What This License Is
A Delaware adjuster license is issued by the Delaware Department of Insurance under 18 Del. C. chapter 17, with public adjusters in chapter 17A and the operating rules scattered across 18 DE Admin. Code 504, 506, 507, 602, 901, 902 and 903.
Delaware licenses staff adjusters. § 1702(1) defines an adjuster as a licensee who acts *"as an independent contractor or on behalf of an independent contractor, insurer, self-insurer, producer or managing general agent"* and who *"investigates and/or negotiates settlement of claims arising under insurance contracts."* The definition reaches employees on its face, and § 1703 then makes the license mandatory for anyone transacting that line.
Seven lines of authority — § 1707(d): property · casualty · fidelity and surety · automobile · marine and transportation · crop · workers' compensation. But seven lines does not mean seven examinations. Pearson VUE publishes six adjuster content outlines, crop is satisfied by the federal Risk Management Agency proficiency test rather than a Delaware exam, and there is no fidelity and surety adjuster examination at all. Note too that the statute says *"automobile"* while the exam and NIPR both say *"motor vehicle."*
There is also an apprentice adjuster / motor vehicle appraiser license — one year, $75, requiring a licensed adjuster to assume full responsibility — and temporary licenses of up to 180 days under § 1711 for survivors, business-entity personnel and licensees entering the armed forces. There is no separate emergency adjuster credential; catastrophe work runs through the § 1707(e)(1) exemption instead.
What Delaware does not require: no prelicensing education, no insurer appointment, no designation-based exam waiver, and no Delaware office or residence — though the *apprentice* license does require Delaware residency. What it does require and many states do not: fingerprints, both an SBI and an FBI criminal history report, and a license for the insurer's own employees.
The Separate Appraiser License — and Who Needs It
Delaware issues a motor vehicle physical damage appraiser license alongside the adjuster license, and the boundary between them is not where most adjusters assume.
§ 1702(3) defines an appraiser as a licensee *"who assesses property damage to motor vehicles,"* and § 1707(c) says the license *"shall convey authority for the appraisal of damage to motor vehicles as defined in § 101 of Title 21."* Meanwhile § 1707(d) gives the *adjuster* authority *"to investigate and negotiate settlement of claims"* — and says nothing about appraisal.
18 DE Admin. Code § 602-1.0 then sweeps by activity, not by job title: *"'Appraiser' means a motor vehicle physical damage appraiser licensed under the provisions of 18 Del. C. Ch. 17. This shall include all persons who in this State practice the appraisal of motor vehicle physical damage."* There is no carve-out for adjusters.
The functional line. An adjuster who negotiates an auto physical damage settlement using someone else's appraisal is squarely within the adjuster license. An adjuster who personally assesses the vehicle's damage is performing the appraiser's licensed act. The Department's own practice supports the distinction — it issues a combined *Apprentice Adjuster / Motor Vehicle Appraiser* license, which only makes sense if the two are separate credentials.
One carve-out does exist, and it is for repairers rather than adjusters: § 602-1.0 excludes from *"appraisal"* an *"estimate of repair to be performed by the individual or entity making such estimate."* A body shop estimating its own work is not appraising.
Who Does Not Need a License
Adjuster exemptions live in § 1707(e), and there are exactly three.
1. Catastrophe — § 1707(e)(1). *"An adjuster or appraiser sent into this State on behalf of an insurer for the investigation of a particularly unusual or extraordinary loss, or series of losses, resulting from a catastrophe common to all such losses"* is exempt from licensure, *"provided that such adjuster or appraiser shall furnish to the Commissioner written notice within 10 calendar days of any such catastrophic insurance adjustment or appraisal work."*
2. Portable electronics — § 1707(e)(2). Claims personnel employed by a licensed independent adjuster handling portable electronics claims, subject to a supervision cap.
3. The producing agent — § 1707(e)(3). *"An individual who is a licensed agent or broker and who adjusts or assists in the adjustment of losses arising under policies … issued through or serviced by such agent or broker."*
None of these covers a resident salaried staff adjuster. If you are an insurer's employee handling Delaware claims from a Delaware desk, you are licensed.
Applying — Fingerprints, Fees, and a Background Check You Pay For
Minimum age 18 — § 1706(a). There is no good-moral-character clause.
Fingerprints and two criminal history reports — § 1706(b). A resident applicant *"shall submit fingerprints and other necessary information to the State Bureau of Identification"* to obtain *"the person's entire criminal history record from the State Bureau of Identification"* and *"a report of the person's entire federal criminal history from the Federal Bureau of Investigation."* The statute adds that the applicant *"is responsible for any costs."*
The fee is $85, and it is a Delaware State Police charge for a combined state and federal record — service code 27S46Z. State-only is $72 and is not enough, because § 1706(b) requires both. No Delaware insurance instrument states this figure; it belongs to the State Police, and DSP sends the reports directly to the Department.
