Section 626.854(11)(b) of the Florida Statutes provides:

(b) A public adjuster may not charge, agree to, or accept from any source compensation, payment, commission, fee, or any other thing of value in excess of:

1. Ten percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, exclusive of attorney fees and costs, paid to the insured by the insurer for claims based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor. This provision applies to claims made during the year after the declaration of emergency. After that year, the limitations in subparagraph 2. apply.

2. Twenty percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, exclusive of attorney fees and costs, paid to the insured by the insurer for claims that are not based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor.

3. One percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, paid to the insured by the insurer for any coverage part of the policy where the claim payment or written agreement by the insurer to pay is equal to or greater than the policy limit for that part of the policy, if the payment or written commitment to pay is provided within 14 days after the date of loss or within 10 days after the date on which the public adjusting contract is executed, whichever is later.

4. Zero percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, paid to the insured by the insurer for any coverage part of the policy where the claim payment or written agreement by the insurer to pay occurs before the date on which the public adjusting contract is executed.

The statute also provides that:

(f) Any maneuver, shift, or device through which the limits on compensation set forth in this subsection are exceeded is a violation of this chapter punishable as provided under s. 626.8698.

I recently had a judge tell me that a public adjuster’s trial testimony that the Florida Statute requires him to charge on a contingency basis–as opposed to time and expense–was incorrect. I cannot find the source of the judge’s claim. I conferred with some expert colleagues, and they agree with me that the judge is wrong.