The short answer: South Carolina is a valued policy state — a building totally destroyed by fire is owed the full amount on the policy's face (§ 38-75-20). Insurer misconduct runs into the improper claim practices statute (§ 38-59-20), its penalties (§ 38-59-30), and a statute that shifts your attorney's fees onto a carrier whose refusal to pay was unreasonable (§ 38-59-40). Public adjusting requires a license under the current Chapter 92, which caps compensation and reimbursement at 10% and prohibits advance payment (§ 38-92-120(E)).
S.C. Code § 38-75-20
Tyger River Pine Co.
S.C. Code § 38-59-40
S.C. Code § 38-92-120(E)
South Carolina claim law in one pass
South Carolina's rules live in three places: a valued-policy statute that fixes what a total fire loss is worth, a set of conduct statutes that police how insurers handle claims, and a licensing chapter that controls who may represent you.
The valued policy. S.C. Code § 38-75-20 is the state's bluntest protection: when a building insured against fire is totally destroyed by fire, the insurer owes the amount written on the policy. Not an adjusted number, not a depreciated one — the face amount. Carriers underwrite that value when they take the premium, and the statute holds them to it when the worst happens.
The conduct rules. S.C. Code § 38-59-20 defines improper claim practices — the recognizable repertoire of misrepresenting coverage, failing to investigate, and refusing reasonable settlements — with penalties under § 38-59-30. When a carrier's refusal to pay crosses into unreasonable, § 38-59-40 can shift the policyholder's attorney's fees onto the insurer. Behind all of it stands Tyger River Pine Co. v. Maryland Casualty (1933) — the South Carolina decision that established insurer liability for bad-faith refusal to settle and became a foundation the rest of the country built on. Straight talk: the bad-faith action itself is a lawsuit, filed by a policyholder attorney; a public adjuster's job is the documented record that wins it.
Who may represent you. Act 209 of 2026 created the current S.C. Code ch. 38-92. Public adjusting now requires a license (§ 38-92-20); compensation and reimbursement may not exceed 10%, and no advance payment is allowed (§ 38-92-120(E)). Contracts must contain the statutory terms (§§ 38-92-130(A)-(B)), and a separate claim-process disclosure must be given before signature (§ 38-92-130(F)). The insured may rescind within five business days, with anything of value returned within fifteen business days after notice (§§ 38-92-130(I)-(J)). A repair contractor may not evade the licensing rules through a power of attorney (§ 38-92-130(K)), and unlicensed public-adjuster activity is a fraudulent insurance act (§ 38-92-140). The chapter also requires objectivity and complete loyalty to the insured (§ 38-92-170).
If the policy contains an applicable appraisal clause and the dispute falls within the valuation questions assigned to the panel, either party may demand appraisal under that clause. Harwell v. Home Mutual (1956) held the insured's action premature on its particular clause and record after the insured refused the insurer's demand. Our South Carolina appraisal guide walks the sequence.
Read the statutes in full
Every South Carolina authority cited above sits on our shelf, complete and linked to official sources:
The South Carolina lines that surprise people
The valued-policy surprise cuts the policyholder's way. After a total fire loss, carriers sometimes reach for depreciation math out of habit. In South Carolina that argument is over before it starts: the statute fixes the recovery at the policy's face amount. If a carrier is recalculating a total fire loss downward, it is arguing against the code section itself — read it in full.
The current public-adjuster chapter is built around clean roles and informed consent. The person handling public-adjuster work must be licensed; a repair contractor cannot get around that rule through a power of attorney. The fee is capped, advance payment is barred, the contract and separate disclosure must explain the arrangement, and the public adjuster owes complete loyalty to the insured. We are the public adjuster and never the contractor — the separation is the point, and it is why contractors across our footprint hand us the claim side of their book instead of touching it themselves.
Wherever your property sits, read the policy's own suit deadline when a claim goes sideways. Do not assume negotiations extend it; the policy and governing law control, and deadline questions belong with counsel.
The South Carolina decisions that decide these fights
Statutes set the rules; courts say what they mean. Every decision below is published here in the court's own words — the complete opinion, not a summary, with no firm commentary added. All 44 are free to read in the South Carolina case-law collection.
Questions South Carolina policyholders ask us
What is a valued policy state, and is South Carolina one?
Yes. Under S.C. Code § 38-75-20, when a building insured against fire is totally destroyed by fire, the insurer owes the full amount stated on the policy — not a depreciated recalculation after the fact. The number on the declarations page is the number, and the time to argue about a building's value was when the policy was written, not after it burned.
Can my roofing contractor negotiate my insurance claim in South Carolina?
A contractor may discuss the repair work, but public adjusting is licensed work under S.C. Code § 38-92-20. A property repair contractor may not sidestep that licensing requirement by taking a power of attorney (§ 38-92-130(K)). Your contractor builds. A licensed public adjuster prepares, presents, and negotiates the claim.
Does South Carolina have a bad-faith law?
South Carolina helped invent the field: Tyger River Pine Co. v. Maryland Casualty (1933) established an insurer's liability for bad-faith refusal to settle, decades before most states followed. Today the pressure points are the improper claim practices statute (S.C. Code § 38-59-20), its penalty provision (§ 38-59-30), and a fee-shifting statute (§ 38-59-40) that puts the policyholder's attorney's fees on an insurer whose refusal to pay was unreasonable. The bad-faith suit itself is attorney work — our job is building the documented record that makes it winnable.
How does the appraisal clause work in South Carolina?
If the policy contains an applicable appraisal clause and the dispute falls within the valuation questions assigned to the panel, either party may demand appraisal under that clause. Harwell v. Home Mutual (1956) held the insured's action premature on its record because the policy made a demanded appraisal a condition precedent and the insured refused. The exact policy and claim record control; our South Carolina appraisal guide covers the sequence.
This is a fight you shouldn't run alone. A free, confidential case review by a licensed public adjuster takes four quick moves — and if we take the case, you pay nothing unless we recover.
See if my case qualifies 877-650-3515