Utah Adjuster Practice Test

Correct answer: B. None, because salaried insurer employees are exempt from licensing

Utah Code 31A-26-201(2)(a) exempts an individual who adjusts as a regular salaried employee of an insurer, not as an independent contractor, and the Utah Insurance Department says it does not license staff or company adjusters at all. An independent adjuster license is for people who adjust for insurers on a contract basis, and a public adjuster represents insureds, not the insurer.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-201(2)(a); Utah Insurance Department, Licenses With Special Requirements (Adjuster)

Correct answer: D. An independent contractor hired by an insurer to settle storm claims

Section 31A-26-201(2) exempts attorneys acting for a client, arbitrators and umpires chosen by the claimant and insurer, and people such as engineers, estimators and photographers who only gather facts or give technical help to a licensed adjuster. The staff adjuster exemption covers regular salaried employees of an insurer and expressly excludes independent contractors, so a contractor settling storm claims needs an independent adjuster license.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-201(2)

Correct answer: A. A licensed adjuster who acts for insureds and claimants under their policies

Section 31A-26-102 defines a public adjuster as a person required to be licensed who adjusts as a representative of insureds and claimants. An independent adjuster is licensed and represents one or more insurers, and a company adjuster is an insurer's employee who negotiates or settles claims for that insurer or an affiliate. Utah licenses independent and public adjusters but not company adjusters.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-102(1), (5) and (9)

Correct answer: C. Workers' compensation

The independent adjuster classifications in 31A-26-204(1) are accident and health, property and casualty (which expressly includes surety and other bonds), crop, and workers' compensation. Each has its own Prometric exam, for example 17-11 for property and casualty and 17-27 for workers' compensation. Inland marine and auto physical damage claims fall within the property and casualty class rather than standing alone.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-204(1); Prometric Utah Licensing Information Bulletin, Types of Licenses

Correct answer: D. Within 90 days, or he must retake 17-11

The Prometric Licensing Information Bulletin for Utah warns that the application and fee must be submitted within 90 days of passing; after 90 days the licensing exam must be retaken before a license is issued. Applications are filed electronically through Sircon or NIPR, often at the test center kiosk right after testing. A 12-month window is used by some other states, not Utah.

Reference: Prometric, Utah Insurance Department Licensing Information Bulletin (effective September 25, 2025), Apply for Your License

Correct answer: A. Apply within 90 days of establishing legal residence in Utah

Section 31A-26-207(3) gives a licensee who moves to Utah 90 days after establishing legal residence to apply, and lines held in the prior state can then be obtained without new prelicensing or examination requirements. The Department's transfer steps also require cancelling the old resident license first, because Utah will not issue a resident license while another one is active, and Utah fingerprinting. Utah has no adjuster prelicensing course.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-207(3); Utah Insurance Department, Transferring from Another State

Correct answer: C. Utah can issue it based on his designated home state license

Section 31A-26-208(1) directs the commissioner to waive license requirements and issue a nonresident license when the applicant holds a license in good standing from a home state or designated home state that treats Utah residents the same way. Section 31A-26-102 defines the designated home state for adjusters whose resident state does not license adjusters. The Department says these applications go by email or fax rather than electronically.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-208(1) and 31A-26-102(2); Utah Insurance Department, Non-Resident Adjuster Licensing

Correct answer: A. 24 hours with 3 of ethics and half in classroom study

Section 31A-26-206(2)(b) requires 24 credit hours every two years, 3 of them in ethics, with at least half completed through classroom hours of insurance-related instruction; the Department counts classroom-equivalent courses toward that half. Hours can be earned any time during the period. Title insurance adjusters need only 12 hours, and nonresidents who meet their home state's requirement are treated as compliant.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-206(2) and (6); Utah Insurance Department, Continuing Education

Correct answer: B. Only 12 of the insurer hours count, and no hours carry over

Rule R590-142-4(2)(c) lets insurer-provided courses satisfy no more than half of the required hours, so only 12 of Tomas's 15 insurer hours count toward the 24-hour requirement; with his 15 other hours he still has 27 qualifying hours. Under R590-142-4(1)(a), hours beyond the requirement cannot be carried over to a later period, and a course may not be taken for credit twice in one period.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-142-4(1) and (2)

Correct answer: D. February 28, 2029

Rule R590-244-9(2) says a new individual license expires on the last day of the licensee's birth month following the two-year anniversary of the issue date. The anniversary is June 15, 2028, and her next birth month after that is February 2029, so the license runs to February 28, 2029, about 32 months. That is why the Department says a first term can last 24 to 35 months; later renewals run two years.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-244-9(2) and (3); Utah Insurance Department, How Long Are Licenses Valid

Correct answer: B. Meet renewal requirements, including CE, and pay a reinstatement fee

Rule R590-244-10 allows a license inactive for one year or less after expiration to be reinstated if the applicant meets every renewal requirement, including continuing education, and pays a reinstatement fee; Utah Code 31A-26-213(2) likewise allows a lapsed license to be reinstated within one year. After one year he must apply as a new applicant, and he may not adjust claims while the license is inactive.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-244-10(1) to (3) and R590-244-9(9); Utah Code 31A-26-213(2)

Correct answer: A. It must be sought within a week of starting work and lasts up to 90 days

Section 31A-26-212 requires an emergency license to be applied for within a week of beginning claims adjustment. It may stay in force for up to 90 days, and the commissioner may extend it, before it expires, for up to 90 more days. The insurer that contracts with the emergency adjuster is responsible for his claim practices as if he were a salaried employee, and the fee equals the regular adjuster fee unless waived.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-212

