This is on the home page on CADO and I think it should be bare bones minimum to consider yourself going out and handling an insurance claim, much less a CAT. Farmers requires a college degree and has for over 25 years (I don't necessary agree with that), THREE months (not 3 days) classroom training and then a 2 week boot camp. This lady had aclue what she was up against on her first CAT. But, on the other hand, I do work for one of the larger termite protection companies and I would dare not send her out on a termite damage claim. On my first ballooned frame structure I did not have a clue. I turned to the CADO community and an individual named Rick Hanson came forward. He is the MAN on ballooned frame structures, a wealth of knowledge. I just got finished with a termite claim on a 2 story 113 y/o ballooned frame home that the appraisal was $265,000. It had to be put back as original as possible to maintain it's place on the Register of Historical Places. It just takes time.
Adjuster’s job offers variety in Oklahoma
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Buzz up! BY JENNIFER PALMER
Published: October 4, 2009
Kara Propps, a catastrophic claims adjuster for Farmers Insurance Group, started a recent work day at a $175,000 house with a well-manicured lawn in north Oklahoma City.
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Related contentLinksknow it: Careers
More InfoCareer Spotlight
Claims adjuster
→Education: Most companies prefer college graduates.
→Traits: Likes meeting new people, telephone skills, organization, empathy
→Licensing: An adjuster’s license
→Salary: A base of $33,000 to $38,000, plus overtime and an hourly bonus while on site. Many catastrophic claims adjusters can make more than $100,000 a year.
NewsOK Related ArticlesOther days have taken her to the tornado ravaged town of Springfield, Mo., and to homes damaged by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
She completes an average of four to six claims a day, climbing onto the houses’ roofs to analyze damage and immediately offering the homeowner a check printed from her mobile office — a company car equipped with GPS, laptop and printer.
Propps, 27, lives in Stillwater and completes most of her claims in the state. But the job could take her anywhere — especially during a large-scale disaster, when the company utilizes as many adjusters as necessary, regardless of where they are based.
The travel is part of the appeal.
"Even though you’re working, you get to see all kinds of places,” she said.
Employment of claims adjusters is expected to grow by 9 percent over the 2006-2016 decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Competition for jobs is intense and licensed applicants with related experience receive the best opportunities.
Working on the "Cat team” is sort of a glamorized version of an insurance adjuster. Frequent travel, excellent pay, company-paid meals, lodging and the freedom to work outside of an office cubicle are some of the perks of the job.
But those are a balance to the grueling schedule — mostly 12-hour days for three weeks, then a week off. It makes having a family or a normal social life difficult for some.
Propps, who became engaged last month, acknowledges she won’t want this job forever.
"It’s hard because you’re gone for so long,” she said. Her fiance often visits her in the town where she’s stationed, and her cat provides a traveling companion, riding out road trips in her lap.
But the job, which typically appeals to single, college graduates, was an opportunity for Propps to save money for a down payment on a house in two or three years.
Insurance ‘boot camp’
Propps, a graduate of the University of Missouri, started working for Farmers Insurance Group three years ago in Olathe, Kan. She said she didn’t know anything about insurance when she started, but after three months of classroom training, and a two-week "boot camp” at the company’s home office in California, she knew how to determine different types of damage, read insurance policies and provide customer service.
She started as an office adjuster, but knew some employees on the catastrophe team.
"I decided I really wanted to do that,” she said. "The idea of being able to get outside every day sounded nice.”
When she arrives at a house for a claim, she’ll look around inside and out, documenting damage such as leaks. She climbs onto the roof using the ladder stored in her car, draws a test square with chalk and counts how many hail dents fall within it. If it meets a set threshold, the homeowner gets a new roof.
If it rains, her appointments are rescheduled and she can spend the day inside, finishing estimates or uploading photos. If a roof is too steep or too high, she can call a contractor.
"If it’s unsafe, they tell you a million times ‘don’t get on the roof,’” she said.
In some of the worst cases, she’s encountered distraught homeowners crying because their home or the precious items inside were destroyed.
"That’s why we try to do everything on site — so they have the money to get their lives back together,” she said.
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