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A4,

We would be glad to help you if you are having some problems. Tell us the kind of problems you have every day and maybe we can put some insite into what you are up against. As Chuck said nobody has this business figured out. There are to many variables in this business that make it a new day everyday.

   We have to be flexible for the carrier ,the vendors, The DOI-Department Of Insurance, the estimating programs,Price changes and different policiesw/ different coverages, and besides that each state has their own policies we have to abide by. So as you can see there are many variables to work with sometimes happening daily and even sometimes hourly everyday.

  the adjuster who can work with these variables and be the most flexible will have the greatest amount of success in this business. The comradery between fellow adjusters is imperative as you have to work w/ each other to stay on top of these ever changing variables and ,remember you will want to be on a team w/ a team effort to solve these changing variables in order to give everyone your best work product possible.

A4 give us your lead and lets see what comes back to you!

To the Chief of Staff of Medicine, Chief Surgeon ,

I have been reading the forums in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) for the past couple of months and I just quit my job at WalMart to become a surgeon. I think being a doctor is a good fit for me because the money is good and I get to help people. My past history kinda relates to being a doctor because I have been to a couple of hospitals when I was younger and I have never missed an episode of Grey's Anatomy. I was curious if any surgeon would let me watch him doing some operations for a few weeks , he wouldn't have to pay me and I could help him do some of the surgeries. 

Also whilst I know I need to go to a training course, what is the quickest cheapest way to become a doctor ? 

  Cat,

  You forgot to amputate your own fingers,send the photos to Ray and he will critique your surgeon skills. Not everyone is cut out to be a surgeon.

This should work for the new people. Take some photos of your house and all the contents and assume you have a HO-3 in your home state. Then assume a tornado left nothing but the slab or the bottom foundation blocks. You had to move to a temp. apartment for 6 months while your house was being rebuilt on the same site. Write up an estimate for your complete losses in xmate, submit this to all the vendors on this site with a sworn prroof of loss and a caption report on a total loss. This will prove you can do what your license says you can do and I am confident you will get a call in 2011.

Send the complete file to me(in PDF) and a check for $100.00 and I will help you tweek it one time.

I am another brand new adjuster looking to get my foot in the door. Does anyone recommend or know of any sites that have mentor services? I am currently have an all lines license in Texas and have about 8 years of homebuilding experience not just the technical aspects but dealt with many years of  homeowner warranty claims disputes which I think would mirror the customer service side of adjusting. In other words I was the representative of the company whose defects in workmanship caused your  brand new house to flood not some peril. I have used Xactimate briefly while rebuilding homes after Hurricane Ike  for a custom builder as well as taken courses. Not to rant my resume too much I have also worked on a Federal Subsidized  home rebuild program in which my role was  to estimate home damages including cost of Flood and Windstorm compliance, and obtain substantial damage info from FEMA or local municipalities to determine if home would be rehabbed or rebuilt. Thus I am extremely familiar with flood maps, elevation certificates, cost of compliance and all other aspects of storm mitigation.  I realize a staff adjuster would be a great start and have had a few interviews but unless you live somewhere like Irving or Richardson, TX. those jobs are few are far between. I am also looking into restoration companies. I think have a pretty decent  preadjusting background and believe the  only areas I'm ignorant in is understanding policies and building claims.

Does anyone have recomendations for my next step other than register with some IA firms and wait for the next big one?

I live in the Houston area and would appreciate the opportunity to ride along on some daily claims. I'll provide lunch and transportation if anyone is interested. Or if anyone knows of a mentoring service company as I mentioned earlier.

  Does anyone recommend or know of any sites that have mentor services?

Try this link, Click Here

You may also to take a look at some of the jobs on our Career Page, 

And the Getting Started Category of the KB, 

Posted By Aaron Johnston on 23 Jan 2011 02:43 PM

...... I think have a pretty decent  preadjusting background and believe the  only areas I'm ignorant in is understanding policies and building claims..........

I'm sorry, I read this and just had to chuckle. Keep your chin up, keep learning

JWG

Most adjusters do not get managements attention until they have worked for 3 years with hundreds of hours of paid training and 150 weeks of work, getting paid with good supervision.(attention is a good raise in pay)

Lots of good jobs in Insurance work, sales, claims, underwriting, payrool audit, safety prevention, etc. Most carriers hired young people with  any 4 year degree and train you and you rise up through the ranks, just like any other job. Many people with extensive contstruction backgound get into insurance as part time, temp workers called cat. , Just keep working and try to lean as much by practice as you can, get a license (the easy part). In the last 10 years roofing contractors put on door to door salesmen after a storm and this is an excellant way to get a foot in the door.

exctimate is required by 80% of the carriers and it seems all will accept this software, spend your $ on this training and try to get minimum wages from some of the established adjusters; however you must know more than people live in house and they are built by someone, when an adjuster looks at water /wind damage to material in a house they have to present this to the carrier with a recomendation in writing. good luck, it,s very tough for about 3-4 years and for the rest of your time, if the weather is not storm'y.

Many of the older adjusters were first trained in auto-casualty claims and if they showed an interest were then cross trained in property losses on all perils.