The 90-day rule is the Department's, not the Code's. The DOI requires the reports to be *dated within 90 days of receipt*. § 1706 itself states no time limit. And note precisely what the rule is: a report-freshness requirement, not a deadline by which you must be fingerprinted.
Fees — 18 Del. C. § 701, and they are in the statute itself. Adjuster license, initial or renewal, resident or nonresident: $125. Motor vehicle appraiser: $125. Apprentice: $75 for a one-year term. Public adjuster: $125, because § 1751 sets it as *"the same as that for an adjuster's license."* Examination: $90 to Pearson VUE. Prelicensing: nothing, because none is required.
Delaware does not delegate its fee schedule. That is the opposite of states where the statute is silent and the department publishes the numbers, and it means the citation for a Delaware fee is a statute section rather than a department page.
The Examination — and Two Numbers Delaware Will Not Publish
Pearson VUE delivers the Delaware examinations at test centers. No online proctoring is offered or mentioned, and walk-ins are unavailable.
Six adjuster examinations, all 50 scored items — Property, Casualty, Motor Vehicle, Marine and Transportation, Workers' Compensation, and Public Adjuster. Property and Casualty additionally carry 5 unscored pretest items; the other four outlines state none. Source: the *Delaware Insurance Content Outlines*, footer #120801 | 07/2025.
Crop is not a Delaware examination. 18 DE Admin. Code § 506-5.0 requires the federal Risk Management Agency-approved proficiency test, and the Department accepts a CAPP card in lieu of an examination. There is likewise no fidelity and surety adjuster examination among the outlines, even though § 1707(d) lists the line.
Retakes: *"candidates must wait twenty-four (24) hours before rescheduling,"* and a re-examination cannot be booked at the test center. No cap on attempts was found.
Scores are valid 12 months — and that is statutory, not a vendor policy. 18 Del. C. § 1705: *"All examination score reports are valid for a period of 12 months from the date of examination."* Cite the Code, not the handbook.
No prelicensing education is required, and that negative is provable rather than merely unmentioned: chapter 17 imposes none (§ 1705 requires only the written examination), § 1706(h)'s only instruction requirement is for limited line credit insurance producers, § 1709 mentions prelicensing only in order to waive it, and neither the 200 (Licensing) nor the 500 series of the Administrative Code imposes any — Regulations 506-4.0 and 507-4.0, both headed *Qualification for Issuance*, impose none.
Nonresidents, Reciprocity, and the Free Ride Delaware Closed
§ 1708(a) requires a nonresident applicant to be licensed and in good standing at home, to file the Uniform Application, and — the operative condition — that *"the person's home state awards nonresident licenses to residents of this State on the same basis."* § 1717 is the companion mandate: the Commissioner shall waive further requirements where the home state reciprocates, and § 1717(b) extends reciprocity to continuing education.
"Home state" — § 1702(8) is the District of Columbia, or any state or territory where the licensee maintains a principal place of residence or business and is licensed. A designated home state counts.
The nonresident license fee is the same $125 a resident pays, and the renewal date is not: nonresidents renew February 28 of odd-numbered years, residents in even years.
Nonresident CE is a home-state rule, not an exemption. § 504-8.8: *"Nonresident adjusters and public adjusters must meet the license requirements of their home state."* That is a different proposition from being excused, and it is worth stating precisely, because Delaware's own department describes it loosely.
Keeping the License — Two Clocks, and a License That Never Expires
The license is perpetual — § 1707(f). It *"shall remain in effect unless revoked or suspended as long as the fee set forth in Chapter 7 of this title is paid and education requirements for resident licensees are met by the due date."* Delaware licenses do not expire on a term. They lapse for non-payment or non-compliance.
Two renewal clocks, offset by a year. Residents: February 28 of EVEN-numbered years — § 701(27)b, *"due biennially February 28 in even years beginning February 28, 2004."* Nonresidents: February 28 of ODD-numbered years — § 701(27)d, *"beginning February 28, 2003."* The same split applies to producers and to motor vehicle appraisers.
The first-term anomaly runs long, not short. An adjuster first licensed December 1 – February 28, within 90 days of the deadline, skips that biennium's renewal fee entirely under § 701(27)c and (27)e. The first paid cycle can therefore run about 27 months.
