Three jobs with one title
A staff adjuster is an employee of an insurer and handles that insurer's claims. An independent adjuster is a contractor or an employee of an adjusting firm, and handles claims for whichever insurers assign them. A public adjuster works for the policyholder and is paid from the settlement. All three inspect losses and negotiate claims, but they sit on different sides of the file.
Where the data draws a line
States issue public adjuster licenses as a separate class. In our adjuster file that becomes the is_public_adjuster flag, and adjuster_types lists every type on the person's record. Someone can hold both a public adjuster license and a company or independent license, usually in different states, and will show both.
Where it cannot
No licensing record separates staff adjusters from independents: the license is the same. Use business_name and the domain of business_email instead. An insurer's name or domain points to a staff adjuster. An adjusting firm, a third-party administrator or a personal mailbox points to an independent. Treat the result as a working guess and expect exceptions.
Match the segment to the offer
Recruiters for adjusting firms usually want experienced independents with several licenses. Claims software vendors often start with the firms that employ many adjusters. Contractors and estimating tools look for public adjusters. Filter first, then check a small set of records by hand before you scale a campaign.