Do I do sole pr. or LLC

[Real estate guy]

I am starting my research on starting a public adjusting co in Virginia and I confused on how to register my company. Can I be a sole pro. or do I have to register as a Professional LLC? Does anyone know? I have read the information provided by the state and federal organizations but it is still confusing.

[! Hulio !]

Hi,

I am based in Virginia, and I can tell you that insurance adjusters are not required to be licensed here. Because of the lack of professional licensing requirements, you do not have to form a professional LLC.

Having said that, you would do well to have some sort of liability protection, and sole proprietorships do not provide any. In the event of a business-related debt or judgment from a legal proceeding, your personal assets (bank account, home, car, stocks, etc.) as a sole proprietor could be attached.

The common-sense alternative would be to structure your business as a regular LLC in Virginia. If you are concerned about the ease of business operation, rest assured that an LLC is very flexible in this regard. And a single-member LLC is treated as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes by the IRS by default, so in that respect there is virtually no difference: Sole proprietors and owners of single-member LLCs file form 1040 and Schedule C "Profit or Loss from a Business" for their yearly income taxes.

[Real estate guy]

Chrissie,

Thanks for your reply regarding the LLC for the adjusting company. I checked out your web site and it appears that your companty offers a valuable service. I have bookmarked it as one of my favorites so that when I am ready to proceed with my business, I can look you up.

I have a curiosity question. Has you company ever done the paperwork for a starting up public adjusting company?

[! Hulio !]

Thanks for the positive feedback; we definitely look forward to serving you. We haven't had a public adjusting company as a client thus far, but we have done paperwork for other companies where the question of being a "professional" corporation or LLC has come up. Every state has its own unique list of professions that require a professional entity to be formed, so we make it a point to familiarize ourselves with the various states' laws.

Your question was particularly interesting since it related to starting a business in Virginia, so I took the liberty of researching the Virginia Code and the Virginia Bureau of Insurance regulations; something I would do, anyway, in the course of preparing the business formation paperwork for a client, to ensure compliance.