Late renewal — § 1707(g): *"a penalty in the amount of double the unpaid renewal fee"*; beyond six months, *"a civil fine of not less than $200 and not more than $1,000."* Flat $200 and $400 figures circulate for Delaware and appear in no Delaware instrument — not § 701, not chapter 17, not Regulation 504.
Continuing education: 12 hours per biennium, 3 in ethics — § 504-8.2.2. That is exactly half the producer requirement of 24, but the ethics component is not halved: producers need 3 as well. The biennium runs March 1 to the last day of February of even-numbered years, a credit hour is 50 minutes, carryover is capped at 5 credits and never applies to ethics, and newly licensed individuals owe nothing for the biennium in which they are licensed.
Two genuinely unusual CE rules. Adjusters licensed for the surety and/or marine and transportation lines are exempt from CE entirely. And adjusters holding professional designations, or licensed 25 consecutive years, receive *"an automatic credit of six (6) credits in each biennium"* — halving the requirement to six hours. Designations buy CE credit in Delaware; they never buy an exam waiver.
Noncompliance — § 504-9.1: an administrative penalty *"up to and including a $2,000 fine and suspension of license(s) for one year,"* and for a false or fraudulent submission *"up to and including a $15,000 fine and permanent revocation."* Education in arrears plus the fine within 12 months restores the license; a suspension of 12 months or more requires re-examination.
Housekeeping deadlines that carry discipline. Name or physical mailing address change: 30 days (§ 1707(j)). Administrative actions: 30 days from final disposition; criminal prosecutions: 30 days from the initial pretrial hearing date (§ 1719). Records: 5 years, at the principal place of business, kept with the license (§ 1707(m)). And failing to respond substantively to a Department inquiry within 21 days is its own ground for discipline under § 1712.
Public Adjusters — and a Fee Cap That Runs Backwards
§ 1750 defines a public adjuster as a person who, for compensation, *"Acts or aids, solely in relation to first party claims … on behalf of an insured individual in negotiating for, or effecting the settlement of, a claim."* First-party only — and the definition itself carries no exclusions.
The exclusions are in § 1759(b), headed "Regulations and scope." Eight of them: an adjuster for or agent or employee of an insurer adjusting under its own policies · an agent or broker acting as an adjuster without compensation · an attorney who does not *"regularly act as a public insurance adjuster"* and does not advertise as one · a licensed health-care provider or employee preparing or filing a health claim form · persons employed *"only for the purpose of obtaining facts surrounding a loss or furnishing technical assistance"* · anyone negotiating claims under life and health policies · insurer clerical staff who *"do[] not participate in negotiations with parties on disputed and/or contested claims"* · and anyone settling subrogation claims between authorized insurers.
Licensing — § 1751: written examination required, waived for a valid license from a reciprocal state; fee *"the same as that for an adjuster's license"*; CE *"as established for adjusters."* Bond — § 1752: $20,000, issued by a surety insurer authorized in Delaware. There is no letter-of-credit alternative. Disclosure — § 1753: persons owning or controlling 10% or more of voting securities, plus the names of employees authorized to negotiate settlements. Records — § 1754: 5 years after the termination of the transaction with the insured — note the measuring point differs from § 1707(m)'s general five years.
The contract — § 1756. Written, on a Commissioner-approved form, executed in duplicate, before acting. The insured may cancel *"until midnight on the third business day after the day on which the insured signs,"* effective on mailing, and the right must appear in the approved form — though on a commercial loss a canceling insured still owes *"reasonable compensation for actual services rendered and costs incurred."* No soliciting *"during the progress of a loss-producing occurrence."* Unlicensed employees may not *"advertise, engage clients, furnish reports or present bills."* A public adjuster may not *"prevent or attempt to dissuade an insured from communicating with an insurer."* And § 1756(g) subjects public adjusters to the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act.
Eleven prohibited acts — § 1758, including paying anything of value for a referral or as an inducement to refer, rebating any part of the fee, fee splitting with an unlicensed person, advising on any question of law, representing both the insurer and the insured, soliciting a client already under contract with another public adjuster for the same loss, advancing money to a client pending settlement where it would be included in the settlement, and — the one worth memorizing — having any interest, direct or indirect, in any *"home improvement, restoration, construction, salvage, appraisal, loss mitigation, cleaning, or environmental restoration business."*
Discipline — § 1755: a civil penalty *"not to exceed $1,000 for each violation,"* on grounds including violating chapter 17A, the Unfair Trade Practices Law or the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Law, material misstatement, fraudulent or dishonest practices, incompetence or untrustworthiness, and failure to complete CE.
