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Your inquiry probably comes at a bad time, if you want answers from the folks who have the best answers for you. Right now, those of us that are either out in the field or being desk jockeys in-house at the carriers, are working 12-16 hour days. We might peek for a few minutes just to see what's up, but that's about it. It shows, if you notice the posts are not very numerous at this time.

When things slow down, someone may be able to give you a meaningful reply. In the meantime, if you haven't already, go back thru the forum archives and you might find a lot of useful info.

Hey there, HuskerCat is on the money. However, I am on a week long break coming back from an assignment in Sacramento,CA before heading to Long Island. As such, here is my opinion

obviously you have a great deal of claims adjusting experience. My question is, "is that experience limited to inside auto claims with one carrier?"

What state(s) are you licensed in? Does your license(s) have an all lines designation such as property and casualty, comprehensive, Workman's Compensation etc...? (whichever license(s) you hold, is the license in your home state a resident Company/staff/ IA license? Some states differenciate between company and independent designations

What estimating platform are you fluent with? Whilst multiple platforms are utilized, the CAT industry is largely handled with XM8 and Xactinalysis.

Is the hubby licensed as an adjuster?

Residential HO claims are a different animal than auto (obviously), nevertheless, I do not often hear about ANY adjuster failing at this business due to inspection issues. Most failure comes from the paperwork side/organization and estimate generating side. It would appear you would be strong candidates to break into the CAT industry.

My first bit of advice is to get your husband licensed as a resident adjuster in your home state. If your home state does NOT license adjusters, I recommend either Texas, Florida or Indiana being designated as your husbands home state for licensing purposes.

It has been discussed that Indiana has the fewest hurdles toward licensure and enjoys close to the same reciprocity with other states as do Texas and Florida( reciprocity means you are able to obtain a NON-resident claims adjuster license in any state that has reciprocity with the state to which you are licensed as a resident adjuster WITHOUT having to sit for each state's exam) You will have to apply/pay/comply with all continuing education requirements for those states, but no further exams are necessary(with the exception of Arizona/California/New York which has NO reciprocity with ANY state and all licensees must sit for that state's exam)

There is an industry within the adjusting industry and that is the fleecing of newly licensed claims adjusters with multiple certifications that really don't amount to anything more than taking money out of their pockets.

My advice is if you aren't already fluent in XM8 BOTH you and your hubby should become fluent. There are few certifications that will get you on a job and keep you there at the same time. Nevertheless, those adjusters with an XM8 level 3 certification on their resume WILL be set apart from their peers. Further the knowledge required to get that level 3 certification will KEEP you deployed.

Coming from an auto background, you may have little construction knowledge. You DON'T need an adjuster 101 course, PERIOD! You can learn alot by going to Home Depot/Lowe's and looking at the different types of roof shingles and such(the most common types being the 25 year three tab asphalt composition shingle/30/35/50 year architectural ashpalt composition shingle/Ceramic tile/wood shake/etc.... )

To put a home back to a pre event condition requires knowing what is underneath drywall and plaster walls. It isn't that difficult and after a brief period of time, you can get pretty comfortable. There are a lot of commonality between materials. Exterior walls usually consist of 1/2 inch drywall/Batt insulation/Crown molding/Base boards/electrical outlets. Interior walls are usually sans any insulation but everything else is the same. Ceilings CAN be 1/2 drywall but may also be 5/8 drywall and will usually have either Batt or blown in insulation 6/12 deep. We already discussed comp shingles. Roof decking in most modern homes is 1/2 plywood that come in 32 sf sections (8x4). Some homes /older homes may have TnG (tongue and groove) decking.

Older homes may have plaster walls and even asbestos floors and or tiles and shingles (especially in the south) Many times folks will leave the asbestos floor in place and cover over with a new floor(otherwise abatement is expensive and time consuming)

This is NOT intended to be a tutorial but to give you an idea of what you need to hit the ground running.

Even with your policy knowledge, that knowledge is skewed toward one specific carrier in one specific state. However, it will be an easy learning process in that you already understand insurance policy terminology. Almost all additional policy knowledge you would need to know about can be found at

www.claimspages.com

and can be absorbed at no cost.

Most folks here know I am not a big fan of certifications. That is true for the most part. Nevertheless, certifications do have a place in the industry, it is just in most cases, that place is NOT with rookie adjusters.

Aside from XM8 certifications which I am all about, the only certifications I would endorse would be the PTC designation which is a series of certifications specific to the CAT industry and offered by KMConDemand which is the online entity for Crawford & Company one of the most solid and premier vendors in the claims industry. The PTC was created to become the universal certification recognized by all carriers and to replace ALL carrier certifications out there today. It is intended to help the independent adjuster save money required annually to keep all other carrier certs current and eliminates the travel and lodging expenses as it is done online. Some relevant carriers have shown interest and multiple carriers sit on the committee for bringing the PTC designation to the CAT industry. Although the PTC designation is worth every penny IMHO, I suggest you not make that a priority at this time.

Another "cert" I will endorse would be the CPCU and AIC designations. These are a series of courses that run the gamut of important insurance topics. These courses can be done online and are very complex, require a great deal of time and effort, BUT those with these designations are what I consider to be the elite in our industry.

HAAG has a residential roof certification program as well as a commercial roof certification program, very strong curriculum and holders of this certification are highly respected and many the carrier look highly upon those with the HAAG roof certification.

