Hello everyone! This is my first post here on the CatAdjuster Forums.
I have experience in the field, but just recently took my State Farm Certification exams with Worley and want to help alleviate concerns that I am sure new adjusters have when trying to get their certification.
***Disclaimer: I am not an employee of Worley, nor will I be sharing specific exam questions. The purpose of this post is to help new adjusters who are nervous about getting their certification. I also have no clue how other vendors handle the State Farm Certification so I cannot speak on behalf of them, but I am under the assumption that it is similar.
So, I was enrolled in the Atlanta Fire Carrier Certification class with Worley. It was a three day class, broken down into the following days:
Day 1: State Farm live stream broadcast from two employees of State Farm. Orientation for Worley follows the live stream if you haven't had orientation with them.
Day 2: State Farm Policy review followed by the policy exam.
Day 3: State Farm Estimatics review followed by the estimatics exam.
Please note: All questions for both exams are multiple choice. Some are even True or False questions.
Once you enroll with Worley for the Fire Carrier Certification (aka the State Farm property certification) you will be given several PDF's. Print all of these out even though its a LOT of paper. You'll want to bring these with you for all three days. Included with these documents is the Policy (read it through- even though you're allowed to have a copy of the policy for the policy exam) You will also want to study the Policy Study guide and familiarize yourself with policy guidelines and also Study the estimatics study guide. DO NOT let the estimatics study guide overwhelm you. You will probably have questions or not understand everything and that is okay, because they go over it in class and simplify it for you. You will, however, want to go ahead and memorize the Area formulas for basic shapes (Rectangle, Triangle, Trapezoid, etc)
So Day 1- The live stream is very, very fast and goes over a bunch of material quickly. It left me a little confused. Do not worry if you aren't completely comfortable after the first day. The program started at 10 for me and I didn't get out until around 6 because of orientation. If you don't have orientation and get to leave early, I recommend you take that time to study the "Policy Study Guide" for class tomorrow. Keep in mind there are frequent 15 minute breaks so you can use the bathroom, take a personal call, grab a smoke, etc.
Day 2- The class started at 8:30 am for me, and we went over the policy material (including more breaks) until about 3:30, and then we were administered the exam. Take notes during the class because even though you will not be allowed to use them during the exam, you wrote them down and have a much better chance of remembering things. I saw people taking pictures with their phones of the presentation, however I would not recommend doing this because you probably won't remember the material as well. If you have really paid attention during the class and have taken notes you should pass this exam. The test was 50 questions, and you can miss up to 15 questions, or 70%.
A decent amount of people did fail this part I believe, but it really isn't that bad. They go over everything you need to know during the presentation. If you're a bad test taker like me, and you're reading this to see if it's that bad... it's not. They really do want you to pass and as stated earlier, if you PAY ATTENTION DURING CLASS you will probably pass.
Day 3- Ah, the estimatics section. I was pretty much completely lost when I came in that day because I really didn't understand the math. Ultimately, I ended up acing this exam. Don't be nervous that you can only miss 8 out of 50 questions. A lot of the questions are very basic and are repeats. My advice for this one is to know your area formulas, pay close attention when they show you parts of a house and their pictures(siding, shingles, insulation, etc) and know how to find items in the printed out pricelist. Read them carefully. There is some decent math involved in this but you get a calculator as well as over three hours to complete this one.
In conclusion, make sure you pay attention in class and you will more than likely do just fine. A lot of experienced adjusters take this exam and fail simply because they DON'T PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS. Think of both the exams as getting a "Pop quiz" after the class. Don't sweat it, they really do want you to pass and honestly, I don't see why there's such a big fail rate.
Extra Tip: Make friends with your fellow classmates and exchange numbers, you never know if it could lead to an opportunity. Connections are everything in this field. :)
Anyway, that's all I have! Thank you for reading and hopefully I have helped alleviate some peoples concerns who get nervous and stress as much as I do.