Unfair Claims Practices — Delaware Kept the Element Its Neighbors Dropped
Delaware runs claim conduct through two instruments that are not copies of one another: 18 Del. C. § 2304(16), which enumerates fourteen unfair claim settlement practices, and 18 DE Admin. Code § 902-3.1, which enumerates thirteen. Materials that treat the regulation as the statute reprinted are wrong in both directions.
Both keep the general business practice element. The conduct must occur *"with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice."* A single act is not a violation in Delaware. Several states — including Delaware's neighbor Kentucky — have deleted that phrase, so this is exactly the kind of point that travels badly between jurisdictions.
And Delaware attaches a number to it — § 902-3.2: *"It shall be considered prima facie evidence of a general business practice … if the Department finds that, within a given sample of claims sampled by the Department …, the total number of unfair claims settlement practices exceeds four percent or more of claims, and the general business practice violation occurred within: 3.2.1 A single category of practices prohibited under subsection 3.1 … and 3.2.2 A single 12-month period."*
Read the two legs as conjunctive, because they are: a single § 3.1 category and a single 12-month period. A sample-wide violation rate on its own is not enough. No fixed sample size is specified — it is whatever the Department draws. And the text is internally redundant, *"exceeds four percent or more,"* which is worth quoting as written rather than smoothing.
The presumption is rebuttable, and intent is expressly relevant. § 902-3.3 says the presumption *"is not, in and of itself, an additional general business practice violation,"* and § 902-3.4 lets an insurer overcome it *"by presenting any relevant evidence … including evidence relating to the harm to claimants caused by the violation, the nature of the violation, and the insurer's intent."* Intent mattering at all is unusual, given the strict-liability character of the underlying practices.
A second, separate presumption sits in Regulation 903 — § 903-7.1: three instances of failing to pay a settled claim within the required period, in a 36-month period, raise a rebuttable presumption of violating § 2304(16)(f). Different instrument, different threshold, different window.
Where does the adjuster fit? Regulation 902 does not name adjusters. The word does not appear; § 902-3.0 speaks only of *"the insurer,"* and its authority is §§ 311 and 2312. Adjusters are reached derivatively — § 1712(a)(7) makes unfair trade practices a ground for license discipline, and § 1756(g) expressly subjects public adjusters to chapter 23.
The Clocks You Actually Run — and the Two That Are Working Days
| Duty | Days | Type | Trigger | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acknowledge and respond to claim communications | 15 | WORKING | receipt of communications | § 902-3.1.2 |
| Implement a prompt investigation | 10 | WORKING | receipt of the notice of loss | § 902-3.1.3 |
| Affirm or deny coverage, or advise in writing why you cannot | 30 | Calendar | proof of loss received | § 902-3.1.5 |
| Pay a settled claim | 30 | Calendar | the earliest of four events | § 903-5.0 |
| Health-care clean claim — pay, partially pay, deny or request more | 30 | Calendar | receipt of a clean claim | § 1310-6.1 |
| Health-care clean claim — act after the information arrives (one request only) | 15 | Calendar | receipt of the information | § 1310-6.2 |
| PIP — furnish a claim form | 10 | Calendar | written notice of intent to file | 21 Del. C. § 2118B(b) |
| PIP — pay, or give a written denial explanation | 30 | Calendar | receipt of the request and documentation | § 2118B(c) |
| Post-payment audit — provider produces records | 45–60 | Calendar | date of the letter | § 2319 |
| Post-payment audit — provider appeals | 30–60 | Calendar | receipt of the determination | § 2319 |
The statutory analogues are vaguer than the regulation. § 2304(16)(b) says *"reasonably promptly"* for claim communications and § 2304(16)(e) says *"reasonable time"* to affirm or deny after a completed proof of loss. The regulation is where the numbers live.
Regulation 903's 30 days to pay runs from the earliest of four events: a settlement agreement executed · a final court order · all documentation received and the investigation complete · the last day to appeal an arbitration award where none is filed. That fourth trigger is easy to miss and it is the one that runs on its own.
Interest and one extra element. Late payment of a settled claim carries prime plus 3% under § 903-6.1.1 — but note § 903-6.1 also requires the Department to find the failure was *"in bad faith and with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice"* before acting, a bad-faith requirement the other instruments do not carry.
Four interest benchmarks in four instruments, and quoting one as "the" rate is a common error: the legal rate is the Federal Reserve discount rate plus 5% (6 Del. C. § 2301(a)) · settled claims, prime plus 3% (§ 903-6.1.1) · health-care clean claims, the maximum rate allowable to lenders (§ 1310-8.0) · PIP, a 1.5% / 2% / 2.5% monthly ladder (21 Del. C. § 2118B(c)).
