Public adjuster
Public Adjuster Closing Report Template & Example
Last updated 2026-08-14
The engagement ends whether or not anyone writes it down. A closing report is what turns that into a defined event — a date the representation stopped, a statement of what was achieved and what it cost, and a list of the things now back in the insured's hands.
It is not required by the licensing act. The itemized statement of recoveries covers the accounting the records provision does require, and this document sits around it. What makes it worth writing is the last section: the deadlines and obligations that survive the engagement, handed over explicitly, at the moment the person who was tracking them stops.
The worked example closes the Harbour Lane file and leaves two things genuinely open, including one the insured has to act on himself within a date certain.
Jurisdiction
Written primarily against US first-party property practice. Claim handling is regulated state by state — acknowledgment and response deadlines, prompt-payment requirements, adjuster licensing and unfair claims practices standards all differ — and the policy actually issued governs the claim. Where a page cites a statute, model act or regulation, confirm what applies in the state where the loss occurred. Outside the US, treat the structure as transferable and the legal references as not.
Public Adjuster Closing Report template
Free Word download, no email required. Or open it in Professional Drafter — it lands in your template library, ready to draft against.
When to use this document
- Any engagement ending — settled, withdrawn, rescinded after the cooling-off period, or terminated by either party.
- Handing a file to another representative or to an attorney, where what remains outstanding has to be legible to someone who was not there.
- A claim has settled but recoverable depreciation, a supplement or a limitation period remains live.
Worked example
Fictional scenario: closing report on the Harbour Lane engagement, claim PC-2026-11482, issued 2 October 2026 after the supplement settled. Two items remain open and one of them has a date the insured must meet himself.
The engagement and what was done
Public Adjuster Contract signed 5 August 2026. Claim PC-2026-11482, water loss of 14 July 2026 at 41 Harbour Lane.
Engagement ended 30 September 2026 on settlement of the supplemental claim. Ended by completion, not by termination on either side.
- — 11 Aug:
- notification of representation to the carrier, with document requests.
- — 13 Aug:
- measured the property and photographed the loss following flooring and cabinetry removal.
- — 19 Aug:
- estimate reconciliation issued, $18,340 against $29,880, identifying three omitted scope lines.
- — 27 Aug:
- re-inspection attended with R. Calloway.
- — 2 Sep:
- carrier revised its estimate to $24,120.
- — 9 Sep:
- appraisal demanded on three remaining lines.
- — 16 Sep:
- supplement notified following discovery of concealed cavity damage on 15 September.
- — 24 Sep:
- appraisal resolved by agreement before the panel was constituted; cabinetry line agreed at 11 LF, drying at 6 days, antimicrobial at 480 SF.
- — 30 Sep:
- supplement settled at $6,290 and the file closed.
Work performed:
The appraisal demand did not proceed to an award. It is recorded because it was made, it had a cost consequence that did not materialise, and a closing report that omitted it would be an incomplete account of the engagement.
Outcome, and the accounting
- Total recovered on the claim:
- $33,700.00
- — Pre-contract payments, no fee charged:
- $6,200.00
- — Recovered after the contract date:
- $27,500.00
- Fee:
- $2,750.00, being 10% of amounts recovered after 5 August 2026, per the contract.
- Approved expenses:
- $610.00, all within the estimates specified in the contract.
- Net to Mr Okonjo:
- $30,340.00.
The itemized statement of recoveries and the itemized statement of all compensation received are attached and are the authoritative accounting. They include an entry for $150 received from Kestrel Restoration on 14 August and returned on 18 August; it appears here too, so that this report does not present a tidier picture than the statements it summarises.
Against the carrier's opening estimate of $18,340, the settled total is $33,700. That comparison is stated without characterisation. Some of the difference is work this firm did and some of it is concealed damage that would have been found by whoever opened the wall.
What remains open
Two items. Both are now Mr Okonjo's to act on.
- Action required:
- submit final contractor invoices and photographs of completed work to the carrier.
