West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 114 - Insurance Commission › Title 114 - LEGISLATIVE RULE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER › Series 114-25 - Insurance Adjusters › Section 114-25-2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
2.1. "Adjuster" means
				any individual who investigates, negotiates or settles insurance claims. As used in
				this rule, the term "adjuster" includes public adjusters, company adjusters, and
				independent adjusters, unless specified otherwise.
2.2. "Code" means the W. Va. Code.
2.3. "Commissioner" means the West Virginia
				Insurance Commissioner.
2.4. "Company
				adjuster" means an adjuster who is a staff employee of an insurance company, who is
				paid by the insurance company, and who investigates, negotiates, or settles
				claims.
2.5. "Emergency adjuster" means
				a person who is authorized by the Commissioner to perform adjusting activities in
				West Virginia during an insurance emergency.
2.6. "Home state" means the District of Columbia
				or any state or territory of the United States in which an adjuster maintains his or
				her principal place of residence or business and in which he or she is licensed to
				act as a resident adjuster: Provided, That if a person's principal place of
				residence or business does not license adjusters for the type of adjuster license
				sought in this state, he or she shall designate as his or her home state any state
				in which he or she has such a license.
2.7. "Independent adjuster" means an individual, a
				business entity, an independent contractor, or an employee of a contractor, who
				contracts for compensation with insurers or self-insurers; is one whom the insurer's
				or self-insurer's tax treatment of the individual is consistent with that of an
				independent contractor, rather than as an employee, as defined in the Internal
				Revenue Code; and investigates, negotiates, or settles property, casualty, or
				workers' compensation claims for insurers or self-insurers.
2.8. "Insurance emergency" means a temporary
				situation declared by the Commissioner pursuant to W. Va. Code §§
									33-2-10a
				and/or
				33-12B-11a when he or she
				finds that there is an inadequate number of licensed adjusters to meet the demands
				of the public.
2.9. "Licensed adjuster"
				means a person with a valid West Virginia resident or non-resident adjuster license
				or an emergency license.
2.10. "Public
				adjuster" means:
2.10.a. Any person who, for
				compensation or any other thing of value and solely in relation to first party
				claims arising under insurance contracts that insure the real or personal property
				of the insured, acts on behalf of the insured in negotiating for, or effecting the
				settlement of a claim for loss or damage covered by an insurance contract.
2.10.b. A person who advertises for
				employment as a public adjuster of insurance claims or solicits business or
				represents himself or herself to the public as a public adjuster of first party
				insurance claims for losses or damages arising out of policies of insurance that
				insure real or personal property.
2.10.c. A person who directly or indirectly
				solicits business, investigates or adjusts losses, or advises an insured about first
				party claims for losses or damages arising out of policies of insurance that insure
				real or personal property for another person engaged in the business of adjusting
				losses or damages covered by an insurance policy on behalf of the
				insured.