You need a public adjuster if you want someone licensed to negotiate your claim value on your behalf. You need a contractor who writes estimates in Xactimate if you want the repair scope priced correctly in the same software your insurance carrier uses to price it. Most Georgia homeowners with roof or storm damage actually need the second one first, and only need the first if the carrier won’t move on a fair number.
Do You Need a Public Adjuster or a Contractor Who Knows Xactimate?
A public adjuster is a licensed professional who represents you, the policyholder, in disputes with your insurance company, and in Georgia they typically work on contingency, commonly 10% to 20% of the settlement. A contractor who is Xactimate-certified writes your repair scope in the exact estimating software nearly every property insurance carrier uses to price claims, so the numbers can be compared line by line instead of argued about in general terms. Integrity CRR, a Georgia general contractor (GA GC license #GCCO009212, FL CGC1539499), holds the highest level of Haag Certified Reviewer, which requires Xactimate certification, and writes every roofing estimate in-house rather than farming it out to a separate estimator.
The two roles are licensed differently in Georgia. A public adjuster’s license comes from the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner and covers negotiating the dollar amount of a claim. A contractor’s license covers building the repair and, as part of that work, documenting and pricing the damage. Georgia law (O.C.G.A. 10-1-393.12) specifically bars a residential roofing contractor from offering or advertising to negotiate a claim on a homeowner’s behalf — that line matters, and it’s why Integrity writes the scope and submits supplements but does not represent you in a dispute with the carrier.
What a Public Adjuster Actually Does
A public adjuster inspects the damage, prepares or reviews the claim on your behalf, and negotiates directly with the insurance company’s adjuster to reach a settlement number. That negotiation is licensed work in Georgia, separate from construction, and it’s the right tool when a claim has already been denied, lowballed, or when a homeowner doesn’t want to deal with the carrier directly at all. Public adjusters don’t perform repairs. Once the claim is settled, you still need a contractor to build the work, which means paying the contingency fee on top of the repair cost — on a $30,000 claim, a 15% fee is $4,500 out of the settlement before repairs even start.
What an Xactimate-Certified Contractor Actually Does
A contractor who is Xactimate-certified inspects the property the same way an insurance adjuster does, documents every area of damage with photos and measurements, and writes the repair scope in the carrier’s own line-item format. That scope gets laid beside the insurance company’s estimate, so it’s immediately clear which items are missing, undersized, or priced below the local market rate. When the carrier’s estimate is short, the contractor documents the gap and submits a supplement request — the standard, non-licensed way to correct a claim without hiring separate negotiation help.
Ask any contractor bidding an insurance job whether they price the claim directly in Xactimate or hand it to someone else — if it’s someone else, there’s a hand-off between the person who inspected the damage and the person who priced it, and that’s where line items get lost.
How Integrity CRR Handles Xactimate In-House
Most contractors send a rough estimate in their own format and then argue with the adjuster in general terms when the number comes back low. Integrity CRR’s in-house Haag-certified reviewer writes the scope directly in Xactimate, so the comparison happens line by line instead of format to format. Because Integrity also holds the GC licenses to do the work (GA GCCO009212, FL CGC1539499), the same company that writes the estimate also builds the repair, so nothing gets lost translating one company’s scope into another company’s price.
Once your claim is approved, Integrity CRR guarantees you get the full value of it. The in-house Xactimate staff writes every item of justified, claimable damage into the scope, including the things carriers routinely miss or leave off: code-required upgrades, detached structures, and the labor and materials that only show up once the roof is opened. If the approved estimate turns out short once work starts, Integrity documents the gap and pursues the supplement as the contractor of record. That guarantee covers the completeness of the scope Integrity writes, not the carrier’s decision. What your policy actually covers is between you and your insurance company, and Integrity does not negotiate, adjust, or settle a claim on your behalf. That is licensed public adjuster work in Georgia, and it is a different job from writing an accurate scope and building the repair.
When You Actually Need Both
Some claims genuinely need both. If a carrier has denied a claim outright, if a homeowner and carrier are already in a dispute over cause of loss (storm damage versus wear and tear, for example), or on a larger commercial loss with multiple buildings or business-interruption components, a public adjuster’s negotiating leverage can be worth the contingency fee. In that situation, an Xactimate-certified contractor’s line-item scope becomes the documentation the public adjuster uses to make the case.