Correct answer: D. Within 30 days of first appearing in court

Section 31A-26-203(2) requires applicants and licensed adjusters to report criminal prosecutions in any jurisdiction, as well as administrative actions taken elsewhere or by another Utah agency. For a prosecution that begins after the application, the report is due within 30 days of the initial appearance before a court; for an administrative action, within 30 days of its final disposition. Copies of the complaint or other legal documents must be included.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-203(2)(b) and (c)

Correct answer: A. Current year plus three years; address changes within 30 days

Section 31A-26-306 requires an adjuster to register a principal business address, telephone number and business email, report any change within 30 days, and keep at that address a record of each investigation or adjustment and the fees received. Records must be available to the commissioner during business hours for at least the current calendar year plus three years, or longer if a rule requires it.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-306(1), (2) and (4)

Correct answer: D. She must wait five years unless approved

Under 31A-26-213(8), a revocation order or surrender agreement may set a waiting period of up to five years. If none is specified, the former licensee may not apply for a new license for five years without the commissioner's express approval. Compare suspension: under 31A-26-213(5) the commissioner may suspend a license for a specified period of 12 months or less, so 12 months is the suspension cap, not the revocation wait.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-213(5)(a) and (8)

Correct answer: B. Within 15 days

Rule R590-190-6 requires an insurer to acknowledge a notice of loss within 15 days of receipt unless it pays the claim within 15 days or reasonably explains the failure. Notice given to an agent of the insurer is notice to the insurer, so the clock starts when the agent hears of the loss. Within 15 days the insurer must also send needed claim forms and instructions; 'day' means calendar day under R590-190-3.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-190-6 and R590-190-3(4)

Correct answer: D. May 4

Rule R590-190-10(2) gives the insurer 30 days after a complete proof of loss to accept or deny the claim, or to tell the claimant why more time is needed. If the investigation stays open, it must send a letter explaining the delay within 45 days after the initial notice and every 45 days after that. Counting 45 calendar days from March 20 gives May 4. No letters are required if the claimant has legal counsel or a public adjuster.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-190-10(2)(a) to (c)

Correct answer: C. Give notice of the expiration date at least 60 days ahead

Rule R590-190-10(3) applies to unrepresented first-party and third-party claimants. If negotiations continue, the insurer must notify the claimant of the date the statute of limitations or other time limit expires, at least 60 days before that date. An insurer cannot extend a statute of limitations, and misleading a claimant about one is itself an unfair practice under R590-190-9(11).

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-190-10(3) and R590-190-9(11)

Correct answer: A. Pay the $18,000 supported amount within 30 days

R590-190-9(21) makes it an unfair practice to fail to deliver or mail the amount owed within 30 days after receiving written proof of a covered loss and its amount. If proof of the entire loss has not arrived, the insurer must pay the partial amount supported by written proof or investigation within 30 days. Overdue amounts carry interest at the legal rate under R590-190-9(20), but nothing requires paying undocumented items.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-190-9(20) and (21)

Correct answer: B. Knowingly misrepresenting the policy provisions at issue

Section 31A-26-303(2) lists acts that are unfair each time they occur: knowingly misrepresenting material facts or policy provisions in a claim, relying on an application the insurer altered without the insured's knowledge, and delaying a clear claim under one coverage to influence another. The items in 303(3), such as slow acknowledgment, poor investigation standards and routinely appealing arbitration awards, are violations only when frequent enough to show a general business practice.

Reference: Utah Code 31A-26-303(2) and (3)

Correct answer: C. An unfair claim settlement practice

Rule R590-190-9(10) lists advising a claimant not to obtain an attorney, or suggesting the claimant will receive less money if an attorney is used to pursue or advise on the claim, as an unfair claim settlement practice. Under R590-190-3 a claimant can be a first-party or third-party claimant, so the protection applies to both. An adjuster can explain the claim process but must not discourage legal representation.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-190-9(10) and R590-190-3(3)

Correct answer: D. Pay $6,000 without deducting the auto premium

R590-190-9(13) prohibits deducting from a payment under one policy the premiums the insured owes on another policy unless the insured consents, and Nora has not consented. Holding the payment would make it overdue. R590-190-9(12) also bars requiring an insured to sign a release that extends beyond the occurrence that gave rise to the claim payment, so a check releasing all other claims is improper.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-190-9(12) and (13)

Correct answer: B. At least two comparables available in the last 90 days

R590-190-11(1)(b) allows a cash settlement based on the cost of at least two comparable automobiles available to consumers in the local market area within the last 90 days, plus taxes, license and transfer fees, less the deductible. Other permitted methods include nearby markets, two dealer quotes or a statistically valid valuation source. If the insured cannot buy a comparable vehicle for that amount within 30 days, the insurer must reopen the claim.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-190-11(1)(b)

Correct answer: A. Include it in the demand; repay it first if fully recovered

R590-190-11(5) requires the insurer to include the first-party claimant's deductible in any subrogation demand it starts. If the full deductible is recovered, the recovery goes first to reimburse it; a recovery for less than the full loss may be shared proportionately. No expenses may be deducted from the deductible recovery unless an outside attorney is retained, and the insured must be told if subrogation is dropped.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-190-11(5)

Correct answer: A. Both are unfair claim practices

R590-190-12 lists, among the auto claim practices the commissioner finds unfair, refusing to settle a claim based solely on a police agency issuing or failing to issue a traffic citation, and refusing to disclose policy limits when a claimant requests them. Liability must be judged on the facts of the accident, not the citation decision. The same section bars requiring a claimant to use only the insurer's claim service.

Reference: Utah Admin. Code R590-190-12(2), (5) and (7)