Bad Faith — Contract, Not Tort
*Tackett v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Insurance Co.*, 653 A.2d 254 (Del. 1995) is the case. The insurer's refusal to pay must have been "clearly without any reasonable justification."
It sounds in contract. The Court found *"no sound theoretical difference"* between a first-party insurance dispute and any other breach of contract. Most states plead first-party bad faith in tort; Delaware does not, and that choice drives the damages available and the limitations period.
Note the party name. It is *State Farm Fire & Casualty*, not *State Farm Mutual*. Practitioner compendia miscite it routinely, and a wrong party name is how a candidate loses a citation question.
Limitations: three years. 10 Del. C. § 8106 covers actions on a promise, on an account and on a statute. First-party bad faith is a contract claim under *Tackett*, so it takes the three years — as does breach of the insurance contract itself. § 8106(c) permits a contractually specified period for written contracts involving at least $100,000, capped at 20 years.
Penalties, and a counterintuitive structure — § 2308(a)(1): not more than $1,000 for each act, aggregate $100,000; where the person *"knew or reasonably should have known"* they were in violation, not more than $10,000 per act, aggregate $150,000 in any 6-month period. The lower per-act penalty carries the higher aggregate, and the periods differ too.
The licensee-facing figures. § 329 sets a general administrative penalty not exceeding $15,000 per violation for chapter 17 licensees — that is the adjuster number — and $50,000 for insurance companies. § 1712 sets a licensing fine of not less than $200 and not more than $20,000 for each violation, with no imprisonment term. § 2312, the rulemaking authority behind Regulation 902, sets no dollar figure of its own, and § 902-4.0 contains none either — it simply routes to §§ 1712, 2307(a) and 2308.
Automobile — Add-On, Not No-Fault, and a Stacking Rule That Inverted
Delaware is an ADD-ON state. PIP is compulsory under 21 Del. C. § 2118, and Delaware never bought the tort limitation that usually accompanies it. There is no monetary threshold, no verbal threshold and no election.
§ 2118(h) is the provision mistaken for a threshold, and it is an evidence rule: it bars introducing at trial the damages that were paid or payable as PIP. It does not bar the suit. A Delaware claimant recovers PIP and sues in tort for everything PIP did not pay.
Minimum limits: 25/50/10. § 2118(a)(3)'s no-fault property damage EXCLUDES motor vehicles — the one property coverage inside the compulsory statute does not cover the thing everyone assumes.
§ 2118B is the section you actually operate. 10 days to furnish a claim form after written notice of intent to file. 30 days to pay or give a written explanation of the denial after receiving the request and the documentation. Overdue benefits carry a monthly interest ladder — 1.5%, then 2%, then 2.5%. Attorney fees require proved bad faith, defined as *"an intentional, reckless or malicious indifference to the duties owed an insured, not negligence, carelessness or inadvertence of any degree."* Interest is automatic; fees are not. The two are decoupled.
UM and UIM — § 3902. A mandatory offer, not mandatory coverage: it is included unless *"rejected in writing, on a form furnished by the insurer … describing the coverage being rejected, by an insured named therein."* UIM is a separate mandatory offer under § 3902(b), with a statutory offer ceiling of *"up to a limit of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident or $300,000 single limit."* UM property damage carries a $250 deductible unless otherwise agreed in writing. Hit-and-run requires physical contact, police notification, and insurer notice within 30 days or as soon as practicable. UIM pays only after exhaustion of all available bodily injury limits.
Two more holdings worth carrying. *State Farm v. Washington*, 641 A.2d 449 (Del. 1994) — a named-driver exclusion is unenforceable to deny UIM coverage to a household member, because liability and UM/UIM address different risks. *Mason v. USAA* (Del. 1997) — the § 3902(b) offer must be a "meaningful offer": timely, and communicated so as to *"clearly offer the specific coverage in the same manner and with the same emphasis"* as other coverages. *Mason* is not a stacking case, despite frequent miscitation.
Comparative negligence — 10 Del. C. § 8132. Recovery is barred only where the plaintiff's negligence *"was greater than"* that of the defendant *"or the combined negligence of all defendants against whom recovery is sought."* Two consequences: *"not greater than"* is the 51% bar, so a plaintiff at exactly 50% recovers (halved) and at 50.1% recovers nothing; and because the comparison may be aggregate, a plaintiff 40% at fault recovers against two defendants at 30% each, though he is more negligent than either alone.
