Maximizing Income
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Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 5:12:05 PM
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gordon1
Posts: 89
Joined: 9/16/2004
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I wanted to start a thread with ideas on how, as a profession, we can get increased fee schedules, more for mileage & photos.The general consensus appears that we are in agreement that our wages have been stagnant while our workload, expenses & general b-llsh-t levels have increased, while our pay has, for the most part been stagnant for the past 10 years.It seems to me that no one thinks a union would be able to work because enough adjusters won't join. I was hoping some adjusters would have some good ideas. Afterall, this is our pockets. If we head down this road much longer, we'll end up working for free or making less than the greeters at Walmart.Any constructive ideas??????
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 5:34:02 PM
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Tiger
Posts: 28
Joined: 5/5/2006
Home base: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Status: offline
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IMO, it's pretty much a matter of supply and demand. With the amount of new adjusters to come on the scene in the past 2 years and the absence of any major storms so far this year,......I don't think your timing isn't all that good. I'm not sure who you've been working for but it's been my experience that carriers increased their fee schedule from 2004 to 2005 .
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 8:53:52 PM
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JGardner
Posts: 325
Joined: 2/28/2005
Home base: Daphne, AL
Status: offline
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Keep your nose to the ground. Focus on things that make you better at your job and you won't have to worry about fee schedule rates or work for that matter.
The difference between this thread and the "How much can you really make thread" is slight.
_____________________________
Jud
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 9:19:44 PM
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Mattcatadj123
Posts: 28
Joined: 8/24/2006
Status: offline
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I think there will be a lot of people getting out of the business if there is no storms this season.... So for the ones who hang in there when the storms do hit next year there will be increased fee schedules and a large amount of work because of there wont be so many cat adjusters... Everybody and there dog is a cat adjuster these days........ Just my thought.. Think about it folks we all have to work and if there is none you have to move on and do something else... We all got to eat and keep a roof over our head..
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 9:24:33 PM
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khromas
Posts: 611
Joined: 4/19/2004
Home base: Houston, Texas
Status: offline
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Here is the answer to all of you "3-day wonders" money-making problems:
http://books.aol.com/feature/_a/serious-introductory-bullshit/20060724095909990001
I am just surprised that Cat Adjuster did not make the list as on of the top 100 bull*** jobs in the world!
_____________________________
Kevin Hromas
_______________________________________
Definition of a LIBERAL: a person who is so open-minded that their brains have fallen out!
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 9:35:41 PM
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gordon1
Posts: 89
Joined: 9/16/2004
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Have always kept my nose to the grindstone & try to better myself. After working steadily for a good part of last year(luckily), and seeing the expenses, it just seems that I am keeping less of a percentage of my gross.The constructions cost increases help a little with boosting our fees, but I still feel our profession has been outpaced by inflation for such a long time. I know this is the cae with other jobs as well, but it seems it has been going on way longer with the adjusting field.When I started, adjusters made more than a shop mechanic, now the dealers here charge $110 per hour. Most adjusting companies & insurers require a college degree. You don't need a college degree to fix cars, although they have become more complicated to work on. It just feels like our pay doesn't match the knowlede,expertise,equipment & abilities to deal with people & stress not to mention the fact we have to give up our lives for months on end.On a ballpark estimate, pay scale for adjusters has only gone up about 10% over the past 15 years, with photo fees dropping or disappearing and mileage rates being the same(literally since when I started). Back then, the federal mileage reimbursement was 31.5 cents and gas costs 89 cents per gallon.Now we NEED E&O, liability expensive software leases, etc.Adjusting companies were paying adjusters 45 cents per mile & $2.00 per photo back in 1991. How much more will the industry beat us down?!?
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 10:13:23 PM
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Wes
Posts: 622
Joined: 4/19/2004
Home base: Deerfield Beach, FL
Status: offline
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gordon1, the post about your timing being off is very accurate. As long as there are more adjusters than the industry can support (currently) then we as adjusters are not holding any cards. The carriers and adjusting vendors are going to win every hand. I said it in other threads and I will say it in this one. The past two very active years have done more harm to our profession than good. We are just now starting to feel the negative effects.
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 10:41:50 PM
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trader
Posts: 1203
Joined: 4/19/2004
Home base: Houston, TX
Status: offline
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All catastrophe adjusters have to look forward too is less Fee bills and more time and expense bills. lower fee bills
because of the new players on the roof tops will not be a single house adjuster, but a person trained to measure, diagram and photos roofs and send the data to an adjuster in another city. FICUS...
