Having been involved with the licensed public adjuster option issue since its onset, I read with interest Lillian Garrett's letter (Forum, Dec. 4) as the acting executive director of the Utah Trial Lawyers Association.
After the release of Jerry Spangler's fine article alerting accident victims to their option of hiring a personal adjuster, to help them in an insurance way, I received several phone calls from Ms. Garrett.In our conversation, she outlined that the UTLA had indeed drafted proposed legislation for the sole purpose of limiting the ability of a licensed public adjuster to help an accident victim in an insurance way.
She admitted that they had solicited monies from their members and accepted donations from some large insurance companies to fund their little scheme.
Ms. Garrett made it clear that UTLA had joined forces with the Utah State Bar to jointly do away with licensed public adjusters who help injury victims, and that she "cursed the day that UTLA had forged this alliance with the bar."
Although Ms. Garrett's UTLA and our group have disagreements that can be worked out, we do agree that Utahns are at risk of losing an option of trained/licensed help when going up against the legions of insurance company adjusters.
Bruce A. Davis, president
Public Adjusters Association of Utah Inc.