Catastrophe adjusters chase disasters

"For more than two months, Hogan and her colleagues trudged through storm-battered homes from southwest Nassau to the North Fork, working 15-hour days determining what insurance should cover and what it should not.

In the end, these nomadic adjusters calculated flood settlements for tens of thousands of Long Islanders whose homes and businesses were inundated by the surge. And now, as their work here runs short, they are hitting the road again, en route to the next catastrophe, wherever it may strike.

"If I stay in one place too long, I get bored," said Art Labrecque, 51, who has been an adjuster for eight years and lives full time in a 45-foot motor home, towing a pickup truck and BMW motorcycle.

Why they do it

What draws people to a career of following the wind, chasing disaster and calculating loss?

 In many cases, it's money. It's the tales of jackpot years, when the hurricanes blow through the alphabet and hailstones are as big as softballs. In years like that, catastrophe adjusters can make $300,000 -- even $400,000, according to industry experts."

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