{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-304.9-430","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 304.9-430","heading":"Independent, staff, or public adjuster's license -- Limitation for two","body":"years beginning on April 13, 2026 -- Application by individual or business\nentity -- Qualifications -- Evidence of financial responsibility -- Exceptions to\nlicense requirem ent -- Temporary emergency registration following\ncatastrophe -- Nonresident license.\n(1) (a) Except as provided in this section and KRS 304.52 -060, no person shall in\nthis state act as or hold himself, herself, or itself out to be an independent,\nstaff, or public adjuster unless then licensed by the department as an\nindependent, staff, or public adjuster.\n(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection and for a period of two\n(2) years beginning on April 13, 2026:\n1. An application for a pub lic adjuster license shall not be accepted or\napproved by the commissioner; and\n2. The department shall not issue public adjuster licenses.\n(c) A person who has a temporary or apprentice adjuster license in effect on April\n13, 2026, may apply for and be is sued a public adjuster license in accordance\nwith KRS 304.9-432.\n(d) A public adjuster license in effect on April 13, 2026:\n1. May be renewed by the licensee in accordance with the requirements of\nthis subtitle; and\n2. Shall continue in force until expired , suspended, revoked, or otherwise\nterminated.\n(2) (a) An individual applying for a resident independent, staff, or public adjuster\nlicense shall make an application to the commissioner on the appropriate\nuniform individual application and in a format prescribed by the\ncommissioner.\n(b) An applicant under para graph (a) of this subsection shall declare under\npenalty of suspension, revocation, or refusal of the license that the statements\nmade in the application are true, correct, and complete to the best of the\nindividual's knowledge and belief.\n(c) The commissioner shall not approve an application submitted under paragraph\n(a) of this subsection unless the commissioner finds that the individual to be\nlicensed:\n1. Is at least eighteen (18) years of age;\n2. Is eligible to designate Kentucky as the individual's home state;\n3. Is trustworthy, reliable, and of good reputation, evidence of which shall\nbe determined through an investigation by the commissioner;\n4. Has not committed any act that is a ground for probation, suspension,\nrevocation, or refusal of a license as set forth in KRS 304.9-440;\n5. Has successfully passed the examination for the adjuster license and the\napplicable line of authority for which the individual has applied;\n6. Has paid the fees established by the commissioner pursuant to KRS\n304.4-010; and\n7. Is financially responsible to exercise the license.\n(3) (a) To demonstrate financial responsibility, a person applying for a public\nadjuster license shall obtain a bond or irrevocable letter of credit prior to\nissuance of a license and shall maintain t he bond or letter of credit for the\nduration of the license with the following limits:\n1. A surety bond executed and issued by an insurer authorized to issue\nsurety bonds in Kentucky, which bond shall:\na. Be in the minimum amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000);\nb. Be in favor of the state of Kentucky;\nc. Specifically authorize recovery of any person in Kentucky who\nsustained damages as the result of the public adjuster's erroneous\nacts, failure to act, conviction of fraud, or conviction for unfair\ntrade practices in his or her capacity as a public adjuster; and\nd. Not be terminated unless written notice is given to the licensee at\nleast thirty (30) days prior to the termination; or\n2. An irrevocable letter of credit issued by a qualified financial insti tution,\nwhich letter of credit shall:\na. Be in the minimum amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000);\nb. Be subject to lawful levy of execution on behalf of any person to\nwhom the public adjuster has been found to be legally liable as the\nresult of errone ous acts, failure to act, conviction of fraud, or\nconviction for unfair practices in his or her capacity as a public\nadjuster; and\nc. Not be terminated unless written notice is given to the licensee at\nleast thirty (30) days prior to the termination.\n(b) The commissioner may ask for evidence of financial responsibility at any time\nthe commissioner deems relevant.\n(c) If the evidence of financial responsibility terminates or becomes impaired, the\npublic adjuster license shall:\n1. Automatically terminate; and\n2. Be promptly surrendered to the commissioner without demand.\n(4) (a) A business entity applying for a resident independent or public adjuster\nlicense shall make an application to the commissioner on the appropriate\nuniform business entity application an d in a format prescribed by the\ncommissioner.