All the adjusters will work inside at a computer at $ xx per hour. One good adjuster will handle 10% of the claims, that do not get settled by this method from inside/outside in the most expedient method and the production numbers will be in the 1,000 per month range, or about 35 per day.
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 11:13:05 PM
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REWARDADJUSTING
Posts: 91
Joined: 12/1/2004
Status: offline
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I received a flood claim in the northeast, the TPA told me to get photos and write up a scope, fait them the scope notes and e-mail the photos. They wanted me to send them the information so they could write up the report on their end. I refused and told them if I inspect the loss I will be writing the entire report, they agreed and told me that many of the adjusters can't write up the claims so they just handle the scope and photos. This TPA also said they phone scope most of the losses as long as the insured can give them the room dimensions.
I seem to remember at the NFIP workshop that the adjuster must inspect every loss and must write their own estimate, not allowed to send a contractor to write an estimate for them. If this is the NFIP requlation how can a WYO or TPA handle flood losses without inspecting the loss or having a contractor take some scope notes and photos and an adjuster on the other side of the country that did not inspect the home throws together a report. I would not want my FCN # on any of those thrown together files. It appears yet another way to use adjusters with very little adjusting knowledge and to pay these "adjusters" a very low fee for the photos and scope. The problem is all the newbies out there will do just about anything to get their hands on any kind of assignment and the TPA's WYO's are exploiting the newbies. This industry is changing for the worse...
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/2/2006 11:35:31 PM
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Tom_Toll
Posts: 560
Joined: 4/19/2004
Home base: Austin, AR
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Obvioulsy there are those who look down their noses at people (adjusters) that don't have 40 to 50 years in the business, even though they have much less. Somehow, someone has forgotten what it was like when they first started in this business. Somehow they have forgotten how to be civil to others. To be snide and rude, in my opinon, is only showing ones mental weakness and intelligence level.
I have 46 years in this business. Should I look down and be rude to others that do not have that experience. Should I look down on anyone who has never worked an aviation claim, written a 17 million dollar loss, worked a marine survey and I could go on and on, but I won't. I won't because I am no better than anyone on CADO or any one else who calls them selves an adjuster.
There are those 3 day newbies who will go on to become excellent adjusters and some who will fall by the wayside. There will be those who will seek self education and go to schools designed to make them better adjusters. There are those who will seek the mental agility to become the very best and will give it their all. To those I applaude and am positive that they will make a differnce. This industry is hurting for experience and knowledgeable adjusters, whether it be all lines or cat adjusters.
To all of you that wish to go forward, regardless of your experience levels, I wish you well and if I can ever be of any assistance, let me know and I will do what I can to HELP you, not make you feel like an idiot.
Yes, this industry is in trouble and that is becoming more apparent as the years go by. Can we do anything about it, sure we can. We just have to work together and figure out how. Are newbies to be our downfall, nope, cause we gotta have them, no recourse. So lets put on our thinking caps and start from this day forward as to how we can help this industry become vital once again. Lets work together to get our wages up so we can live without too much concern.
< Message edited by Tom_Toll -- 10/3/2006 12:08:25 AM >
_____________________________
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/3/2006 9:05:04 AM
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Jack Nichols
Posts: 53
Joined: 4/27/2006
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Good post, Tom.
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Jack Nichols
Fort Worth, Texas
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/3/2006 9:42:56 AM
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kkmartin1
Posts: 4
Joined: 7/31/2006
Home base: texas
Status: offline
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I second Jack. Thanks Tom.
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/3/2006 9:46:24 AM
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JGardner
Posts: 325
Joined: 2/28/2005
Home base: Daphne, AL
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: khromas
Here is the answer to all of you "3-day wonders" money-making problems:
http://books.aol.com/feature/_a/serious-introductory-bullshit/20060724095909990001
I am just surprised that Cat Adjuster did not make the list as on of the top 100 bull*** jobs in the world!
Perhaps he read about your effort to start up the NAPICA and decided against adding the Catastrophe Adjuster occupation to the list.
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/3/2006 9:51:49 AM
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yebolu
Posts: 50
Joined: 2/10/2006
Status: offline
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Again Tom, Your wisdom and temperance excels!!