- Who must act:
- Mr Okonjo, with Halcyon Building Services supplying the invoices.
- By when:
- the policy requires replacement to be completed and claimed within 180 days of the loss payment. The original payment was 26 August 2026, so the date is 22 February 2027. The supplement payment was 30 September 2026, giving 29 March 2027 for that portion. Work to the earlier date for both.
- Status at close:
- repairs approximately 70% complete as at 30 September. Halcyon estimates completion mid-November.
1. RECOVERABLE DEPRECIATION — $3,120 on the original settlement and $580 on the supplement, $3,700 in total.
- Action required:
- the electrician's certificate and the municipal inspection sign-off must be submitted. Neither existed at close.
- Who must act:
- Mr Okonjo, via Halcyon.
- By when:
- no separate deadline in the endorsement, so the 180-day replacement-cost date above governs in practice. Do not treat the absence of a stated deadline as an absence of urgency.
2. CODE UPGRADE ALLOWANCE — up to $2,400 under the ordinance or law endorsement, for the electrical work in the kitchen.
Neither item is trivial in amount and both fail by inaction rather than by refusal. This is the section that justifies the document.
Deadlines that survive, documents, and closing statements
Dates, stated as dates:
- — Recoverable depreciation, original settlement:
- 22 February 2027. Source: policy condition 5(c), 180 days from loss payment of 26 August 2026.
- — Recoverable depreciation, supplement:
- 29 March 2027. Same condition, from 30 September 2026.
- — Suit limitation:
- 14 July 2028. Source: policy condition 9, no action unless commenced within 24 months after inception of the loss. Note that neither the appraisal demand nor the supplement extended this.
- — Further supplemental claim:
- no state supplemental deadline applies in this jurisdiction. The policy requires notice of additional loss as soon as practicable. Where a state deadline does apply it can be considerably shorter than the suit limitation, and it is checked against the statute rather than assumed.
Each is a calendar date. '24 months from the loss' requires Mr Okonjo to remember the loss date correctly in 2028, and he has no reason to.
Documents: returned to Mr Okonjo on 2 October 2026 — his original policy documents, the 2019 plumbing invoice, and the USB drive of his own photographs, against signature. Retained by this firm: the complete engagement file including the contract, correspondence, estimates, statements and photographs, held at least until 30 September 2031, five years from termination, and open to examination by the commissioner. Copies available to Mr Okonjo on request at any time during that period at no charge.
Closing statements: the representation ended 30 September 2026 and the carrier was notified in writing the same day, asking that all further correspondence go directly to Mr Okonjo. He should expect to hear from the carrier directly on the depreciation claim and should not wait for us to forward anything.
The fee position is final. No further fee is or will be charged on this claim, including on the recoverable depreciation and the code upgrade allowance above — those are recoveries under the settled claim rather than new recoveries, and no fee applies to them under the contract. Stated explicitly so that a payment arriving in February does not produce an unexpected invoice.
Section-by-section guide
What each section is for, what a good one contains, and where they typically go wrong.
1.The engagement and how it ended
Identify the contract by its signature date, the claim, and the date and manner the engagement ended. Say which of the possibilities it was — settlement, withdrawal, termination by the insured, termination by the firm — because 'the file closed' describes several different things with different consequences.
2.What was done
A short account of the work, in sequence and dated. Not a justification of the fee — the fee is justified by the contract and the accounting — but a record the insured can read in two years when they no longer remember who did what. Keep it factual and keep it short.
3.Outcome, and the accounting
The position at close: total recovered, the fee, the approved expenses, and the net to the insured. Cross-reference the itemized statements rather than restating them at length, and attach them. Where the engagement ended without a settlement, say what the position was when it ended rather than leaving the outcome blank.
4.What remains open
The most valuable section in the document. Recoverable depreciation not yet claimed, a supplement in progress, an appraisal not concluded, a code upgrade allowance conditional on work being done. Each item gets what it is, what has to happen, who has to do it, and by when. An item with no owner and no date is not being handed over, it is being abandoned.