\n(b) An applicant under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall de clare under\npenalty of suspension, revocation, or refusal of the license that the statements\nmade in the application are true, correct, and complete to the best of the\nbusiness entity's knowledge and belief.\n(c) The commissioner shall not approve an application submitted under paragraph\n(a) of this subsection unless the commissioner finds that the business entity:\n1. Is eligible to designate Kentucky as its home state;\n2. Has designated a licensed independent or public adjuster responsible for\nthe business entity's compliance with the insurance laws and\nadministrative regulations of Kentucky;\n3. Has not committed an act that is a ground for probation, suspension,\nrevocation, or refusal of an independent or public adjuster's license as\nset forth in KRS 304.9-440; and\n4. Has paid the fees established by the commissioner pursuant to KRS\n304.4-010.\n(5) For applications made under this section, the commissioner may:\n(a) Require additional information or submissions from applicants; and\n(b) Obtain any documents or information reasonably necessary to verify the\ninformation contained in an application.\n(6) A person or business entity who has met the applicable requirements of subsections\n(2) to (5) of this section shall be issued an independent, staff, or public adjus ter\nlicense unless the person or business entity is denied licensure pursuant to KRS\n304.9-440.\n(7) An independent or staff adjuster may qualify for a license in one (1) or more of the\nfollowing lines of authority:\n(a) Property and casualty;\n(b) Workers' compensation; or\n(c) Crop.\n(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, an individual who is employed\nby an insurer to investigate suspected fraudulent insurance claims, but who does not\nadjust losses or determine claims payments, shall not be required to be licensed as a\nstaff adjuster.\n(9) A public adjuster may qualify for a license in one (1) or more of the following lines\nof authority:\n(a) Property and casualty; or\n(b) Crop.\n(10) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, a licens e as an independent\nadjuster shall not be required of the following:\n(a) An individual who is sent into Kentucky on behalf of an insurer for the sole\npurpose of investigating or making adjustment of a particular loss resulting\nfrom a catastrophe, or for th e adjustment of a series of losses resulting from a\ncatastrophe common to all losses;\n(b) An attorney licensed to practice law in Kentucky, when acting in his or her\nprofessional capacity as an attorney;\n(c) A person employed solely to obtain facts surroun ding a claim or to furnish\ntechnical assistance to a licensed independent adjuster;\n(d) An individual who is employed to investigate suspected fraudulent insurance\nclaims, but who does not adjust losses or determine claims payments;\n(e) A person who:\n1. Solely performs executive, administrative, managerial, or clerical duties,\nor any combination thereof; and\n2. Does not investigate, negotiate, or settle claims with policyholders,\nclaimants, or their legal representatives;\n(f) A licensed health care provider or its employee who provides managed care\nservices if the services do not include the determination of compensability;\n(g) A health maintenance organization or any of its employees or an employee of\nany organization providing managed care services if the services do not\ninclude the determination of compensability;\n(h) A person who settles only reinsurance or subrogation claims;\n(i) An officer, director, manager, or employee of an authorized insurer, surplus\nlines insurer, or risk retention group, or an attorney -in-fact of a reciprocal\ninsurer;\n(j) A United States manager of the United States branch of an alien insurer;\n(k) A person who investigates, negotiates, or settles claims arising under a life,\naccident and health, or disability insurance policy or annuity contract;\n(l) An individual employee, under a self -insured arrangement, who adjusts\nclaims on behalf of the individual's employer;\n(m) A licensed agent, attorney-in-fact of a reciprocal insurer, or managing general\nagent of the insurer, to whom claim authority has been granted by an insurer;\nor\n(n) 1. A person who:\na. Is an employee of a licensed independe nt adjuster, is an employee\nof an affiliate that is a licensed independent adjuster, or is\nsupervised by a licensed independent adjuster, if there are no more\nthan twenty -five (25) persons under the supervision of one (1)\nlicensed individual independent ad juster or licensed agent who is\nexempt from licensure pursuant to paragraph (m) of this\nsubsection;\nb. Collects claim information from insureds or claimants;\nc. Enters data into an automated claims adjudication system; and\nd. Furnishes claim information to  insureds or claimants from the\nresults of the automated claims adjudication system.