Adjuster's Life: Insurance Claims Adjuster School

Today we’re going to touch on two topics. Insurance Claims Adjuster prerequisites and Adjuster licensing.

Background Training Prerequisite

The best background, in my opinion, is to have a basic knowledge of construction. After all you’ll be writing estimates for repairs. If a tree knocks a hole through the roof, can you rebuild it on paper?

If you don’t have any idea about construction that’s an easy fix. Find any storm chasing roofing company and tell them you want to sell roofs for them. If you have a pulse they’ll hire you—straight commission of course. Hang out for a storm or two and you’ll be meeting with adjusters inspecting roofs for hail damage normally. You’ll learn the basics of roof and siding measuring, installation and repairs. You’ll have the opportunity to read the finished product of insurance claims from several different carriers and you’ll meet lots of adjusters and you can pick their brains and learn insurance adjuster lingo.

And if you work hard you can make a good income while you learn. Many good adjusters started out as roofing salesman.

That is just one simple way to get your feet wet in the world of an adjuster. It’s not necessary but a working knowledge of construction will assist you a great deal when it comes time to write an estimate for repairs from a chicken dinner gone wrong that burned half the kitchen down. But this is about becoming an adjuster, so I’m not going to delve into construction basics 101.

License

The first solid step toward actually becoming an adjuster is to become licensed. I’m asked often. How do I do what you do? Do I have to go to school? The answer is yes and no.

You don’t have to go to school, but you do have to pass a test to obtain an adjuster’s license for your state. However, some states do not require an adjuster’s license. In that case if you live in Missouri for instance, you can adjust claims without an adjuster’s license.

But, you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who will give you a claim to run if you don’t have a license. So even though it’s not required per se by law—it is required by the folks who’ll give you the claims. So, by default, you’re going to have to obtain an adjuster’s license from somewhere.

The common consensus is that Texas is the easiest place to obtain a license. I’ve been licensed in multiple states and I didn’t notice one being harder than the other once you figured out what they wanted. Some states are more user-friendly. They tell you exactly what to do in easy to follow steps. While other states like Minnesota, the last time I took a test for them, are not so user-friendly. They said you need to pass the test, but they didn’t provide any easy access as to what information was on the test so you could prepare—I think they call that, Minnesota nice.

Anyway, if you live in a state that requires a license you’ll need to get licensed as a resident adjuster for that state if you want to run claims in that state. Click here to find out your state requirements for obtaining a license in your particular state.

You can go to school for a fee and obtain a license. Fees usually range anywhere from $300 - $700 and last a few days to a week. You can get a license anywhere even if you don’t live there. If you live in Minnesota and want to get a license in Texas, you can. And many folks do this. You will be allowed to get a non-resident license. The Texas license is recognized or reciprocal in several other states. Thus, allowing you to work claims in other reciprocal states. So, you can have a Texas license, and then if a hurricane hits Mississippi, you can work claims there because you are licensed in Texas.

The individual states many times require you to purchase a temporary license or they may call it an emergency license. They’ll charge the adjusters flooding their state a nominal fee usually $25-$45 for a license that is good for 90 days or so allowing you to work the storm. After that you can keep up the license simply by renewing it, which of course requires another fee. It’s a source of revenue for the state and regulates in a small way who is in their state adjusting.

Remember, I said the answer was yes and no, regarding whether you had to go to school to be an adjuster. Well, the reason I said that was because of continuing education requirements. Typically every two years you must renew your license—pay a fee, of course—and document that you have completed the required number of hours of continuing education.

The requirements vary from state to state. But generally around 20-30 hours. You can choose how you want to do this. A vacation to Florida to attend a three day training when it’s 20 below zero in your hometown may be a nice way to fulfill your requirements and take a tax deductible vacation. Also, you can take online courses. Each state will advise individually what classes are required and acceptable as CE credits. Click here to see what your state requires.

So, in summary go to the website for your particular state and read what is required for licensing procedures. Take the test. If you don’t pass, don’t feel bad—count it as training. One of the best adjusters I know took the test five times before he passed. So, take the test as many times as you need to and count all the ones prior to passing as practice exams. When you pass the test--smile and say, “I’m a licensed adjuster.”

