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Maybe warm bodies and three day wonders don't work that well.

Maybe you're right.............

TWIA is trying to pass off all the turmoil and problems that arose from hurricane Ike in 2008 and pin it on inexperienced adjusters.

Make no mistake incompetent adjusters writing claims during mass CAT events is nothing but BAD for the industry. Ike and Katrina/Rita highlights the pitfalls of carriers running understaffed all year round and during large scale events utilizing independent adjusting firms.

Are incompetent rookie adjusters running around a bad thing? Hell yes it is bigtime!!!! The answer at least in my opinion is to require the holder of an adjusters license to actually know something PRIOR to licensure. My further opinion is that an adjuster's license should not allow a rookie adjuster with minimal to no claims knowledge to adjust claims. The license should be provisional and should require PROVEN claims experience under the auspice of an independent adjusting firm and/or carrier before that adjuster can begin adjusting claims on their own. Only then should that adjuster be granted a license to adjust claims and update from a provisional license to a license with all the rights and responsibilities of a competent adjuster.

Florida has the right idea of requiring public adjusters to holding only a provisional license for a period of 1 to 2 years as they are trained by a PA firm or adjuster( as an apprentice) This should be mandated across the boards for all states that license adjusters (both PA/IA) Only after that period of time and instruction are apprentice PA's given full licensure.

However it is widely known that the states enjoy the revenue streams of license fees and almost anyone with a pulse can receive an adjusters license. Predatory training vendors have created an industry withing an industry ( not all training vendors are predatory) of licensing almost anyone under the guise of immediate riches after a 3 day class.

To be clear, the knowledge required to become licensed is NOT the end of the learning process folks, it is but a drop in the bucket.

Understand that this post does not dispute that under experienced adjusters are indeed a problem, however in the case of TWIA's actions after Ike, the TWIA debacle had less to do with incompetent adjusters and more MUCH more to do with a massive failure of infastructure and ethics on the part of TWIA and it's management.

You can find hours of reading about the TWIA class action lawsuit right here on CADO and it will blow your mind. (understand that a plaintiff's complaint can allege all kinds of atrocities and that does not make it true. However, I base my disgust not upon the plaintiff's complaint, but upon the thousands of inter-office emails from TWIA managers and dozens of emails from concerned IA firms about TWIA claims instructions and reasoning for denials across the board.