Adjuster's Life: July 2013

Monday, July 15, 2013

What does an adjuster need to know?

Some more great questions about training and certifications and...

what does an adjuster need to know?

1. After the licence (license) what is the three most important training, knowledge base or certifications a CAT adjusting firm would want to see on a resume’?

As stated in Adjuster’s Life, the important things on a resume are 1) Construction background 2) People skills 3) Ability to work with adjuster software (Xactimate is most popular).

If you want to spruce up your resume some certifications that can be added easily and for free are:

NFIP (Flood Certification) is a free one day event. Available via webinar.

Citizens Certification also a free one day event. This certification will help in the event of a major storm in Florida where Citizens is prevalent. Available via webinar.

Haag Engineering. Haag does seminars all over the place, usually included as a guest presenter with a vender putting on classes (usually a fee is involved) and they last a few days. They do things like: Water mitigation; Comp. & Wood Roof damage; etc.

2. If you had these three things and were deployed to a hurricane catastrophe what would be your chances of success?

Knowledge and Certifications listed on a resume may get you deployed, but has little to do with success at a storm.

Success comes from you. Two factors are invaluable during a CAT: Your ability to stay calm and work with people and your ability to manage your time. All the knowledge in the world won’t help if you can’t get along with the folks.

Remember as stated in the book—at the end of the day you’re in the people business. Knowledge only goes so far. I’ve written complicated claims for industries I’ve known nothing about, but with the ability to work with engineers and contractors, I’ve sounded like an expert. (or at least—I thought I did.)

But…I caution you not to over-think everything because it will stall your progress in claim writing. You must be able to view and decide repeatedly throughout the day. Remember you are submitting a recommendation for the carrier to review. It doesn’t have to be the only and best way. It is your opinion of what should be done.

Remember, it’s your recommendation because it’s not your check book.

Many times new adjusters act like it’s their money and are afraid to spend it, thinking the carrier will be upset with them for paying claims. Of course the carrier doesn’t want you giving-away-the-farm but the important thing is to settle the claim fair and efficient.

In this day and age one upset insured can be broadcast to the world in a matter of minutes. The carriers don’t want their name blasted all over the world as a company that is unfair or won’t pay their claims.

So, bottom line is; turn-and-burn. Submit your best recommendation regarding the claim on time. Don’t worry if it gets kicked back for edits. You’ll learn how they want it done and you weren’t late. Claims are like ticking time-bombs and if they aren’t shut down in a timely fashion they’ll explode. And the longer they tick the bigger the explosion.

Let me replay a few dougism’s that help in a CAT:

Take yer time you’ll get there faster

Just cuz you can—don’t mean you should.

Thanks for the questions, keep ‘em coming. And let us know what you think by adding your comment below.

God bless & be safe,

Doug

***UPDATE: You put Adjuster's Life in the Top Rated Best Sellers list at Amazon in four categories!

thank you!

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You might also like:

How much does an insurance adjuster make

So you want to be an insurance adjuster

Remember, if you have any questions or just want to shoot the breeze, send me an e-mail or leave a comment.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

How much does an Insurance Adjuster make?

Thanks for stopping by, welcome to Adjuster's.

The first thing folks want to know is: Where's the money?

How much does an Insurance Adjuster make?

That's a great question.

Below is a question I received via email. I changed the names to protect the innocent and provided my reply in italics.

At the end is a place for you to add your comments or questions, so don't be shy and let us know what you think.

Glad you're here.

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the book. It gave me a lot of insight into the adjuster biz. I was wondering how much to charge? What does a vendor typically pay (mileage, hotel rooms, etc.) or is that all out of your pocket?

You mentioned that during your 6 weeks of Sandy that you were paid $400 per day. 6 x 7 =42 days x $400 = $16800….then minus expenses?

Love,

Where's the money

Dear Where's the money,

Thanks for your email.

The carrier and vender negotiate a fee schedule. You will be paid according to the size of your claim as determined on that schedule. The bigger the claim the more you bill...and the more you get paid. It sounds backwards than the way most folks think but it is the only way to keep adjuster's doing their job and looking to find damage and not get lazy and miss a lot of stuff.

For example if you write a claim for some minor wind damage and it is under $1,500 and on your fee schedule (billing sheet) it reads 0-1500 = 200. Then you bill for that claim $200.

NOW - what you bill is not what you get paid. You get a percentage of what you bill. Usually the adjuster's 'take' is 60% of billing. So in this example you would be paid 60% of $200.

So, to answer your question: you don't charge--they tell you what they pay.

It depends on what type of storm you are working but on average if you take the total number of claims and multiply times 200 that'll be you pay at the end of the storm because it seems they average out to around 200-250 per claim. If you work a hail storm it may be higher because claims are usually higher, you may average 3-400 per claim on these.

Secondly, most adjusters are have-ladder-will-travel 1099 employees (self-employed independent contractors). Thus, all of your expenses are your own.

NOTE: There are staff adjusters who are employees of the carrier and they make a regular salary (30-50k yr.) and have a normal job--but who wants a normal job?

On most fee schedules there is an allowance to bill for miles if you exceed a certain number of miles for a particular claim. It usually pays around .50 - 1.00 per mile over 50-75 miles round trip.

Yes, 400 per day X how many days = total pay. All expenses are my own (and deductible)

Hope this helps,

God bless

Adjust well and be safe
Doug Spurling

You put Adjuster's Life in the Top Rated Best Sellers list at Amazon in four categories!

Thank you!