_____________________________
If you grow, you will glow!
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/3/2006 10:10:22 AM
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aporco
Posts: 124
Joined: 4/21/2004
Status: offline
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REWARDADJUSTING - Point of curiosity. Regarding the flood work you mentioned above, would the TPA/WYO have paid you your % of the NFIP fee schedule for just scoping and photographing the loss? Did you get more for writing the report?
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/3/2006 10:30:13 AM
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jwg
Posts: 36
Joined: 9/12/2006
Home base: Texas
Status: offline
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I have a question, for those complaining about how much you are making. Are you making more or less than you did 10-15 years ago? Is technology helping you inspect more homes/autos, or do you now do fewer per day? Have escalating construction costs increased or decreased your invoice amounts.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for making more $$, but its seems the adjusters now appear to be more prosperous today than the ones I knew back when I started in the insurance business. The adjusters that wouldcome by my agency for file or contact information would be driving old Ford Rangers or some other economy type vehicle, now the lots are full of trucks that cost more than a lot of homes, and they are needed to pull the fifth wheel with the slider unit that you need a 30 yr mrtg to purchase.
I once knew a guy who could not understand why his grandparents could amass a substantial savings account, hi grandfather never made more than $8-900 a month working at a local factory, grandmother never worked, but he owned his home and a chunk of land, and died with an unbelievable saving acct.
Half way through the conversation, his cell phone rang, it was his teenage kid on their cell phone, wondering if they could borrow some money for some custom wheels for his new car that was less than 6 months old. This guy was not wealthy but was a member of the country club, took yearly vacations to exotic places, and live in a home that anyone would be proud of.
I thank this is a great proffesion, and I have no regrets about selling my agency. After 5 years I still consider myself a "newbie", and look forward to when I can say I've got 25 years experience. and I hope my income will continue to go up with experience and ability.
I've rambled enough, JWG
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/3/2006 1:28:23 PM
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abell
Posts: 9
Joined: 5/27/2006
Status: offline
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Thanks Tom. That was a nice and truthful post. It's great to hear from a well respected adjuster that does not respond to the newbies from fear of their own selves. Again I say thanks.
_____________________________
~ Life is a precious thing, so be true to yourself and kind to others~
Cyndi Abell
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/3/2006 2:23:20 PM
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gulfsun
Posts: 40
Joined: 9/13/2005
Home base: Fort Myers Florida
Status: offline
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I think that some of us forget that the new and in some cases younger adjusters are the ones that will be taking over for the older more experienced adjusters as they retire from this profession. It is a shame that many of us would prefer to bash or belittle the new folks. If we really care about this profession we should be more concerned about its continuity. The best way to do that is to focus on training and mentoring the new folks. I really think the claims scenarios presented on CADO are great....Thanks to Janice Toll for trying to get that rolling again. It would be fantastic where possible for us to offer ridealongs and mentoring to the new folks if that doesn't pose a problem with the carrier you work with. We shouldn't vent irritation or anger at the new folks because it was so easy to get a license. They didn't create the requirements, they only followed them and believed the hype. Lets do the right thing for the long term perpetuation of our profession and treat these people decently and offer your knowledge and support. It takes so much energy to be negative and so very little to be positive. Give it a try.
If I can be of any help or support to anyone please ask.
Gulfsun
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RE: Maximizing Income - 10/3/2006 3:20:56 PM
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Action
Posts: 109
Joined: 2/22/2006
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: trader
All catastrophe adjusters have to look forward too is less Fee bills and more time and expense bills. lower fee bills
because of the new players on the roof tops will not be a single house adjuster, but a person trained to measure, diagram and photos roofs and send the data to an adjuster in another city. FICUS...
All the adjusters will work inside at a computer at $ xx per hour. One good adjuster will handle 10% of the claims, that do not get settled by this method from inside/outside in the most expedient method and the production numbers will be in the 1,000 per month range, or about 35 per day.
How about 1,000+ per WEEK! Actually, a team of twelve adjusters on a twelve hour shift can write forty to fifty or more claims per day. Take that further and specialize: one team doing only contents, another ALE, another flood only,... Now the insured has to decide whether it's a blessing or curse to have two or three different adjusters--"Hi, may I please speak with my contents adjuster?"
_____________________________
Charlie "Action" Jackson
www.magmagnolia.com
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