Limitations, and the one you control. Personal injury: 2 years from the date injuries were sustained — 10 Del. C. § 8119. UM and UIM: 3 years under § 8106, accruing on denial — *Allstate v. Spinelli*, 443 A.2d 1286 (Del. 1982), holding that a UM claim is contractual and does not accrue *"until the insurer denies coverage and notifies its insured of rejection."* Your own denial letter starts that clock. § 8118 adds a one-year savings period where a writ fails service or a judgment is reversed.
Arbitration — and the insurer cannot say no. 18 Del. C. § 331 compels every homeowners insurer to submit to arbitration; 21 Del. C. § 2118(j) does the same for auto and PIP; Regulation 901 implements both. The claimant demands — the insurer can neither initiate nor refuse. Homeowners demands run 90 days from a settlement offer or a denial. $50 filing fee per party. Three arbitrators, each capped at $25. The insurer answers in 20 business days or faces default, reopenable within 5 business days. Hearing noticed 10 business days ahead; neither party need appear; the Delaware Rules of Evidence do not apply. Appeal is de novo to Superior Court — 30 days for automobile, 90 days for homeowners. That is why § 2118B has teeth: a PIP claimant can force a three-arbitrator proceeding for $50.
Regulation 602 governs the physical damage file. The appraiser must *"exchange a legible copy of his appraisal with that of the repair shop selected to make the repairs and also furnish a copy to the owner"*; must itemize all damages and clearly identify *"unrelated or old damage"*; and must treat *"the operational safety of the vehicle … as paramount"* when specifying new parts, with heightened attention to the drive train, steering gear, suspension, brakes and tires. § 602-5.0 is the anti-steering rule, and it is one sentence: *"No appraiser shall require that repairs be made in a specified repair shop."* There is no affirmative duty to advise the claimant of the right to choose, and no notice wording is prescribed — Delaware prohibits steering without mandating an advisory.
Property — A Clock That Starts at Denial, and a Fee Shift That Says "Shall"
There is no Delaware standard fire policy, and Delaware's own statute proves it. Property forms are regulated by filing and approval under § 2712, plus targeted required provisions. The affirmative proof is § 4103(1), which defines the Basic Property Protection Plan by reference to perils *"as defined and limited in the standard fire policy and extended coverage endorsement as filed with the Commissioner."* The legislature treats the standard fire policy as a filed industry form, not a statutory one — the opposite of New York's 165-line model.
There is also no valued policy law and no statutory appraisal provision. Chapter 41, chapter 27 subchapter I, § 902-3.1 and § 2304(16) were each enumerated in full and none contains one. The contrast case is instructive: the Commissioner does regulate appraisers — for motor vehicles, at Regulation 602 — and created no property counterpart.
Time to sue runs from DENIAL — 10 Del. C. § 8106(b): a residential property contract *"may not require that an action for a claim made under the contract be filed less than 1 year from the date of the DENIAL of the claim by the insurer,"* and *"may permit an action … to be filed more than 1 year from the date of the denial."*
Read that as a floor, not a period. It forbids a policy from requiring suit sooner than one year after denial. It does not shorten § 8106(a)'s general three years, and subsection (2) expressly blesses longer contractual periods. And its scope is residential — it reaches only policies subject to chapter 41, subchapter III, so commercial property policies are outside it.
Cancellation and nonrenewal — chapter 41, subchapter III. After coverage has been in effect more than 60 days, or after the effective date of a renewal, cancellation may issue only on the enumerated grounds. Cancellation: at least 30 days. Nonpayment: at least 10 days. Nonrenewal: at least 30 days before the end of the policy period. Every notice must state the effective date plus a written explanation of the specific reasons. § 4123's seven grounds: nonpayment · fraud · wilful or reckless acts · change in the risk · code violations · a Commissioner determination · delinquent property taxes. Private primary residential flood policies take 45 days under § 4158.
The wind, hail and hurricane deductible notice is a statute — § 4140, the whole of chapter 41 subchapter IV, and not a bulletin. Notice is required on new residential policies issued on or after January 1, 2013, on the first renewal on or after that date for policies then in force, and whenever the insurer changes a wind/hail or hurricane deductible. It must *"clearly disclose relevant details … including the trigger of the deductible"* and whether it is a percentage or a dollar amount — and the statute mandates a worked illustration and supplies it: *"a 2% deductible on a house insured for $300,000 means the policy holder is responsible for $6,000."* Scope is residential: 1–4 family dwellings, condominium units, tenant personal property and manufactured homes.
