Texas · Insurance Adjuster SampleInteractive Mind Map
Texas Adjuster Regulations
A visual breakdown of the Texas rules an adjuster is tested on — including the statutory exemption that lets a nonresident work a catastrophe with no license at all, the two different adjuster exams that share a question count and nothing else, the scaled 70 that is not a percentage, the prompt-payment clocks that switch between calendar and business days inside one section, and the chapter 542A election that removes you from the caption while leaving your file in evidence.
Texas does not issue one adjuster license. 28 TAC § 19.602(a) approves three, and it defines the broadest of them as issued “for those adjusters who qualify in paragraphs (2) and (3)” — so all lines is not a wider license sitting above property and casualty. It is the property line and the workers' compensation line held together. The consequence catches experienced adjusters moving into the state: a Texas property, casualty, and surety license does not authorize you to adjust a Texas workers' compensation claim.
Several other rules run opposite to what is taught nationally. A nonresident adjusting a catastrophe loss needs no license at all — § 4101.002(b) is a flat statutory exemption, and the 90-day emergency license is optional. The popular approved-course route does not waive examination: § 4101.056(a)(4) requires the course “and… passed an examination,” proctored by a disinterested third party who is neither your relative nor your subordinate. Your license then expires on your birthday in the even or odd year matching issuance, which means the first term is almost never twenty-four months — and the fee is not prorated for the short period. At least half of your twenty-four continuing education hours must be classroom, and the obligation attaches to you rather than to the license, so letting a license lapse does not clear the deficit.
On the claims side Texas built its own architecture. Chapter 541 has no general business practice element, so a single act supports the private action — and § 541.002(2) names adjusters in the definition of “person.” Then § 542A.006 lets a carrier facing a hail or wind suit elect to accept your liability, which dismisses you with prejudice and irrevocably — while your acts and omissions stay in evidence and the jury is never told the election happened. The same 2017 act gave chapter 542A claims their own prompt-payment interest rate, so Texas now runs two. And the fraud rules split in ways no one-word answer captures: the reporting duty is yours personally, running thirty days from reasonable suspicion, while the fraud warning is required on health and workers' compensation claim forms only — not on the auto and property claim forms an adjuster actually handles, and not on any application in any line.
Three licenses, two chapters — and the broadest license is just the other two. Ins. Code ch. 4101 licenses adjusters; ch. 4102 licenses public insurance adjusters under far stricter machinery. The license classes are not in the statute at all — they are in 28 TAC § 19.602(a), which means TDI can change them without a legislative session.
⚠⚠ “ALL LINES” IS NOT A BIGGER LICENSE — IT IS THE OTHER TWO HELD TOGETHER28 TAC § 19.602(a):“(1) all lines (issuance of ‘all lines’ adjuster’s license for those adjusters who qualify in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection); (2) property, casualty, and surety; and (3) workers’ compensation, employer’s liability, USL&H.” ⚠ A Texas “property, casualty, and surety” license does NOT authorize you to adjust a Texas workers’ compensation claim. In most states one P&C adjuster license carries comp as a matter of course. Here comp is a separate qualification. The surprise runs the other way too: the standalone comp license carries employer’s liability and USL&H with it.
⚠
⚠⚠ A NONRESIDENT WORKING A CATASTROPHE NEEDS NO LICENSE AT ALL
§ 4101.002(b): a nonresident adjuster is “not required to hold a license” to “(1) adjust a single loss in this state; (2) adjust losses arising out of a catastrophe common to all those losses; or (3) act as a temporary substitute for a licensed adjuster.” That is a flat statutory exemption — no application, no fee, no sponsor, no time limit written into it. The 90-day emergency license is a different instrument, taken by people who want a credential document because a carrier’s vendor panel asks for one. ⚠ Fifty-state charts say Texas requires an emergency license for catastrophe work. That is backwards. Two limits: the exemption is nonresident only, and it exempts you from ch. 4101 only — not from ch. 541 or ch. 542.
