounding states allow residential public adjusters (witnesses said yes), how training and continuing education compare between commercial and residential adjusting (witnesses said curricula are largely parallel), how fees are charged (witnesses described contingency fees and cited NAIC-model fee caps), and what alternatives homeowners would have if the bill passed (appeal to the Department of Insurance or hire private counsel).

No vote was taken. The committee closed testimony, asked parties to supply written materials and comparative data by email, and adjourned until Wednesday.

Sources: Committee hearing on HB 24-61; testimony from Eileen (bill presenter), Stephen Carrer (Kansas Department of Insurance), Jade Bence (National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters), David Cowan (adjuster/Kansas resident), and Marley Carpenter (Kansas Association of Property and Casualty Insurance Companies).