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I thought it was pretty clear. There's a sign that many ski resorts use and it states, "Know your limit.  Ski within it". Gale, I know you are a software engineer, so I will cut you some slack as I discuss the intricacies of managing caseloads and time as a catastrophe adjuster. I will also try to cut you some slack since this person may perhaps be a client of yours.

No experienced adjuster in their right mind would inspect 100 claims and NOT have a plan to get them resolved. Now this DIMWIT has a pile of 100 claims (this appears to be just one person) and no one to write them up. Sadly, this person has way over-committed themselves in the face of a mountain of paperwork. This just multiply's their possibilities of having even more public adjusters and/or a litigious monster of an attorney to come along and fold their hands in the midst of a great opportunity.

I have an adjuster that I tutor and give advice on a regular basis. He ran up to DC to run a bunch of small windstorm claims. He had one shy of 100, but in his two years of wisdom, he was smart enough to write them up on the same day he saw them.

My hat's off to you if you actually condone this approach to handling claims. When I handle residential to small commercial losses, the simple rule of thumb is you only inspect as many as you can write up. If you are inspecting losses that will likely have building consultants and other experts assigned to them, you certainly wont go near 50 losses. I had 9 losses after Hurricane Isaac and banked over 300 hours the first month while working with consultants.

Again, this adjuster's situation is more dire based on the fact that inexperienced people are difficult to find in the current market.

It's always a dire situation when inexperienced people are difficut to find..........................

However, for experienced people like myself, I can usually find my.........uh..........

Posted By Jud G. on 05 Dec 2012 08:29 PM

I thought it was pretty clear. There's a sign that many ski resorts use and it states, "Know your limit.  Ski within it". Gale, I know you are a software engineer, so I will cut you some slack as I discuss the intricacies of managing caseloads and time as a catastrophe adjuster. I will also try to cut you some slack since this person may perhaps be a client of yours.

No experienced adjuster in their right mind would inspect 100 claims and NOT have a plan to get them resolved. Now this DIMWIT has a pile of 100 claims (this appears to be just one person) and no one to write them up. Sadly, this person has way over-committed themselves in the face of a mountain of paperwork. This just multiply's their possibilities of having even more public adjusters and/or a litigious monster of an attorney to come along and fold their hands in the midst of a great opportunity.

I have an adjuster that I tutor and give advice on a regular basis. He ran up to DC to run a bunch of small windstorm claims. He had one shy of 100, but in his two years of wisdom, he was smart enough to write them up on the same day he saw them.

My hat's off to you if you actually condone this approach to handling claims. When I handle residential to small commercial losses, the simple rule of thumb is you only inspect as many as you can write up. If you are inspecting losses that will likely have building consultants and other experts assigned to them, you certainly wont go near 50 losses. I had 9 losses after Hurricane Isaac and banked over 300 hours the first month while working with consultants.

Again, this adjuster's situation is more dire based on the fact that inexperienced people are difficult to find in the current market.

This is just for fun, Jud...and only for fun...because with the issues Sandy has presented, there ain't anyone having any fun on coverages.  And, you're one mighty intelligent fellow.  But "multiply's" ain't a word (unless you're from OKC)!  There's my fun; Lord knows I try.  

Posted By Mike Kunze on 06 Dec 2012 10:08 PM

This is just for fun, Jud...and only for fun...because with the issues Sandy has presented, there ain't anyone having any fun on coverages.  And, you're one mighty intelligent fellow.  But "multiply's" ain't a word (unless you're from OKC)!  There's my fun; Lord knows I try.  

You are absolutely right.  One of the key elements with this job is to strike a balance between just having fun, but taking it very seriously.  I almost destroyed my career back in 2004 when many firms where doling out batches of claims to adjusters between 90-150 at one time.

I really had a terrific time just cruising along with my inspections, going out to eat every night at expensive restaurants, while doing no paperwork to keep me modestly ahead...I inspected an average of 8-10 residential losses a day with 14 being my record.  Yep, I thought I was really something.

The fun lasted for about 3 weeks.  About the time that my inspections were done, I developed an intimate understanding of the word Dimwit.  Around that time, my computer crashed, I lost valuable photos, key claim related documents; I learned a lot about stress, technology, customer service, and life.  Eventually, I ended up producing just enough paperwork to get me through the end without having files reassigned.  I buckled down, stuck to the basics by not panicking and continuing to return phone calls.  Eventually, my cycle time average ticked down and ended up improving to better than most (UNDERSTAND: I do not in any way suggest/condone this method of adjusting losses).  I ended up with the least re-opens and most kudos letters from customers for that firm that year.  Yet, I will never let myself get that far behind again.  The frustrating part for me, is that I still have to learn lessons about utterly stupid things I should have stopped doing years ago.  I suppose that's just the unbearable part of being human.

I learned that you can have too much fun and then people start questioning what backwoods State you are from.  Yes, I currently reside in one of those states called Alabama.  So, at least we don't have to compete with the likes of Louisiana and Mississippi for 49 and 50.  I can make fun of Louisiana since I was, well born and raised there too... ;)