The definition — § 4101.001(a)(1)
What it reaches
(A) Investigates or adjusts
for an insurer, as an independent contractor or as an employee of an adjustment bureau, association, P&C agent, independent contractor, insurer or MGA
(B) Supervises
⚠
“supervises the handling of claims” — a standalone route. You need not touch a file
(C) Workers’ comp
⚠
investigates, adjusts, supervises or settles comp claims for an administrator or carrier
“Insurer” includes a self-insured
⚠
§ 4101.001(b) — a self-insured employer’s in-house claims supervisor is inside the Act
Exemption — § 4101.002(a)
The catch
Salaried insurer employee
only if not regularly engaged in claims
Technical assistance
only to furnish it — attorney, engineer, estimator, handwriting expert, photographer, private detective
Agent on an undisputed loss
⚠
under a policy that agent issued, and only while undisputed
Life, accident and health claims
⚠
§ 4101.002(c) carves comp back in — comp is not a health claim
Fraud investigator
⚠
who “does not adjust losses or determine claims payments”
Automated claims data entry
⚠
no more than 25 individuals per licensed supervisor — § 4101.002(a)(10)
De minimis first-party loss
⚠
$500 — a small loss OR a specified coverage limit of $500 or less
Trainee
⚠
12 months, but only if registered as a trainee first — § 4101.003
Marine average adjuster
⚠
out of all of Title 13 on payment of a $200 occupation tax — § 4001.002(b)(1)
⚠
⚠ “UNDISPUTED” IS NARROWER THAN IT SOUNDS — AND IT IS DEFINED
28 TAC § 19.603 defines “undisputed and/or uncontested losses” as losses “that do not involve negotiations between the parties on coverage, damage, or liability.” ⚠ The agent exemption does not survive until a claim turns acrimonious. It dies at the first negotiation on any one of three subjects. An agent who talks an insured down on scope of repair has negotiated damage and has left the exemption. The same rule defines “regularly” as “acting in the capacity of an adjuster as a routine part of established employment duties.”
Ch. 4101 adjuster
Ch. 4102 public adjuster
Whose side
the insurer’s
the insured’s
Exam waivers
four + reciprocity
one — reciprocity only
Felony
no statutory bar
resident 10 years; nonresident never convicted
Emergency license
yes, 90 days, $20
not offered
Financial responsibility
agencies only
every licensee — $10,000+ bond
Prescribed contract
no
yes, with a 72-hour rescission
Criminal penalty
fine ≤ $500, jail ≤ 6 mo
Class B misdemeanor
⚠ Texas closed the contractor loophole from BOTH ends, with different scopes.§ 4101.251 is roofing-specific and binds the insurer’s adjuster. § 4102.163 covers all contracting and binds the public adjuster. Both say holding the license does not save you, and § 4102.163 adds that a power of attorney does not either.
Two different Texas adjuster exams — and every conflicting number you have seen comes from mixing them. The state exam at Pearson VUE and the prelicensing course exam under 28 TAC § 19.1017 have the same question count and differ on everything else.
⚠⚠ SAME 150 QUESTIONS. DIFFERENT CLOCK. DIFFERENT PASSING STANDARD.State exam: 150 questions, 150 minutes, pass at a SCALED 70. Course exam: 150 questions, less than 180 minutes, pass at 70% answered correctly. ⚠ So “150 questions” is the one number you can state without qualification. “2.5 hours” is the state exam and is wrong for the course exam. “Pass at 70%” is the course exam and is wrong for the state exam.
⚠
⚠⚠ 70 IS A SCALED SCORE, NOT A PERCENTAGE
The candidate handbook: scores “can range from 0 to 100. The scaled score that is reported to you is neither the number of questions you answered correctly nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly. With a passing score of 70, any score below 70 indicates how close the candidate came to passing.” ⚠ A reported 68 does not mean 68 percent, and “I need 105 of 150” is not how this exam is scored. Retakes are generous: a failed candidate “can schedule for a new exam within one day” and “there is no limit to the number of attempts.” Candidates “leave the test center with their official scores in hand.”
