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Probably the same way you become successful as an adjuster.  Become an expert in your field and be willing to work, work, and work some more.  Roofing is EXTREMELY competitive and opening up offices in other states can be a nightmare which is one of the reasons we are looking at other options.  If you know a guy who made a million bucks in roofing, then you may want to ask him how to become a roofer as he seems to have it down pretty well.  We have done well, but I'm no millionaire.

Hello pkp,

target Pilot Catastrophe  www.pilotcat.com , go to the bottom right of screen and click property adjuster, there will be a list of frequently asked questions that can answer many of your questions.  also check out the evaluation schedule. click on the posting in the "news" section, they are accepting applications and get more details as to what initial qualifications they want each applicant to have. Next check  out www.worleyco.com ,

www.eberls.com , www.earenfroe.com .  for 2/3 week training programs check out www.farmbureautech.com and www.valenational.com , www.wardlawclaims.com . for licensing, get your home state, get texas, florida,etc.  worley has a list of licenses they want their adjusters to have on their website, and the others companies I listed what you to have them also.  Another website to check out is www.xactware.com  which will be required for writing property claims, they offer self-study and classroom training.  Pilot has a basic xactimate training class scheduled for

May 3-5, 2010 at their Dallas training facility, contact them to see if you have to have an  application on file before they let you attend. Wardlaw has a xactimate beginning class scheduled for later in May.  Also check out www.adjusterspace.org for answers to some of your questions. Good Luck!!

Most catastrophe losses involve a roof, so you wqnt have to learn how to measure roofs, except the way exactimate wants you to learn, so you will have to forget the old way and learn the exactimate way. Lots of other stuff also, but read this site for about 10 hours per day for a week and you will get all the answers to your questions.

Hi Chuck,

I saw in another thread where you said that this guy is a successful roofer and thinks his background will help him in adjusting.......whats next?  Well, I really don't know how my background will hurt seeing how we do many of the same things that adjusters do.  We must meet the policy holder and explain how the claims process works, inspect the roof for damage (real damage, not just foot traffic, mechanical, toe boards etc) to see if it has just cause to make a claim and we document it with pictures.  Then we diagram and measure every roof (many things we must put in our scope that adjusters don't worry about but we need for ordering and proper install), we then explain to the homeowner again how to file the claim, what to expect, we create an estimate in xactimate, show up to the adjustment to assist on the roof if needed (and many adjusters have needed it; especially the guys getting up there in age).  We show up with an estimate and diagram on every job. 

So the job gets bought and the adjuster is mailing out the paper work.  Well, 90% of our customers don't understand RCV, ACV, and Dep, and are clueless as to why they are holding back money from them and are often worried that they don't have enough to get the job done (and please believe me when I say 90% as it is the truth).  We also get the joy of explaining why the mortgage company has been attached to the check and how to go about getting there check back from them.  This is because about 50% of the time, the adjusters go over it so briefly and without detail the homeowner think it is not a big deal and don't ask more questions, about 40% of our customers don't have depreciation discussed with them at all, and about 10% do a fantastic job explaining it.  Therefore, with 90% of customers, we are left explaining how there policy works and the differences in question.  We also take care of invoicing the insurance companies for the depreciation by sending in the contracts, invoices, pictures, etc for the homeowners.

So, does this make us an expert at adjusting???  Absolutely not, I am sure there are tons of things that I will need to learn in order to become a successful adjuster.  However, I do think that my background as a roofer will help in becoming an adjuster (I at least don't see how it can hurt).  If I was interviewing a potential sales rep, and they told me that they have two years experience adjusting but have never sold a thing in their life, I would like to think that their background in adjusting would help them be successful as a roofer.  I have met many, many adjusters and out of all of them I have heard few complaints leading me to believe that most of them like there jobs (sure there are pros and cons.... as there are in every job, but the pros must outweigh the cons as plenty of guys are ready to move across the country at a moments notice and they continue to do it year after year)  I see you poke fun and discourage a lot of people and I guess there is no career that gives you any kind of background to help with adjusting; I don't know if this is because you feel threatened by new competition or what, but you to had to start out somewhere and I am sure you had a lot of questions when you did so.  I am simply trying to educate myself before jumping in the deep end.

Insurance companies train their own adjusters and it takes about 5 years before they get the llevel of lower management and a good salary. Most of the posters on this site have that background. They are not impressed with any other experience in life. Sorry.

Posted By Zak on 29 Apr 2010 08:18 AM

...... We must meet the policy holder and explain how the claims process works, inspect the roof for damage (real damage, not just foot traffic, mechanical, toe boards etc) to see if it has just cause to make a claim and we document it with pictures.  Then we diagram and measure every roof (many things we must put in our scope that adjusters don't worry about but we need for ordering and proper install), we then explain to the homeowner again how to file the claim, what to expect, we create an estimate in xactimate, show up to the adjustment to assist on the roof if needed (and many adjusters have needed it; especially the guys getting up there in age).  We show up with an estimate and diagram on every job. 

It sounds like you're trying to do things the right way.  That will serve you well as adjusters, although it may cut down on your productivity.  It's rare, in my experience, to see a roofer supply an Xactimate estimate or even a roof diagram.  More often it's a quote that says, "One roof;  $x,xxx.xx"  

.... 90% of our customers don't understand RCV, ACV, and Dep, and are clueless as to why they are holding back money from them and are often worried that they don't have enough to get the job done (and please believe me when I say 90% as it is the truth).  We also get the joy of explaining why the mortgage company has been attached to the check and how to go about getting there check back from them.  This is because about 50% of the time, the adjusters go over it so briefly and without detail the homeowner think it is not a big deal and don't ask more questions, about 40% of our customers don't have depreciation discussed with them at all, and about 10% do a fantastic job explaining it.  Therefore, with 90% of customers, we are left explaining how there policy works and the differences in question.  We also take care of invoicing the insurance companies for the depreciation by sending in the contracts, invoices, pictures, etc for the homeowners.

I try to be in that 10% that does a fantastic job explaining the process, but it's a difficult process to understand and some folks are just better at getting it than others.  I'm always trying to improve my explanation, but there's only so much I can do.  You'll understand better when you're an adjuster.  The last thing I tell my insureds is to call me with any questions.   I don't get many calls, but I'm always glad to help.

So, spend some time reading these forums.  All of your questions have been answered before - probably multiple times.  And Liz McGee gave some excellent links above.  Good Luck!
 

Thank you to all who have contributed insight to me.  The websites listed above are helpful, and I will continue to read some of the advice given in this forum and others.