The short answer: Tennessee regulates who represents you and what they charge more tightly than most states — public adjuster fees are capped at 15% if you hire one before the insurer's offer, or 25% of the increase if after, and no fee may be collected before you are paid. An insurer that refuses in bad faith to pay within 60 days of a formal demand risks a penalty of up to 25%. Fifteen claim practices are flatly prohibited. And the clock is real: TDCI Rule 0780-01-05 gives insurers 30 days to acknowledge a claim, 60 days to accept or deny after proof of loss, and 30 days to pay what they accept.
§ 56-6-913
§ 56-6-913
§ 56-7-105
§ 56-8-105
Tennessee claim law in one pass
Tennessee's property-claim rules cluster around three ideas: strict limits on what claim representatives can charge, a list of insurer conduct the state prohibits, and a bad-faith penalty with a precise procedure attached.
Fees and representation. Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-6-913 is one of the most consumer-protective fee statutes in the region. Hire a public adjuster before the carrier makes a settlement offer and the fee is capped at 15 percent of the total proceeds. Hire one after an offer is on the table and the fee is capped at 25 percent of the increase — the difference between the carrier's last offer before the contract and the final result. A narrow third tier caps fees at 10 percent on a catastrophe total loss of a home mortgaged at 100 percent of its appraised value, within the mortgage's first twelve months. And subsection (d) flatly bars any adjuster from taking any fee, retainer, or deposit before your claim settles. Commercial policies are exempt. Adjuster licensing and the public-complaint procedure are further governed by Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 0780-01-91; contract requirements live in the statute itself.
The conduct rules. Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-8-105 prohibits 15 specific claim practices: misrepresenting policy provisions, refusing to pay without a reasonable investigation, failing to affirm or deny coverage within a reasonable time after proof of loss, failing to promptly give a reasonable and accurate explanation for a denial, and more. One hard number hides in the list — the insurer must send you claim forms within 15 calendar days of your request. Know the honest catch: Tennessee courts have held there is no private lawsuit under this statute. It is enforced by the state's insurance regulator, which is exactly why a documented complaint to the Department of Commerce and Insurance carries real weight.
The bad-faith penalty. Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-105 makes an insurer that refuses in bad faith to pay a loss within 60 days of a demand liable for the loss plus up to 25 percent more, measured by the additional expense, loss, and injury — including attorney fees — the refusal inflicted. Palmer v. Nationwide (1986) is the checklist case: policy due and payable, formal demand made, 60 days waited, refusal not in good faith. The lawsuit itself is attorney work; the record it stands on — the documentation, the demand, the carrier's blown obligations — is public adjuster work, done first.
Disputing the number. When the carrier admits coverage but the estimate is wrong, Tennessee policies carry an appraisal clause. Merrimack v. Batts (2001) draws the boundary: appraisers set the amount of the loss; coverage and causation stay with the courts.
Tennessee claim-law guides
Each guide below answers one question in depth, with the statute quoted and linked in full:
Where Tennessee protects you well — and the one gap to know about
Credit where due: Tennessee's fee tiers are genuinely good for policyholders. The 15 percent pre-offer cap is less than half of Georgia's 33⅓ percent ceiling, the 25-percent-of-the-increase tier means an adjuster hired late only earns on the value actually added, and the no-fee-before-settlement rule means you never write a check on hope. When we take a Tennessee claim, those caps are the law of our contract — and our model is contingency inside them: no recovery, no fee.
The difference is where the calendar lives. Georgia's day-counts sit in one property-claims regulation; Tennessee's sit in TDCI Rule 0780-01-05 — 30 days to acknowledge, 60 days to accept or deny after proof of loss, 30 days to pay — enforced by the Commissioner rather than sued on directly. The practical consequence is the same in both states: your leverage comes from a documented file — dated notices, dated proof of loss, dated follow-ups — a regulator complaint when the record shows a violation, and the 60-day demand that arms the bad-faith penalty.
The bad-faith penalty has a procedural trap. Under Palmer v. Nationwide, filling out the insurer's claim forms is not a demand — the penalty requires a real, formal demand for payment, then a 60-day wait before suit. Miss either step and the penalty claim dies no matter how badly the claim was handled. Send the demand in writing, dated, early.
How Tennessee compares to Georgia
We hold public adjuster licenses in Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. Side by side:
| Rule | Tennessee | Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| Public adjuster fee cap | 15% before the insurer's offer; 25% of the increase after; 10% catastrophe total-loss; no fee before settlement | 33⅓% of the settlement |
| Bad-faith penalty | Up to 25%, after a 60-day demand | Up to 50% of the loss or $5,000, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees, after a 60-day demand |
| Claim-handling deadlines | Reasonable promptness; claim forms within 15 calendar days of request | Fixed by regulation: 15-day acknowledgment, 60-day decision cap, 10-day payment |
| Unfair claims practices | 15 prohibited acts (§ 56-8-105) | 16 prohibited acts (O.C.G.A. § 33-6-34) |
Tennessee wins on fee protection; Georgia wins on deadlines and penalty size. The full Georgia picture — including shorter policy clauses that may still control outside Act 635's July 1, 2027 applicability boundary — is on our Georgia claim law hub, and Georgia homeowners staring at a denial can go straight to the denied roof claim playbook.
The Tennessee 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 15 are free to read in the Tennessee case-law collection.
Questions Tennessee policyholders ask us
How long does an insurance company have to pay a claim in Tennessee?
Tennessee's day-counts live in a regulation: TDCI Rule 0780-01-05 requires the insurer to acknowledge your claim within 30 days, accept or deny it within 60 days of your completed proof of loss (with written explanations for any extension), and tender payment within 30 days of accepting liability. Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-8-105 adds a reasonable-promptness duty and requires claim forms within 15 calendar days of your request. Our deadlines guide walks the whole clock.
What is Tennessee's bad-faith penalty?
Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-105 makes an insurer that refuses in bad faith to pay a loss within 60 days of a demand liable for the loss plus a penalty of up to 25 percent. Palmer v. Nationwide (1986) sets the four things a policyholder must prove: the policy was due and payable, a formal demand was made, 60 days passed before suit (unless the carrier refused sooner), and the refusal was not in good faith. The action itself is a lawsuit — attorney work — but it is won on the record built before filing.
How much can a public adjuster charge in Tennessee?
Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-6-913 sets tiers: 15 percent of the settlement if you hire the adjuster before the insurer makes an offer, 25 percent of the increase over the insurer's last offer if you hire one after, and 10 percent on a catastrophe total loss of a home mortgaged at 100 percent of appraised value within the mortgage's first year. No fee of any kind may be demanded before your claim settles. Commercial policies are exempt from the caps.
Do I have to accept my insurance company's estimate in Tennessee?
No. When coverage is admitted and the dispute is about the number, your policy's appraisal clause lets you demand a valuation by independent appraisers. Merrimack v. Batts (2001) draws the Tennessee line: appraisers decide the amount of the loss, while coverage and causation questions stay with the courts.
How do I file a complaint against an insurance company in Tennessee?
Through Consumer Insurance Services at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. Because Tennessee courts have held there is no private lawsuit under the unfair claims practices statute, the complaint lane is how § 56-8-105 violations actually get enforced — our complaint guide walks through it step by step.
Does Tennessee's public adjuster fee cap apply to business claims?
No. The final sentence of Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-6-913(a) exempts commercial insurance from the fee caps. The caps protect residential policyholders; commercial fees are set by contract.
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.
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