State exam
Questions
Time
Fee
Adjuster — All Lines · InsTX-ALAdj16
150
150 min
$49
Adjuster — Property & Casualty · InsTX-PCA81
150
150 min
$49
Adjuster — Workers’ Comp · InsTX-WCAdj32
60
60 min
$29
Public Insurance Adjuster · InsTX-PbAdj17
100
120 min
$39
Why the counts look unpublished. Texas splits the specification across two documents. The candidate handbook carries exam codes, times and fees — its exam table has four columns and no question-count column at all. The separate content outlines publication carries the counts and the weights. Neither contains the other’s numbers. A reader who consults one and stops concludes the other figure does not exist.
⚠⚠ THE APPROVED COURSE DOES NOT WAIVE EXAMINATION§ 4101.056(a)(4) requires the applicant to have completed the course “and (B) passed an examination” — and § 4101.056(b) requires that exam to be taken “in a testing environment that is controlled, supervised, and proctored by a disinterested third party approved by the commissioner.” § 4101.056(c) defines the proctor: not related to the applicant as a first cousin or within the third degree, and not an employee or subordinate of the applicant. ⚠ The course substitutes one proctored exam for another. Anybody describing it as “take the course and skip the test” is describing something that has not existed since the proctoring machinery was added in 2013 (S.B. 569).
Exam waiver — 28 TAC § 19.602(b)
Note
CPCU designation
⚠
in the rule, not the statute — TDI can change it without a session
Associate in Claims (AIC)
⚠
same — rule only
TDI-approved course within 12 months
⚠
and a proctored course exam — not a waiver of examination
License expired >90 days but <1 year
the reinstatement route
License in good standing in a reciprocal state
§ 4101.056(a)(3)
⚠
⚠ FOUR WAIVERS FOR THE ADJUSTER. ONE FOR THE PUBLIC ADJUSTER.
§ 4102.058 gives the public insurance adjuster exactly one exemption — reciprocity — in two paragraphs. No CPCU. No AIC. No approved course. ⚠ Two credentials, same state, and the exam-waiver menu is four times longer for the one that works for the carrier.
All lines content outline — 28 TAC § 19.1018
Weight
I. General property insurance product knowledge
40%
Personal lines (incl. TX HO-A, HO-B, HO-C) · Commercial lines
10% · 10%
Additional coverages, exclusions, extensions
7%
Standard fire policy · Auto liability · Bonds
3% each
Inland marine · Ocean marine
2% each
II. Insurance terms and related concepts
40%
III. Texas statutes and rules
20%
Licensing requirements · Marketing practices
7% · 7%
Adjuster practices · Workers’ compensation
3% · 3%
⚠ Four fifths of the all lines exam is NOT Texas law. A candidate who prepares by memorizing the Insurance Code has studied for roughly 30 of 150 questions. The vocabulary block alone is 40% — equal to all product knowledge combined and double the entire Texas law section. And note that the outline still names HO-A, HO-B and HO-C — the pre-2003 promulgated forms kept alive by the § 2301.052(b) grandfather. The exam is telling you those forms are still on Texas roofs.
A license that expires on your birthday, and a CE rule with a classroom floor. § 4101.061 points to ch. 4003 for expiration and § 4101.059 points to ch. 4004 for the hours. Neither number is in the adjuster chapter. Read the pointer, then read what it points at.
⚠⚠ INDIVIDUALS EXPIRE ON THEIR BIRTHDAY. ENTITIES EXPIRE ON AN ANNIVERSARY.§ 4003.001(a) holds two different architectures in one subsection: “(1) the second anniversary of the date the license is issued to… a person that is not an individual; or (2)… for a license issued or renewed in an even-numbered year, the individual license holder’s birthday each even-numbered year…” ⚠ An individual Texas license is almost never exactly two years long, and the first term least of all. Licensed 3 March 2026 with a November birthday? About 32 months. With a February birthday? About 23 months. Same license, same day, nine months of difference.
⚠
⚠ TWO RIDERS THAT COST MONEY
§ 4003.001(c): if you hold more than one Texas license, they ALL expire on the earliest expiration date among them. § 4003.001(d): the commissioner may not prorate the initial application fee for the shortened term that results. You pay the full fee for a truncated first period. TDI must notice you 30 days before expiration — but to “the person’s last known mailing address.”§ 4001.252(a) puts the duty to report an address change on you, and failing to is itself fineable. Do not rely on the notice.
