How to check a public adjuster's license in Michigan

Somebody knocks on your door three days after a storm, or calls the week after a fire, and offers to handle your insurance claim. Before you sign anything, you can find out in about two minutes whether they are allowed to do that. Here is how, and here is the one number that looks like the answer but isn't.

First, know what you are checking

In Michigan, a public adjuster license belongs to the individual, not to the company. A firm name on a truck, a shirt, or a business card carries nothing on its own. So the thing you verify is a person: the name of the human being standing in front of you, spelled the way it appears on their license.

That is also why it is fair to ask for a full legal name. Someone who goes by a nickname will have a different name on the license, and a professional will tell you both without hesitating.

Check with the state

Michigan licenses and regulates public adjusters through the Department of Insurance and Financial Services, known as DIFS. DIFS runs a public locator you can search yourself, and the state says its information is updated in real time and can be used as proof of licensure.

If you would rather hear it from a person, or you are not sure you are reading the result correctly, DIFS takes verification calls on 877-999-6442, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. That call is free and you do not have to explain why you are asking.

The number that won't help you

Every licensed adjuster also has an NPN, a National Producer Number. It is a single number issued once per person and it follows them for life, across every state they are licensed in. Firms publish them, ours included, and they are genuine.

Here is the part almost nobody mentions. The national lookup tool finds an NPN from a name or a state license number. It does not let the public search by an NPN. So if someone hands you a number and tells you to look them up with it, that is not a check you can actually run.

An NPN is an identifier, not a key. Treat it as a detail a real licensee will have on hand, and do your actual verifying with the name, at DIFS.

Two questions worth asking out loud

• "What name is your license under?" Not "are you licensed," which invites a yes. Asking for the name assumes the license exists and gives you the thing you need to check it.
• "Can I see the contract, including the fee, before I sign?" A Michigan public adjusting engagement runs on a written contract, and the fee belongs in it. Anyone reluctant to show you the paper before you commit has told you something.

Who is not allowed to do this

The most common problem is not a fake adjuster. It is a contractor who offers to "handle the claim for you" as part of the repair work. Negotiating a claim on a policyholder's behalf is licensed activity in Michigan. A roofer is welcome to give you a repair estimate. Running your claim with the insurance company is a different job, and it needs a license.

If the person offering is not licensed, the risk lands on you, not on them.

Where this comes from

• DIFS Locator FAQ, on using the state locator to confirm licensure, and the 877-999-6442 verification line.
• The DIFS Locators themselves, including the insurance licensee search.
• NIPR, on the National Producer Number. Its public lookup takes a name, an SSN, or a state license number and returns the NPN, which is why the NPN is not something the public can search by.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and tools change. For your specific situation, DIFS and a licensed Michigan attorney are the authoritative sources.