This site has weekly posting for experienced adjusters with 3 years storm experience to attend a Florida Windstorm Certification  class for with40 vendors for free. This translate,s to lots of competion for jobs in Florida if a big one hits, same in TX, MS, AL. LA and all Atlantic coast states.

This is something not advertised, If you get 30 losses on site, you will not any more, unless you can produce closed passable files after the first full day. This is not easy, Cat. adjusting has always been "no cure-no pay". You could spen several thousand $$ trying and never make a penny.

Posted By TR on 09 Feb 2011 01:52 PM
Advise on re-entering CAT. Hurricane, Hail...
I worked for Pilot and David Morse 2000-2003 (Polaroid camera,pad,pencil and calculator)
I was QVP for Allstate wind-water-fire, lots of face to face with insureds 7 years.
Returned to my construction business after dry spell, all certs and home IA license expired to date.
Almost completely retired until ..the real storm hit...financial investment/ponzi crooks have put me back to work.
I know things have changed since 2000-2003, so what is the best way for me to catch up to become deploy able again?
Being 2011 much has changed,I've lost my contacts.. what is your best suggestion as to the process and equipment? I'm not looking for a quick fix but rather the right way to get back to it.

Thanks
TR

I am very sorry about your situation TR.  Based on the climb you made to get to where you once were, you won't have any trouble at all in catching up.  Seeing you describe 2003 makes it sound like it was ages ago.

I suggest taking some Xactimate courses and attend a conference that offers some technology seminars so that you will be able to familiarize yourself with what's out there.  In short, the technology changes that are now the norm consist of:

• Xactimate knowledge
• Leica Disto
• Digital Camera for under $200 bucks that has a wide angle lens (Canon SD1300 IS Digital ELPH)
• Laptop
• learn to merge MS Streets and Trips with Xactimate to map out your claims,
• GPS
• At least a 17' aluminum ladder to fit in your car (don't buy a truck just for claims)

All the other tools such as a tape measure, notepad, reliable pens, reading a policy, and the right attitude are all the same.

Xactimate has taken over the industry and you don't need a calculator anymore.  The software is very intensive and quite the behemoth of a program compared to Simsol and MSB.  Conversely, it is user friendly enough so that experienced Adjusters who are Beginners with Xactimate can submit passable claims after a few days.  I have the highest 'user' certification they offer and I'm still learning neat things about it.  Even Allstate has cast aside the inept MSB platform and adopted Xactimate.

Posted By ChuckDeaton on 31 Aug 2009 06:12 PM
If you read the posts and understood them, you understand that there is little chance of you being successful catastrophe adjuster. Best stay on the porch and not waste funds on schooling.

 

Posted By acasey on 23 Jan 2013 04:07 PM

Posted By ChuckDeaton on 31 Aug 2009 06:12 PM
If you read the posts and understood them, you understand that there is little chance of you being successful catastrophe adjuster. Best stay on the porch and not waste funds on schooling.

 

Why are you always so negative to anyone that wants to get in the field of cat work? Didn't you start at one time as a newbie with stupid questions. Get off your high horse and give constructive criticism instead of the negative BS you keep spewing.

Acasey....don't let the Old dawg under the porch get to you son. I don't know how long you have been adjusting, but I can tell you two things.

1. If you haven't been adjusting long and haven't been deployed several times you do not understand the "old dawg"

2. If  you have been adjusting  and have been deployed then take a step back and take a deep breath. Let's say Chuck the "old dawg" was a New Yorker on Staten Island who was EXTREMELY UPSET after Hurricane oops Superstorm Sandy. You got to his property and he he came at you cussing and rasing his arms in anger. Would you reply to him in the same "negative" manner you replied to Chuck the "old dawg"? I hope not.

That response was back to 2009 over 3 1/2 years ago. Does it hold true today, quite possibly. You need to read between the "old dawgs" lines for what he is trying to say.

And one more thing "in case" you are a young/new adjuster.....never and I mean NEVER take anything personal.  I hope I gave you something "positive" to think over.

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Give them what they want, when they want it, and how they want it !

Posted By acasey on 23 Jan 2013 04:07 PM

Posted By ChuckDeaton on 31 Aug 2009 06:12 PM
If you read the posts and understood them, you understand that there is little chance of you being successful catastrophe adjuster. Best stay on the porch and not waste funds on schooling.

 

Why are you always so negative to anyone that wants to get in the field of cat work? Didn't you start at one time as a newbie with stupid questions. Get off your high horse and give constructive criticism instead of the negative BS you keep spewing.

......................................................................

If you are going to call out Ole' Chuck, why not use one of his more in depth roasts of rookie adjusters fresh out of their 3 day turn and burn license course looking for shortcuts and whilst you are at it, find a post NOT 4 years old.

Now, Chuck being negative? Nah, ornery yes, negative not so much. What you obviously are missing is that apparently most new folks don't take the time to read and seek out some answers on their own. Why do all that when you can just cut right to the chase and ask the masses about the cheapest/quickest route to the 6 figure income promised by predatory training vendors.

If you or any newly licensed individual actually put some effort into seeking out the answers on your own (there are easily hours upon hours of solid information in CADO's archives alone), you wouldn't get these "negative" responses. If you or any new claims adjuster does that, you will find a large number of experienced hands willing to help you find the answers you seek. EFFORT is everything