About Dallas Public Adjuster

An insurance claim is supposed to help you recover after property damage. Too often it turns into weeks of phone tag, requests for more documents, and an estimate that does not come close to what a contractor says the repair will cost. Dallas Public Adjuster gives homeowners and business owners in Dallas, Dallas County, and nearby North Texas cities a licensed professional on their side of that process: a public adjuster who works only for the policyholder.

After a spring hailstorm or a hard freeze, your insurance company sends its own adjuster, and often a reviewer and an estimator behind them. Their job is to evaluate the claim for the insurer. Ours is to make sure your loss is documented fully and presented accurately under the policy you paid for.

Who runs Dallas Public Adjuster

Dallas Public Adjuster is a public adjusting service of Rise Public Adjusting LLC, licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI license #3356839). We do not keep a storefront office. We serve Dallas, Dallas County, and surrounding North Texas communities by meeting clients at the damaged property, where the claim actually starts.

Meet Joseph Dittman

Claims are led by Joseph Dittman, a licensed Texas public adjuster, certified insurance appraiser, insurance umpire, and expert witness. His background includes carrier-side adjusting, public adjusting, appraisal work, expert witness support, and hands-on construction experience, across residential, commercial, storm, hail, wind, water, fire, hurricane, and catastrophe losses.

Each part of that background helps in a different way. Adjusting for insurers shows how a carrier estimate gets built and where it tends to come up short. Appraisal and umpire work shows how disputed amounts are settled. Construction experience helps answer the practical question underneath every claim: what does this repair really involve? Joseph also writes and reviews the guides on this site.

You can reach Joseph directly at jditt@risepublicadjusting.com or by phone at +1 (832) 503-5866.

Who we serve in Dallas County

Dallas County covers a lot of ground, and the property risks change from one neighborhood to the next. A hail-battered composition roof in Lake Highlands, a burst pipe under an older pier-and-beam house in Lakewood, a kitchen fire in a Park Cities Tudor, and wind-peeled TPO on a warehouse near the Trinity all raise different coverage and repair questions. We work with:

• Homeowners dealing with storm, fire, water, or structural damage
• Business owners facing property losses and interrupted operations
• Property managers handling apartment, multi-unit, or commercial claims
• Landlords sorting out coverage questions on rental properties

Our claim services page breaks this down by loss type, with separate pages for residential property claims and commercial property claims. We also serve the cities on our service areas page, from Highland Park and Richardson to Garland and Irving.

Insurance company adjuster vs. public adjuster

Most people meet an insurance adjuster for the first time after a loss, and that adjuster works for the insurance company. A public adjuster is licensed to represent the policyholder on the same claim. The difference looks like this:

For more on how this plays out after a storm, read public adjuster vs. insurance adjuster for hail claims in Texas or what is a public claims adjuster?

How Texas regulates public adjusters

Public adjusting is a licensed, regulated profession in Texas. The Texas Department of Insurance oversees public adjusters under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 4102. The rules that matter most to you:

• Written contract. Representation begins only with a written contract on TDI-approved terms. Fees are disclosed in a written contract before any work begins; Texas law caps public adjuster compensation at 10% of the insurance settlement.
• 72-hour rescission. You may cancel within 72 hours of signing.
• "We represent the insured only." Every Texas public adjuster contract must state it.
• No repair conflicts. A public adjuster may not take part in repairing or rebuilding a property on a claim they adjust.

Before you sign with anyone, look up their license on the TDI website. We encourage it.

Our six-step claim process

We do not use claim templates or shortcuts. Each property, policy, and loss is handled on its own facts, but the work generally follows six steps:

1. Initial consultation. We talk through what happened, where the claim stands, and whether a public adjuster is likely to help. This is the Free Claim Review.
2. Property inspection. A thorough look at visible and hidden damage: roof, exterior, interior, and building systems. Documentation often includes Xactimate estimating software and Matterport 3D imaging.
3. Policy analysis. We read your declarations page, coverages, endorsements, deductibles (including any separate wind/hail deductible), and exclusions.
4. Claim preparation. A detailed estimate and supporting file, organized so the insurer can follow it line by line.
5. Negotiation. We communicate with the insurer, answer its requests, and pursue supplements or appraisal when the facts support it.
6. Resolution. We stay with the claim until it is resolved, including follow-up on recoverable depreciation where the policy provides it.

You will know who is handling your claim and what comes next at every step.

Clear communication

The complaint we hear most from Dallas policyholders is simple: "I don't know where my claim stands." We make communication part of the job:

• An honest assessment of the claim's strengths and weak spots
• Regular updates as the claim moves
• Plain explanations of timelines and next steps
• Straight answers, even when they are not the ones you hoped for

Sometimes the honest answer is that you do not need us. If the insurer's offer looks fair, or the damage is small next to your deductible, we will say so.

Ethics: what we will and will not do

We never:

• Inflate damage or add items that are not part of the loss
• Misrepresent facts to an insurer
• Promise a specific settlement or outcome
• Pressure anyone into signing

We do:

• Present legitimate claims thoroughly and accurately
• Answer unsupported denials with documentation
• Hold the claim to the terms of your policy

We are also clear about our limits. We are not attorneys: we do not give legal advice or handle lawsuits, and if your situation calls for a lawyer we will tell you to consult a Texas attorney. We are not contractors: you keep full control over who repairs your property.

When to call a Dallas public adjuster

Some people call after they have already accepted a settlement based on an incomplete estimate. Others call early and avoid the common mistakes. It is worth reaching out if:

• Your claim was denied or underpaid
• The insurer keeps delaying or reassigning adjusters
• You are being asked for extensive documentation and are not sure what to send
• The loss is large, complicated, or involves hidden damage
• You want an independent review of the insurer's estimate before you accept it

Help is available at most stages of a claim, though your policy's deadlines still apply.

Our commitment to Dallas

North Texas weather keeps claims coming. Dallas County hail peaks in April and May, with a season that runs from March through June and a smaller bump in October. The county has seen grapefruit-size hail in Irving (May 2011), the EF4 Garland/Rowlett tornado (December 2015), an EF3 tornado through north Dallas (October 2019), Winter Storm Uri's burst pipes (February 2021), the August 2022 flash flood, and the May 28, 2024 windstorm that the National Weather Service found reached up to 95 mph in Garland. Our Dallas storm history page covers the NOAA record in more detail.

The local building stock matters too: brick-veneer homes with composition shingle roofs, slab foundations on expansive Blackland Prairie clay, older pier-and-beam houses in the M Streets and Oak Cliff, mid-century ranches in Lake Highlands, and low-slope commercial roofs on apartments and warehouses. Knowing how those buildings get damaged, and how insurers tend to scope that damage, is part of the work.

Our commitment is simple: communicate clearly, act ethically, document carefully, and give you an honest read on your claim. Start with a Free Claim Review, call +1 (832) 503-5866, or contact us.