Expired for
What you may do
Cost
Exam?
0–90 days
Renew
renewal fee + one-half
No
>90 days, <1 year
May not renew — new license
license fee + one-half, plus $25
No
1 year or more
New license only
full original process
⚠ Yes
28 TAC § 19.602(e) adds the detail that catches people: the reexamination “must be completed within the 12 months preceding the application.” Passing a Texas exam three years ago does not help you. ⚠ But one route survives the one-year cliff.§ 4003.008 permits renewal without reexamination for a person who was licensed in Texas, moved to another state, and is currently licensed and in continual practice there. If you left Texas and kept working, say so.
⚠⚠ 24 HOURS — AND AT LEAST HALF CANNOT BE SELF-STUDY§ 4004.053(a):24 hours per license period, and holding more than one license does not raise it above 24. § 4004.054:three hours of ethics — inside the 24, not on top. § 4004.051(c):“At least 50 percent of all required continuing education hours must be completed in a classroom setting or a classroom equivalent setting approved by the department.” ⚠ At least 12 of the 24 cannot be self-study. This is the provision most often dropped from summaries. TDI: “not all self-study hours will apply.”
Continuing education
Texas
Hours per period
24
Ethics
3, inside the 24
Classroom minimum
⚠ 50% — at least 12 hours
Association membership credit
up to 4 hours — not toward classroom or ethics
Mandated content
ch. 541, ch. 547, Subch. A of ch. 542, the DTPA
Grace after the period ends
90 days, and the fine must be paid
Fine for a shortfall
⚠ $50 per hour not completed
Exemption
20 years continuous licensure
Claims certification alternative
§ 4101.062 — TDI shall accept a qualifying certification
⚠
⚠⚠ THE CE DEBT FOLLOWS THE PERSON, NOT THE LICENSE
TDI: “CE obligations apply to the individual, not the license. If later, you apply for a different license type or want to reactivate your old license, we will not issue any license to you until you’ve completed all missing CE hours and paid all penalty fines related to your name.” § 4004.055(b) is the statutory basis, and § 4004.055(c) forecloses the obvious argument: completing CE after expiration “is not a defense” in a disciplinary action. ⚠ You cannot let a license lapse to walk away from a CE deficit. It waits for you under the next application, of any type.
⚠ Nonresident CE splits THREE ways, and Texas inverts the usual answer for one class. TDI: a designated home state adjuster follows Texas rules; any other nonresident license follows the home state; and if the home state requires no CE, Texas rules apply. The hook is § 4101.060(c), a permissive waiver where the home state is “substantially equivalent” — and a DHS holder’s state, by definition, requires nothing equivalent.
Fee
Amount
Statutory cap
Application (resident, nonresident, agency, DHS)
$50
$50 — § 4101.057(a)
State exam, all lines / P&C
$49
⚠ $50 — priced $1 under
State exam, workers’ comp
$29
$50
State exam, public adjuster
$39
—
Late reinstatement fee
$25
—
Emergency license
$20
$20 — § 4101.101(e)
Public adjuster surety bond
$10,000+
by rule — § 4102.105
Texas mixes calendar and business days inside a single section — on purpose. Ch. 542, Subchapter B switches units from step to step. Ch. 551 is calendar throughout. Nothing in Texas lets you carry a habit from one chapter into another.
⚠ § 542.056 — BUSINESS days, after receiving all items for final proof of loss
Same, where arson is suspected
30
§ 542.056
Extension, after notifying of the reasons
45
⚠ not automatic — requires an affirmative notice inside the original window
Pay after notice of acceptance
5
⚠ § 542.057 — BUSINESS days
Delay triggering damages
60
§ 542.058
⚠
⚠ A DENIAL THAT DOES NOT STATE THE REASONS IS A VIOLATION BY ITSELF
§ 542.056:“If the insurer rejects the claim, the notice… must state the reasons for the rejection.” That is independent of whether the denial was right. And the 45-day extension is not automatic — the insurer must, within the original period, “notify the claimant of the reasons that the insurer needs additional time.”
