TITLE 33 INSURANCE

Section 23. Licensing, 33-23-1 through 33-23-205.

ARTICLE 1 AGENTS, AGENCIES, SUBAGENTS, COUNSELORS, AND ADJUSTERS

33-23-43. Authority of adjusters; penalty for violation.

1. An adjuster licensed as both an independent and a public adjuster shall not represent both the insurer and the insured in the same transaction.
2. An adjuster shall have authority under his or her license only to investigate, settle, or adjust and report to his or her principal upon claims arising under insurance contracts on behalf of insurers only if licensed as an independent adjuster or on behalf of insureds only if licensed as a public adjuster.
3. No public adjuster, at any time, shall knowingly:
   1. Misrepresent to an insured that he or she is required to hire an independent or public adjuster to help the insured meet his or her obligations under his or her policy;
   2. Accept or agree to accept any money or other compensation from an attorney or any person acting on behalf of an attorney which the adjuster knows or should reasonably know is payment for the suggestion or advice by the adjuster to seek the services of the attorney or for the referral of any portion of a person's claim to the attorney;
   3. Hire or procure another to do any act prohibited by this subsection;
   4. Advertise or promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services. As used in this paragraph, the term "promise to pay or rebate" includes:
      1. Granting any allowance or offering any discount against the fees to be charged, including, but not limited to, an allowance or discount in return for displaying a sign or other advertisement at the insured's premises; or
      2. Paying the insured or any person directly or indirectly associated with the property any form of compensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee, or other item of monetary value for any reason;
   5. Misrepresent to a claimant that he or she is an adjuster representing an insurer in any capacity, including acting as an employee of the insurer or as an independent adjuster, unless appointed by an insurer in writing to act on the insurer's behalf for that specific claim or purpose. A licensed public adjuster shall not charge a claimant a fee for adjusting a claim when he or she is appointed by the insurer for that specific claim or purpose and the appointment is accepted by the public adjuster;
   6. Solicit, or attempt to solicit, an insured during the progress of a loss-producing occurrence as defined in the insured's insurance contract;
   7. Have a direct or indirect financial interest in any aspect of a claim other than the salary, fee, commission, or other consideration established in a written contract with the insured which shall incorporate all of the conditions and provisions set out in Code Section 33-23-43.1;
   8. Charge to or collect from an insured any amount, other than reasonable compensation for services rendered based on time spent and expenses incurred, in any transaction where the insurer either pays or commits in writing to pay the policy limit or limits for all coverage under the insured's policy within three business days after the loss is reported to the insurer;
   9. Misrepresent to an insured or insurer that he or she is an attorney authorized by law to provide legal advice and services or that a policy covers a loss or losses outside the scope of the coverage provided by the insurance contract;
   10. Permit an unlicensed employee or representative of the adjuster to conduct business for which a license is required; or
   11. Hire or procure another to do any act prohibited by this subsection.
4. For purposes of subsection (c) of this Code section, the term "public adjuster" shall include licensed public adjusters as defined by Code Section 33-23-1, persons representing themselves to be public adjusters who are not properly licensed by the Commissioner, and persons committing any act under paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of this Code section.
5. Any person who violates any provision of subsection (c) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and such violation shall be grounds for suspension or revocation of licenses under this chapter.

(Code 1981, §33-23-43, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 2830, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 925, § 1; Ga. L. 2011, p. 613, § 2/HB 423; Ga. L. 2014, p. 181, § 4/HB 610; Ga. L. 2015, p. 5, § 33/HB 90.)

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, deleted "or" from the end of paragraph (c)(2); substituted "; or" for a period at the end of paragraph (c)(3); added paragraph (c)(4); and, in subsection (d), substituted "33-23-1," for "33-23-1 and", substituted "Commissioner, and persons committing any act under paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of this Code section" for "Commissioner" at the end.

The 2014 amendment, effective July 1, 2014, substituted the present provisions of paragraph (c)(1) for the former provisions, which read: "Suggest or advise the employment of or name for employment a specific attorney or attorneys to represent a person in any matter relating to a person's potential claims, including any motor vehicle accident claims for personal injury, loss of consortium, property damages, or other special damages"; deleted "or" at the end of paragraph (c)(3); in paragraph (c)(4), added a colon following "includes" in the introductory language, in subparagraph (c)(4)(A), substituted "Granting" for "granting" and substituted a semicolon for a comma at the end, and, in subparagraph (c)(4)(B), substituted "Paying" for "paying" and added a semicolon at the end; and added paragraphs (c)(5) through (c)(11).

The 2015 amendment, effective March 13, 2015, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "paragraph" for "subsection" in the introductory language of paragraph (c)(4).