For the more common situation, an accurate Georgia storm or roof claim that hasn’t been formally disputed yet, starting with a contractor who can write and defend the Xactimate scope resolves most underpayment issues without a second fee coming out of the settlement. And if you’ve already signed with a public adjuster, that doesn’t lock you out of a second opinion on the repair scope — the public adjuster negotiates the settlement, but you’re still free to choose which licensed contractor builds the work, and a contractor’s Xactimate line items can support what the public adjuster is already arguing.
The Process, Start to Finish
- Inspection — the contractor documents all storm or hail damage with photos, measurements, and notes, matching what an insurance adjuster looks for.
- Scope written in Xactimate — every repair line item is priced in the carrier’s own software, not a generic bid format.
- Adjuster meeting — the contractor meets the insurance adjuster on site (or reviews their estimate against the contractor’s own) to compare numbers.
- Supplementing — any missing or underpriced item gets documented and submitted back to the carrier as a supplement request.
- Scope of repair — once the claim is settled, the same company that wrote the estimate performs the roofing work, since Integrity CRR self-performs roofing with its own crews.
Roof replacement costs in the metro Atlanta market span a wide range depending on roof size, pitch, and material — those are general market figures, not an Integrity CRR quote, and an actual number requires an on-site estimate. That range is exactly why a complete Xactimate scope matters: if the carrier’s estimate is priced off the wrong roof size or missing a line item like decking replacement or code-required underlayment, the gap between what’s approved and what the job actually costs can be significant.
Integrity CRR is a service-disabled veteran-owned general contractor based in Atlanta, serving Georgia and Florida. Roofing is self-performed in-house; on other trades like commercial build-outs and public works, Integrity manages vetted subcontractors as the GC. For storm and hail claims specifically, see storm restoration and roofing. You can review the team’s credentials on the about page, or see finished work on the projects page.
If you’re in Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Roswell, or anywhere else in metro Atlanta and you’re not sure which route makes sense for your claim, call (833) 423-6255 and ask for a free inspection before you sign anything with a public adjuster. Contact Integrity CRR to get the Xactimate scope written first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a contractor also be a public adjuster in Georgia?
No. Public adjusting and construction are separate licensed activities in Georgia. Integrity CRR is a licensed general contractor (GA GCCO009212, FL CGC1539499), not a public adjuster, and does not negotiate or settle claims on a homeowner’s behalf. Integrity writes the repair scope in Xactimate and documents supplements, which is contractor work, not adjusting.
How much does a public adjuster cost in Georgia?
Public adjusters generally work on contingency, commonly in the range of 10% to 20% of the final claim settlement, though the exact fee is set case by case. That fee comes out of the settlement in addition to whatever the repair itself costs, which is why many homeowners try an accurate Xactimate scope first.
What is Xactimate and why does it matter for my claim?
Xactimate is the estimating software nearly every property insurance carrier uses to price repair claims. When a contractor writes the scope in Xactimate instead of a generic bid format, the two estimates can be compared line by line, which makes it obvious where items are missing or underpriced instead of relying on a general argument.
Does Integrity CRR negotiate directly with my insurance adjuster?
Integrity CRR meets with the insurance adjuster on site and compares its Xactimate-written scope against the carrier’s estimate, and documents and submits supplements for anything missing or underpriced. That is contractor documentation work, not licensed negotiation or settlement on the homeowner’s behalf, which stays with a public adjuster if one is involved.
Is a public adjuster worth it for a small roof claim?
It depends on whether the claim is actually in dispute. If the carrier hasn’t denied or lowballed it, a contingency fee on a small claim can cost more than the underpayment an accurate Xactimate scope would have fixed for free. Public adjusters earn their fee on claims with real disagreement over cause of loss or coverage; on a straightforward claim, getting the scope written correctly first is usually the cheaper route.
Can I hire a contractor and a public adjuster at the same time?
Yes, and on a denied or heavily disputed claim it can make sense — the contractor’s line-item Xactimate scope becomes documentation the public adjuster uses in negotiation. If you’ve already signed with a public adjuster, you’re still free to choose which licensed contractor prices and builds the repair; the public adjuster’s role stays limited to negotiating the settlement.