Iowa Roofer Ordered to Cease Unlicensed Public Adjuster Services
An Iowa roofing company has agreed to a consent order to stop promoting itself as a public adjuster or providing any public adjuster services on its websites, social media pages and advertisements.
Darren Reeves Roofing has also agreed to instruct its agents and employees to stop taking any direct or indirect role involving insurance settlements in the state of Iowa.
The Iowa Insurance Division entered into a consent order with Darren Reeves Roofing on Dec. 11, months after the contractor received cease and desist orders for acting as unlicensed public adjusters by soliciting business and offering services that require a public adjuster license.
“Unlicensed public adjusters or contractors acting as public adjusters in violation of Iowa Code, can create potentially unreasonable expectations on settlement values or scope of repairs that do not align with the language of the insurance policy which can then cause delays in the claim resolution and add unnecessary expenses to consumers,” said Chance McElhaney, Chief Operations Officer of the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services.
The consent order details an instance when Darren Reeves Roofing responded to a commercial farm business that had several buildings damaged during a 2022 storm.
Farm operator M&M submitted a claim to its insurer, Farm Bureau Financial Services, in June 2022 for hail and wind damage. One month later, M&M hired Reeves to complete repairs to their business and residential home.
Darren Reeves Roofing negotiated the claim on behalf of M&M from the time of the repairs until M&M hired an adjuster in late December 2022.
Reeves, owner of the roofing company, requested Farm Bureau modify their property loss estimate to reflect a different category code for roofing material and add 10% overhead and 10% profit to the estimates.
Farm Bureau said they can only add overhead and profit after the contractor submitted unredacted invoices for materials and subcontractors. The insurer said they would not modify the existing estimate.
Reeves responded via email with an attached estimate. He asked Farm Bureau to send over a corrected estimate or he would forward the job to The Adjusters Group and “waste more of my time and yours.”
After Reeves sent the email, M&M hired The Adjusters Group and the claim went through arbitration. The arbitration award came out to dollar value of Reeves’ estimate.
Additionally, Darren Reeves Roofing advertised adjusting services on multiple websites, the consent order shows.
In a November 2023 video advertisement posted on Darren Reeves Roofing’s Facebook page, the company shows pictures of completed projects with text stating: “Reeves Roofing will work with the insurance company for storm damage.”
The company shared multiple customer testimonials online claiming Darren Reeves Roofing worked with the insurance company.
The Iowa Insurance Division said in a press release that a a contractor may provide information, such as damage reports and repair estimates, to the homeowner and, if asked, to the insurance company, but may not represent or negotiate with the insurance company on behalf of the homeowner.
The consent order prohibits Darren Reeves Roofing from initiating, handling, negotiating or taking any direct or indirect role in effecting settlement of any Iowa insured’s insurance claim; reviewing the consumer’s insurance contract; or giving advice to the consumer on provisions of their insurance contract including demanding appraisal.