5.Deadlines that survive the engagement
Set out every date that outlives the representation: the suit limitation under the policy, any supplemental or reopened claim deadline, deadlines for claiming recoverable depreciation or replacement cost benefits. State each as a date rather than a period, because a period requires the reader to do arithmetic from a start date they may misremember. This is the handover that matters most, and the insured is now the only person tracking it.
6.Documents returned and retained
What is going back to the insured, what the firm keeps and why, and where the insured can get a copy later. Records are retained for at least five years after the transaction terminates and are open to the commissioner, so say that plainly rather than leaving the insured to assume their file has been destroyed or that it has been shared.
7.Closing statements
Confirm the representation has ended and that the carrier has been notified, so the insured is not left assuming someone else is still receiving their correspondence. Confirm the fee position is final. Where anything remains chargeable — a supplement within scope of the contract — say so now rather than raising it later.
Common mistakes
The failure modes that show up most often when this document is reviewed later.
Ending an engagement without a closing document
The insured is left unsure whether they are still represented, who is receiving their correspondence, and what remains outstanding. Every one of those becomes a complaint more easily than it becomes a question.
Stating surviving deadlines as periods rather than dates
'24 months from the date of loss' requires the insured to remember a date correctly years later and do the arithmetic. Write the calendar date. This is the single most useful thing the document does.
Listing open items with no owner and no date
An open item without both is not being handed over, it is being abandoned. Recoverable depreciation and code upgrade allowances fail by inaction far more often than by refusal.
Leaving the fee position on future payments unstated
A payment arriving months after close raises the question of whether it attracts a fee. Answering it in the closing report costs one sentence; answering it in February, after an invoice the insured did not expect, costs the relationship.
Presenting the outcome more favourably than the accounting supports
The closing report summarises statements the insured also holds, and the regulator may see both. A summary tidier than its own attachments is worse than no summary.
Not telling the insured the carrier has been notified
Otherwise they assume correspondence is still being received and actioned by someone. Files go quiet for months this way, and the deadline in the previous section passes while everyone waits for everyone else.
Questions
- Is a closing report required?
- Not by the licensing act. The itemized statements are the required records; this document is the covering account that makes them legible to the insured and hands over what survives the engagement. It is the cheapest complaint prevention available.
- What if the engagement ends without a settlement?
- Write it anyway, and state the position as at the end date — what was recovered so far, what was outstanding, and what the insured must now do. An engagement that ends badly is precisely the one where an accurate record of what remained open is most likely to be needed.
- Should the closing report go to the carrier?
- No. Notify the carrier that the representation has ended; the closing report itself is for the insured and contains the fee accounting, which is not the carrier's business.
- How long should the file be kept after closing?
- At least five years after the transaction with the insured terminates, and open to examination by the commissioner at all times. Your state may require longer. Tell the insured the retention period and that copies remain available to them.
The blank template
Exactly what is in the Word download, so you can see the structure before deciding whether you want it.
The engagement and how it ended
What was done
Outcome, and the accounting
What remains open
Deadlines that survive the engagement
Documents returned and retained
Closing statements
Download this template
Free Word download, no email required. Or open it in Professional Drafter — it lands in your template library, ready to draft against.
Sources
- NAIC — Public Adjuster Licensing Model Act (Model 228) §18, Record Retention
- NAIC — Public Adjuster Licensing Model Act (Model 228) §15, Contract Between Public Adjuster and Insured
- NAIC — Public Adjuster Licensing Model Act (Model 228) §14, Public Adjuster Fees
- N.Y. Insurance Law §3404 — standard fire policy (statutory text)
Related templates
Itemized Statement of Recoveries & Compensation Template
The two itemized statements the model act requires in every public adjuster file — the insured's recoveries and all compensation received from any source — with a worked example.
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Public Adjuster Contract Template & Example
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This page is a documentation aid, not legal advice and not a coverage opinion. Claim-handling requirements vary by state and by policy wording, and a template cannot tell you what your file requires. The worked example describes a fictional loss.