Yeehaw!

Now what?

Having a license doesn’t make you any money. It doesn’t give you any claims to run. And it doesn’t teach you how to handle a claim even if you got one. Actually, getting licensed has little to do with the actual workings of how to be an adjuster.

But, never fear…that’s why I’m here. J

Well, thanks for stopping by, that’s all for today.

What questions do you have about adjusting? How can I help?

I read you correspondence and try to answer as quickly as possible.

Adjust well,

Doug Spurling

AdjustersLife@aol.com

Join us on facebook

WANT TO START LIVING YOUR ADJUSTER'S LIFE TODAY?

The # 1 Best Selling Insurance Adjuster Training is at your fingertips.

* No need spend time and hundreds of dollars with training and travel.

* Everything you need to know from resume to payday.

* No sales gimmick or hook.

* Simple words penned with sweat from years of adjusting and one on one training.

FREE BONUS!

Adjuster’s Life comes not only with words and examples but a promise to personally assist you for * FREE *as you build your adjusting career.

The Adjuster’s Life thrives in any economy, you can too.

Are you ready to see what it’s like to ride through a storm with an adjuster?

What’re you waiting for?

Jump in—let’s roll.

Get your Adjuster's Life today

You might also like:

Insurance Adjuster School 101.1

So, You Want To Be An Insurance Adjuster?

How Much Does An Insurance Adjuster Make?

What Does An Adjuster Need To Know?

FREE Online Flood Insurance Certification!

Every day folks just like you are enjoying Insurance Claims Adjuster Jobs.

Everyday day people scour the web looking for Claims Adjuster Training.

If you’re one of them, congrats! You're in the right place:

Insurance Claims Adjuster School 101.1

What is Claims Adjusting?

On my first deployment to a major hurricane I was a nervous green horn. I didn’t have enough confidence to make a decision and so I asked questions—lots of them.

That was good. Never be afraid to ask questions—lots of them. That’s how you learn. Especially in the insurance world—there is no dumb question.

Policy language can be confusing and can be interpreted differently. So, if it’s your first day on the job or you’ve been at it for thirty years, if you have a question, ask. Don’t be ashamed to ask. And when you ask too many, and it’s time to cut the umbilical cord, they’ll let you know. They did me. The long hours and endless flow of questions fired at my inside handler finally wore on his nerves until he blurted out:

You’re an adjuster—adjust.

I continue to ask questions—lots of them.

I don’t think he realized the wisdom of his words that day. I’ve forgotten his name, but still remember his words. It remains some of the best advice I’ve been given regarding adjusting even after all these years.

You may do the same things over and over, but no claim should be considered a brainless cookie-cutter exercise. Consider each and every claim as having its own unique set of circumstances and adjust each scenario against policy guidelines, and then, make a recommendation accordingly. As an adjuster you’re paid to give recommendations.

Kind of like CSI

Sometimes the human element gets involved and things get a little hairy. You may hear someone tell you that old crack in the drywall resulted from a tree hitting the roof. Perhaps. Perhaps not. Your job is to gather evidence and determine what direct physical damage was related to the insured peril. And also, just as important—damage not related to the insured peril—especially damages claimed by insured as resultant damage. We’ll get into that, in more detail later.

Remember, adjusting, in a nutshell is to let the carrier know if they need to write a check and if so; why, and how much. You are the eyes and ears of the carrier. You are to see what happened. Listen to what the Insured said happened. And document this through photos, sketches and written word. Generally the carrier is the check writer, and they will hold the final decision regarding what gets paid.

An official statement you can make might sound like this:

“I do not have authority to extend or deny coverage.”

But, I usually say something like:

“It’s not my check book, so your carrier will make the final coverage decision. If it were my check book…I’d be fishing right now.”

This statement basically says the same thing, but in a way they’ll remember—which keeps you off the hook. And the insured is less likely to get confused and say you promised them a big fat check.

Well, that’s all for today.

What questions do you have about how to get an insurance claims adjuster job? Or insurance claims adjuster training?