The news often makes storms sound worse than they are. I routinely get e-mails from adjusters asking me about some "big storm", that I haven't even heard of. Then I research it and when you finally find an article that mentions the number of damaged houses, it will be 100 or 200 damaged houses. A big deal for that community, but you devide that 200 amongst 2 or 3 insurance carriers in the area, maybe 1 or 2 of those carriers have in-house adjusters. So now you're down to 100 claims, devided amongst 3 or 4 local adjusters, who will be busy for 2 weeks. And that's it.

There may be 1 or 2 of these kinds of storms somewhere in the country each month, which will drive you crazy hearing about it on the weather channel, feeling like you're missing out on the work, but the odds are not good that you will see work from these smaller storms.

The California wildfires are a great example. A few guys (sometimes including myself) get work out of them, but I've never seen it generate enough work to bring in the troops. Our local offices get a spike in claims, which are handled as daily claims, but it's never on the scale of even a small hurricane. But every year when the fires start, I get 20 or 30 e-mails asking where all the work is.

I've been on both ends of it, working when nobody else is and missing out on the only work available. It's just part of the game.

Posted By Jud G. on 23 Jul 2009 01:38 PM

About five years ago a Pilot HR rep told me that, as a new roster member, to call them every three weeks or so to let them know that I was ready to go with them would be enough to have my name refreshed in their system. 

Consider that perhaps Pilot was being polite with you. 

 

I would have thought maybe they were being polite too but they told the whole class that.  Also I was in the top 2 or 3 in the class and I got their top rating.  The only way to get a higher rating than what I got was to have worked for Pilot before and I have not.

I worked for Pilot/Allstate for Irene. (My first storm) I have been licensed since right after Ike and never deployed.... 3 years and no work. I thought Pilot took very good care of me and I reciprocated. Both my Admins told me they called once a week at the same time every week for their combined 60 years as adjusters. I have always believed manners will get you very far in life, this is no exception these ladies are very busy.