Delaware has no total-loss threshold and no total-loss valuation regulation. 21 Del. C. § 2512 contains no percentage anywhere. What it does is brand titles: on a total loss insurance settlement the insurer sends the certificate of title to the Department within 30 days from the date of settlement, or, where the owner retains the salvage, must *"require the owner … to procure a salvage certificate from the Department prior to paying the total loss insurance settlement."* The only constraint on the settlement figure itself is § 2304(16)(f)'s general *"prompt, fair and equitable settlements"* standard.
Guaranty Fund and Fraud — Two Places Delaware Left the Model Alone
The Delaware Insurance Guaranty Association — chapter 42. § 4208(a)(1) sets the caps verbatim: *"(i) the full amount of a covered claim for benefits under a workers' compensation insurance policy; (ii) an amount not exceeding $10,000 per policy for … the return of an unearned premium; (iii) an amount not exceeding $500,000 per claimant for all other covered claims provided that … all claims of any kind arising from or relating to bodily injury or death to any person will constitute a SINGLE claim, regardless of the number of claims made, or the number of claimants."*
Association aggregate: $10,000,000 per insolvent insurer, excluding workers' compensation. Claim-filing deadline: the EARLIER of 24 months after the order of liquidation, or the court's final bar date. Net worth exclusion — § 4205(6): a first-party claim by an insured whose net worth exceeds $10,000,000 on the December 31 preceding the insolvency, consolidated with all affiliates, and first-party claims by an affiliate of the insolvent insurer.
The $500,000 figure is current and dated. § 4208's history ends at 81 Del. Laws, c. 337, § 3, traced to HB 318 of the 149th General Assembly, signed July 17, 2018, whose synopsis is *"This Act updates the Delaware Insurance Guaranty Association (DIGA) Act to more closely align it with the NAIC and NCIGF Model Acts"* — and which raised the cap from $300,000.
Life and health caps for comparison — § 4403(c): life death benefit $300,000 · life net cash surrender $100,000 · health other than disability income, health benefit plan or long-term care $100,000 · disability income $300,000 · long-term care $300,000 · health benefit plans $500,000 · annuity present value $250,000 · aggregate any one life $300,000, except $500,000 where health benefit plan benefits are involved.
Fraud — § 2408, in full: *"Any insurer which has a reasonable belief that an act of insurance fraud is being, or has been, committed shall send to the Bureau, on a form prescribed by the Bureau, any and all information and such additional information relating to such act as the Bureau may require."* Reports go to the Delaware Insurance Fraud Prevention Bureau, established by § 2404, on the Model Uniform Suspected Insurance Fraud Reporting Form or via the NAIC Online Fraud Reporting System — by email to fraud@delaware.gov *or* by mail, not both.
Immunity — § 2409 attaches on the absence of fraud, bad faith and malice, and is not defeated by gross negligence — the statute simply does not use that standard. It protects persons filing reports, law-enforcement officials, persons sharing information with the Department, the NAIC and anti-fraud organizations, and the Commissioner and staff acting without malice.
Criminal fraud is a FLAT class G felony — and it lives in the Criminal Code, not the Insurance Code: 11 Del. C. § 913, *"Insurance fraud is a class G felony."* There are no dollar thresholds, no misdemeanor tier and no felony-grading ladder. Administratively, § 2411 lets the Commissioner impose *"not more than $10,000 for each act of insurance fraud,"* weighed by nature, circumstances, extent, gravity, prior history and degree of culpability, plus a cost assessment equal to 15% of each penalty and restitution.
Three fraud negatives, each proved structurally. No fraud warning legend is required on claim forms — chapter 24's fifteen sections were enumerated and none concerns legends, and § 2722, the sole proof-of-loss-form statute, imposes none; it requires the insurer to furnish forms on written request and expressly disclaims responsibility for their completion. No SIU requirement and no antifraud plan requirement — § 2408 is the only affirmative duty chapter 24 imposes on insurers, and Title 18 of the Administrative Code has no SIU series.
Workers' Compensation — A Line of Authority, and a Rulebook in Title 19
The credential is an insurance adjuster license with the workers' compensation line — 18 DE Admin. Code 507. § 507-2.0 applies to *"all persons acting as Workers' Compensation insurance adjusters in this state"*; § 507-4.0 requires the license under 18 Del. C. §§ 1706 and 1707(1); § 507-5.0 requires passing *"the approved proficiency test"*; § 507-6.0 requires 12 hours per biennium, 3 in ethics.
Regulation 507 stops there. It contains no claim-handling standards, no payment deadlines and no record-retention rule. Those all sit in Title 19 with the Industrial Accident Board. And Title 18's 800 series does not fill the gap — 801 is deductibles, 802 workplace safety, 803 data collection, 804 the ratepayer advocate.