Cancellation and nonrenewal — ch. 551
Days
All CALENDAR
COMMERCIAL cancellation notice
10
§ 551.053
COMMERCIAL nonrenewal notice
60
⚠ if late, coverage runs to the 61st day after the notice — § 551.054
COMMERCIAL mid-term cancellation window
60
first 60 days of the initial term only — § 551.052
PERSONAL cancellation effective
10
on the 10th day after mailing — § 551.104
PERSONAL nonrenewal notice
60
§ 551.105
PERSONAL free-look, HO and auto
60
other policies: 90 — § 551.104
Other clocks
Days
Runs from
Fraud report
30
⚠ reasonable suspicion — not proof, not denial
Bad faith presuit notice
61
before filing — ch. 541
Bad faith limitations
2 yr
+ a 180-day extension for good cause
Comp: pay or deny
15
written notice of injury — miss it and it is an administrative violation
Comp: contest compensability
60
⚠ notification — miss it and you WAIVE the defense
Emergency license certification
5
⚠ after the person BEGINS WORK — the clock runs forward
Public adjuster contract rescission
72 hr
from signature — § 4102.103(b)
Public adjuster policy-limit rule
72 hr
⚠ from the loss being reported — § 4102.104(b). A different clock
Suit on a first-party property claim
4 yr
default. Anything under 2 years is VOID — CPRC § 16.070
⚠ And Brainard suspends the biggest clock of all. Under Brainard v. Trinity Universal, 216 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. 2006), a UIM claim “is not presented until the trial court signs a judgment” fixing the tortfeasor’s negligence and underinsured status. Ch. 542 therefore does not start running. But it is a payment-timing rule, not a coverage position — write it as timing and handle the file as live.
The rules a multistate adjuster will get wrong — because Texas reversed them, not omitted them. Every row below is a place where the nationally-taught answer is affirmatively wrong in Texas.
⚠⚠ THE ELECTION THAT DISMISSES YOU WITH PREJUDICE — AND STILL TRIES YOUR FILECh. 542A governs first-party claims for damage to real property caused wholly or partly by forces of nature. § 542A.006 lets the insurer elect to accept whatever liability its agent might have — and “agent” includes you. “no cause of action exists against the agent… the court shall dismiss that action with prejudice” · “An insurer may not revoke, and a court may not nullify, an insurer’s election” ⚠ But your conduct is still tried.“evidence of the agent’s acts or omissions may be offered at trial… a judgment against the insurer must include any liability” — and “an insurer’s election… may not be made known to the jury.” You are out of the caption and still on trial in substance, and the jury never learns why your name left the case. Three limits: no election in receivership (h); you can still be deposed (d); a conditioned election is ineffective (e).
Issue
The national rule
TEXAS
Bad faith element
a general business practice is required
⚠ NO general business practice element. A SINGLE ACT violates — and § 541.002(2) names adjusters in the definition of “person”
⚠ § 542A.007 ratio — judgment ÷ presuit demand. ≥0.8 full fees. <0.2 NO fees. An inflated demand destroys the claimant’s own recovery
Workers’ comp
compulsory in 49 states
⚠⚠ ELECTIVE. A non-subscriber loses contributory negligence, assumption of risk and the fellow-servant rule, and keeps only intentional self-injury and intoxication
Comparative fault
50% bar — a tie loses
⚠ 51% bar — “greater than 50 percent.”A TIE RECOVERS, and the comparator is the whole, not any single defendant
UIM
sits excess of the tortfeasor
⚠ OFFSET, by amounts “recovered OR RECOVERABLE” — settling cheap does not preserve room. § 1952.106
Stacking
often permitted absent clear wording
⚠ anti-stacking MANDATED in the form — § 1952.104
Phantom vehicle
corroborated non-contact claims allowed
⚠ ACTUAL PHYSICAL CONTACT required by statute
UIM payability
owed on proof of loss
⚠ no duty until a JUDGMENT — Brainard. Demand and suit do not trigger it
Total loss
a published % (70/75/80)
⚠ NO PERCENTAGE. Repair cost vs ACV, excluding repaint and sales tax. Charts citing a Texas % invent it
Standard fire policy
many states mandate one