There is one caveat to the HAAG cert programs. Some folks indicate that the HAAG certification is inherently baised and information learned through the HAAG certs stands in the face of widely held beliefs in regard to roof damage(IE...What HAAG teaches about what is and isn't "damage" in regard to a hail strike can and has been disputed by other carriers and engineering firms)

In closing, this is just an overview and just MY opinion (others will certainly differ)

Robby

If you wanna go more in depth, I have no problem pointing you in the right direction and I will help you in every way I can.

Shoot me an email for more information:

                                                                             Robby Robinson

catadjusterx@gmail.com

My answer is gonna be a lot shorter............................,

Attend a property school with Pilot or Crawford or some company that takes the claims business very seriously. Pilot will train you in property the way they want it done, which satisfies all their client companies. There are a couple of other companies that are in the claims business first and training second. Eberl's may have some training and Pacesetter had some training but I don't know about now. These companies are very concerned with your welfare for a simple reason..........if you are comfortable, well trained and making money, the company is also making money. It's really quite simple for the companies that have a personal interest in their employees.

The school mills don't do anything except deplete your checkbook.

Posted By OkcLarryD on 15 Nov 2012 07:47 PM
My answer is gonna be a lot shorter............................,

Attend a property school with Pilot or Crawford or some company that takes the claims business very seriously. Pilot will train you in property the way they want it done, which satisfies all their client companies. There are a couple of other companies that are in the claims business first and training second. Eberl's may have some training and Pacesetter had some training but I don't know about now. These companies are very concerned with your welfare for a simple reason..........if you are comfortable, well trained and making money, the company is also making money. It's really quite simple for the companies that have a personal interest in their employees.

The school mills don't do anything except deplete your checkbook.

...................................................

Agreed Larry,

I left out a very important warning. Although I discussed the industry within the industry in fleecing newly licensed adjusters, I didn't mention this:

Beware of those vendors who claim to be IA firms as well as training vendors. The ones discussed above are the exception (Pilot/Worley/Eberl's/Crawford/EA Renfroe) to this warning because although they are both a training and IA firm DUAL vendor, they are an IA firm FIRST and foremost and the training side is secondary.

All rookie adjusters should be vary wary of a purported job offer from most dual vendors sans the above mentioned vendors. In most cases a job offer is nothing more than a thinly vieled training solicitation.

When deciding upon which vendor to obtain your license, do NOT make that decision based upon a promised roster position immediately upon licensure. In MOST cases, that equates to absolutely nothing.

Whether someone obtains their license through a classroom or online makes NO difference, in 9 years I have NEVER been asked where or how I got licensed. What matters the most is the understanding that the knowledge necessary to obtain an adjuster's license is not the end of the learning process it is only the beginning. Knowledge obtained after licensure is what is important.

 

In closing a sidenote to Larry, you know how to get right to the point and you are very articulate. I aspire to be able to do that without writing a novella. I will learn...eventually!     

Vale National and Farm Bureau Tech continue to rise to be the most familiar ones that HR recognizes in the 1099 world.

Other designations will launch you much further: AIC, SCLA, and CPCU. If you just want to run claims, don't get carried away with those three (3) designations or the company will want to promote you and reduce your earning potential...

Are you OK, Larry?  That was the most lengthy post ever, so take a deep breath!

And, Robby...you showed a lot of restraint!

OK, peeked & out.

 

Well, you know, .....................8 or 7 of them Sasprillas and a fella gets a little loquatious. Is that spelled right?

Happy Trails

Thanks to all that replied. I, being behind a desk all day, did not even think about the bad timing on posting. However the replies t I did receive have helped me immensely. I've even contact a few adjuster via phone that are actually on the road to get some feed back as well. I thank them as well. I have a son that is graduating high school this May. Since I know that I cannot do Cat Adjusting for approx a year,we will take the year to get our ducks in a row, obtain the necessary equipment, and get our training (I can use my training for CE credits as well). I do have some general home/contruction knowledge (basics) but to feel comfortable I think a a property class (thanks Larry), xtimate 1 and level 2 training ( Robbie I think level 3 can be obtained once I have a certain amount of claims under my belt. )

Then go from there. Hope ya'll are all staying safe !!

Posted By CJordan on 01 Dec 2012 08:44 PM
Thanks to all that replied. I, being behind a desk all day, did not even think about the bad timing on posting. However the replies t I did receive have helped me immensely. I've even contact a few adjuster via phone that are actually on the road to get some feed back as well. I thank them as well. I have a son that is graduating high school this May. Since I know that I cannot do Cat Adjusting for approx a year,we will take the year to get our ducks in a row, obtain the necessary equipment, and get our training (I can use my training for CE credits as well). I do have some general home/contruction knowledge (basics) but to feel comfortable I think a a property class (thanks Larry), xtimate 1 and level 2 training ( Robbie I think level 3 can be obtained once I have a certain amount of claims under my belt. )

Then go from there. Hope ya'll are all staying safe !!
..........................................................................................

C.Jordan,

this is fantastic! You have the best chance of success as a rookie (outside of becoming a staff adjuster trainee)IA by having a year time frame in which to get "your ducks in a row" without the stressors of having to get an information dump all at once.

As before if you want some additional info, I can be reached at:

catadjusterx@gmail.com