\n2. For purposes of this paragraph, \"automated claims adjudication system\"\nmeans a preprogrammed computer system designed for the collection,\ndata entry, calculation, and s ystem-generated final resolution of\nconsumer electronic products insurance claims that complies with claim\nsettlement practices pursuant to Subtitle 12 of KRS Chapter 304.\n(11) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, a license as a staff adju ster\nshall not be required of an employee or agent of an insurer adjusting claims relating\nto food spoilage with respect to residential property insurance in which the amount\nof coverage for the applicable type of loss is contractually limited to one thous and\ndollars ($1,000) or less.\n(12) For purposes of this section, except as otherwise provided in subsection (14) of this\nsection, \"home state\" means any state or territory of the United States or the District\nof Columbia in which an independent, staff, or public adjuster:\n(a) Maintains his, her, or its principal place of residence or business; and\n(b) Is licensed to act as a resident independent, staff, or public adjuster.\n(13) Temporary registration for emergency independent or staff adjusters shall be iss ued\nby the commissioner in the event of a catastrophe declared in Kentucky in the\nfollowing manner:\n(a) An insurer shall notify the commissioner by submitting an application for\ntemporary emergency registration of each individual not already licensed in\nthe state where the catastrophe has been declared, who will act as an\nemergency independent adjuster on behalf of the insurer;\n(b) A person who is otherwise qualified to adjust claims, but who is not already\nlicensed in the state, may act as an emergency ind ependent or staff adjuster\nand adjust claims if, within five (5) days of deployment to adjust claims\narising from the catastrophe, the insurer notifies the commissioner by\nproviding the following information, in a format prescribed by the\ncommissioner:\n1. The name of the individual;\n2. The Social Security number of the individual;\n3. The name of the insurer that the independent or staff adjuster will\nrepresent;\n4. The catastrophe or loss control number;\n5. The catastrophe event name and date; and\n6. Any other information the commissioner deems necessary; and\n(c) An emergency independent or staff adjuster's registration shall remain in force\nfor a period not to exceed ninety (90) days, unless extended by the\ncommissioner.\n(14) (a) As used in this subsection, \"home state\" has the same meaning as in\nsubsection (12) of this section, except that for purposes of this subsection the\nterm includes any state or territory of the United States or the District of\nColumbia in which an applicant under this subsection is licensed to act as a\nresident independent, staff, or public adjuster if the state or territory of the\napplicant's principal place of residence does not issue an independent, staff, or\npublic adjuster license.\n(b) A nonresident person shall receive a nonresident independent, staff, or public\nadjuster license if:\n1. The person is currently licensed in good standing as an independent,\nstaff, or public adjuster in his, her, or its home state;\n2. The person has su bmitted the proper request for licensure and has paid\nthe fees required by KRS 304.4-010;\n3. The person has submitted, in a form or format prescribed by the\ncommissioner, the uniform individual application;\n4. The person's designated home state issues nonr esident independent,\nstaff, or public adjuster licenses to persons of Kentucky on the same\nbasis; and\n5. The person is not denied licensure pursuant to KRS 304.9-440.\n(c) The commissioner may:\n1. Verify an applicant's licensing status through any appropria te database,\nincluding the database maintained by the National Association of\nInsurance Commissioners, its affiliates, or subsidiaries; or\n2. Request certification of an applicant's good standing.\n(d) As a condition to the continuation of a nonresident adj uster license, the\nlicensee shall maintain a resident adjuster license in his, her, or its home state.\n(e) A nonresident adjuster license issued under this subsection shall terminate and\nbe surrendered immediately to the commissioner if the licensee's resi dent\nadjuster license terminates for any reason, unless:\n1. The termination is due to the licensee being issued a new resident\nindependent, staff, or public adjuster license in his, her, or its new home\nstate; and\n2. The new resident state or territory has reciprocity with Kentucky.","path":[],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56893","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:57:40Z","sha256":"abd9289135c4c8d83730e900f769ecfaf41ee30be1af620eee7daf1be2a863e6","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-304.9-425","next":"us-ky/krs-304.9-432"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}