Rates, effective July 1, 2026: Delaware average weekly wage $1,444.07 · maximum weekly compensation $962.72 · minimum $320.91. The arithmetic checks: 1,444.07 × 66⅔% = 962.713 → $962.72, and one third of that is $320.91, which is 22 2/9% of the average weekly wage. The prior period, July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, ran $1,386.46 / $924.31 / $308.11.
Benefits. TTD — § 2324: 66⅔% of wages, capped at 66⅔% of the state average weekly wage, floored at 22 2/9%, *"during the continuance of total disability."* TPD — § 2325: 66⅔% of the difference between pre-injury wages and post-injury earning power, capped at 300 weeks — and no statutory minimum is stated, asymmetric to the other benefit sections. PPD — § 2326, scheduled loss paid *"regardless of the earning power of the injured employee after the injury"*: arm 250 · leg 250 · hand 220 · eye 200 · both ears 175 · foot 160 · thumb 75 · one ear 75 · index finger 50 · second finger 40 · great toe 40 · third finger 30 · little finger 20 · any other toe 15. Disfigurement — § 2326(f): up to 150 weeks, for disfigurement *"visible and offensive when the body is clothed normally."* Death — § 2330: 400 weeks, 66⅔% for a spouse rising to 80% with four or more children, and on remarriage the benefit reduces to 90% for ten years and then 75% rather than terminating. Burial — § 2331: *"not exceeding $3,500"*.
Deadlines. Waiting period 3 days, with benefits retroactive to day one if incapacity reaches 7 days including the day of injury; medical, funeral and hearing or vision permanency are paid from day one (§ 2321). Employee notice of injury 90 days (§ 2341). First Report of Injury 10 days, penalty $100–$250 (§ 2313). Accept, deny or investigate: 15 days, in writing, to the Department and the claimant (§ 2362(a)). Begin paying under an agreement 14 days; first payment after an award 14 days. Medical bills 30 days (§ 2362(b), § 2322F); refer a contested bill to utilization review 15 days of denial; appeal a utilization review decision 45 days, or it is final (§ 2361(c)). Limitations: 2 years for traumatic injury or death, 1 year for occupational disease from first knowledge, 5 years from the last payment to reopen.
Penalties — § 2362(e): a fine *"no less than $500 and no more than $2,500"* for violating subsections (a) through (d) — payable to the Workers' Compensation Fund, not to the claimant. § 2322F adds 1% per month interest on unpaid medical invoices, payable to the provider, and Board fines of $1,000–$5,000. § 2386 sets insurer violations at $100–$1,000 per offense.
Coverage. One or more employees — § 2306, no headcount exemption. Household workers excluded below $750 cash in any 3-month period. Farm laborers excluded *"unless such an employer carries insurance"*. Up to 8 corporate officers or LLC members may opt out by written agreement (§ 2308(a), raised from 4 in 2023). State and political subdivisions are outside the Act unless they elect coverage (§ 2309). Employee waiver is prohibited (§ 2305). Failure to insure — § 2374: proof within 14 days, penalty 3× the premium not purchased, continuing violation $10 per day per employee but not less than $250 per day, injunction from the Court of Chancery after 30 days, loss of the common-law defenses, and the employee may elect compensation or an action at law.
Choice of physician belongs to the employee — § 2323, on written notice of the choice within 30 days, while § 2322(a) obliges the employer to furnish the care. The employer pays; the employee picks. The employer's lever is the certified provider program — § 2322D: a certified provider treats *"without the requirement that the health-care provider first preauthorize"*; a non-certified provider gets one office visit or single instance of treatment, and everything after that needs prior authorization. Certification requires a current license, valid DEA registration, no involuntary termination from Medicare, Medicaid or Delaware workers' compensation, no felony convictions under a controlled substance act or for dishonesty or fraud, malpractice insurance, state-approved workers' compensation CE every 2 years, and agreement not to balance-bill.
Subrogation — § 2363 runs in order: deduct expenses of recovery, including attorney fees, apportioned by the court · reimburse the employer or carrier in full for amounts paid or payable to date · balance to the employee as an advance credit against future compensation. And the rule changed in 2023: *Horizon Services, Inc. v. Henry*, No. 172, 2022 (Del. June 7, 2023) overruled *Simendinger v. National Union Fire Ins. Co.*, 74 A.3d 609 (Del. 2013) — the employer or carrier may now assert a § 2363(e) lien against UIM benefits paid from an employer-purchased policy. PIP-eligible expenses remain outside the lien. *(Carried here from a practitioner summary rather than the opinion itself.)*
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