⚠ none. File-and-approve with a 60-day deemer; standard forms are optional; pre-11 June 2003 forms grandfathered
Valued policy
scope varies
⚠ YES but narrow: FIRE only, TOTAL loss only, REAL property only. § 862.053 says so expressly
Matching
~10 states have a statute
⚠ NOTHING. Policy wording and case law only — so the 2003 grandfather decides it
Suit limitation
policy clauses enforced as written
⚠ anything under 2 years is VOID (CPRC § 16.070) — except windstorm/hail in the catastrophe area, which may impose a 1-year claim FILING deadline
Appraisal
purely a policy condition
⚠ STATUTORY for personal auto and residential property — ch. 1813, forms from 1 Jan 2026. TWIA and commercial excluded
Fraud warning
“required” or “not required”
⚠ NEITHER. Health and comp claim forms only. Silent for auto and property claim forms. Silent for ALL applications
Fraud reporting
on the insurer or the SIU
⚠ on “a PERSON” — you owe it personally, in 30 days from reasonable suspicion, and it reaches fraud about to be committed
Guaranty claimant deductible
$100 (NAIC model)
⚠ NONE — “the full amount of a covered claim”
Guaranty comp cap
usually capped like other lines
⚠ UNCAPPED. $300,000 general; comp is “the full amount”
Guaranty derivative claims
separate caps per claimant
⚠ collapse into ONE $300,000 claim — § 462.213(c)
License expiration
a fixed term from issuance
⚠ individuals expire on their BIRTHDAY. Entities on the second anniversary. No fee proration
Course in lieu of exam
the course replaces the exam
⚠ it does NOT. It replaces the state exam with a proctored course exam
Catastrophe work
an emergency license
⚠ a STATUTORY EXEMPTION for a nonresident — no license at all. The emergency license is optional
P&C license covers comp
yes, in most states
⚠ NO. “All lines” is defined as qualifying in both lines
Day-count units
consistent within a code
⚠ inconsistent by design. § 542.056 is BUSINESS days; all of ch. 551 is CALENDAR
Public adjuster fee
a flat cap
⚠ 10% cap — but NO percentage at all if the insurer pays or commits in writing to the policy limit within 72 hours
Contractor bar
one bar, if any
⚠ TWO, with different scopes. § 4101.251 is roofing and binds the insurer’s adjuster; § 4102.163 is all contracting and binds the public adjuster
⚠
⚠⚠ THE FRAUD WARNING IS THE CLASSIC MISREPORTED TEXAS ANSWER
§ 704.002 requires the warning on a claim form — but only from a “plan issuer,” and § 704.001 defines that term in exactly THREE subdivisions: a health insurer, an approved nonprofit health corporation, or an insurer authorized to write workers’ compensation. No subdivision reaches property, casualty, automobile or homeowners insurers, and there is no catch-all. The list closes with “or” before (3). ⚠ So: REQUIRED on health, HMO and comp claim forms. SILENT for auto and property claim forms. SILENT for applications in every line.EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED for reinsurance. Neither one-word answer is correct. The same limit runs through § 704.051 — the antifraud plan is required only of a plan issuer, and § 704.053 makes filing permissive.
⚠ And the comp benefit rate LOCKS on the date of injury.§§ 408.061(g) and 408.062(c):“The maximum weekly income benefit in effect on the DATE OF INJURY is applicable for the entire time that income benefits are payable.” Rates do not escalate on 1 October for an open claim. Injuries from 1 Oct 2025: SAWW $1,271.05, TIBs $1,271 / $191, IIBs $890 / $191. A claimant injured 15 September 2025 stays on the prior year’s $1,219 / $183 for the life of the claim.
Ten Texas fact patterns — the inversions, not the definitions. Most of these turn on the same thing: a rule you correctly learned somewhere else.Read the feedback even when you are right.
Like learning this way? There's a whole library of them.
If the old manual you inherited from the office breakroom isn't cutting it and this
format fits how your brain actually works, you'll want the rest. There are
56 Interactive Mind Maps like this one in the
TESTivity Platinum Insurance Adjuster package — covering the full curriculum, right alongside
the practice questions, exam simulators, and study guides.
