Very interesting discussion on the felony background. I can tell you since this happened to our firm one time that adjusters do not always fully disclose background details. We had a situation in 05 where a loss adjuster was accepted based on interviews and reference checks from a major claim association membership the adjuster provided as a reference and sent on assignment and it was not until the state of Florida completed the background check for an emergency license that the background was learned. It was a difficult situation for all involved although the claim manager had also interviewed and made final decisions on candidate selections and bore full responsibility for background checks based on the terms of our contract.
Every firm is different and it depends on the terms of the contract between a staffing firm and the adjusting firm or carrier as to who will conduct the background check. We have always included terms in our contract that we leave that up to the adjusting firm to conduct the background checks as there are so many various requirements and different checks the firms want just as you experience as adjusters. A staffing firm may supply many candidates for submission for one position and it would not be economical unless the charge is passed on with the staffing fee to a firm to conduct background checks on each and every applicant until you determine that they are in the final pool for consideration for an opportunity. We have found the majority of adjusting firms require their own forms and use of firms they prefer to use to conduct the background final screenings as they also receive major discounts due to the large pool of candidates they send in for screening and they have a stated preference to control that expense. Many adjusting firms then pass that charge on to adjusters directly or through payroll deductions from first assignment payroll deductions. Many carriers operate under the exact same scenario. They will do preliminary screenings and even allow candidates to progress through the interview process and when they are in the group of finalists then submit their paper work through the formality of background checks.In the case of Citizens FL this year, they are requiring the adjusting firms conduct them for them on independents as they required the adjusting firm conduct them in the past.
You will find that many firms do not conduct the background checks to become roster eligible as there are thousands of people on their rosters. They will have the authorization form in their new applicant package but do not conduct the check until they determine the candidate will be deployed. They will however usually conduct the background check prior to activation once they receive a standby confirmation. It varies from firm to firm. I have managed for 2 firms who did not conduct them at all and relied 100% on the fact the state licensing background checks were performed. I have heard several stories over the past few years of firms who do normally conduct them becoming so busy in the process of deployments that they did not timely complete them falling back on the state department of insurance records to document the clear records. You should also see the new TX emergency license information although one of our firms has advised the carriers they service are still requiring the licensed adjuster for this very reason that "atleast they know the state has conducted the background check".
Regarding the experience requirement, there apparently is a problem with adjusters "expanding on their qualifications" as NFIP pointed out this year at the certification class we attended indicating they often receive resumes from an adjuster year 1 they reject since they do not meet the 4 year experience requirement then get a certfication request the next year with a much more extensive background for the same person when they match up the applications. I've seen the same thing where it is barely recognizable as the same adjuster. Fortunately, it is a small number of adjusters who would hopefully conduct themselves in this manner.
I find it hard to believe a staffing firm or adjusting firm would send in "inexperienced" adjusters based on the comment above without permission of the firm they are staffing for. For example, in 05 we were required to send adjusters in with 3 years of experience, and almost daily/weekly those experience requirements would change due to supply and demand of adjusters. We had a window of 3 weeks in the aftermath of Katrina to send adjusters in with licenses and construction backgrounds with no experience but within weeks those experience levels went right back up to a minimum of 2 year levels as experienced adjusters were released from prior commitments.. You can't make a blanket statement like that without knowing what the staffiing instructions are on a given day or week to the adjusting firm from the carrier or from the adjusting firm to a staffing firm when an adjuster is sent in to a storm as they can change almost on an hourly basis. I think we've all heard the stories of a major adjusting firm using casino employees or adjusters in training dragged out of class during Katrina by many adjusting firms and sent on the road when the demand for adjuster numbers was so great. No firm however would work hard to obtain a client and intentionally circumvent the experience requirements which would only lose the client in the long run so that makes no sense.
Reviewing applications daily for thousands of adjusters now, I can tell you that many inexperienced adjusters were used by ALL adjusting firms during Katrina, it was not an isolated issue to one staffing firm, one adjusting firm, or even one carrier. I have seen this on resumes across the board to include all major and minor adjusting firms working for all major carriers,etc.
Here is an interesting interview with Crawford I ran across recently which expresses much of what we are seeing on experience levels. This article states the move from the "Indiana-Jones type senior level adjuster to new directions some firms are going looking for the inexperienced adjuster as they are forming outstanding schools to train them the way the want them to handle claims. We received a similar request in the past week for licensed adjusters for a very reputable independent firm stating they "preferred to train them their way". Here's the article about Crawford and their school,etc :
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/...86753/pg_1
It's an unfortunate problem I'm sure adjusting firms also face when an adjuster may indicate experience they may not actually have. It's amazing the "lango" someone can pick up in forums until put to the test of actually working files. Again, hopefully this is a small number of adjusters but anyone in this business knows that you can't pass through strict file requirements if they are expecting the work product of an experienced adjuster and you submit a substandard work product.
Part of the problem in the independent side of things is the fact that adjusters are on multiple rosters and do not want to provide references from current vendors they work for. You'd be surprised at the number of adjuster's whose resumes simply post "Independent adjuster employment and the year range" and they do not want to even disclose the carrier or adjusting firm names they have experience working with. I had a funny experience with one individual who alleged the carrier code of conduct forms as well as independent contracts prevented him from disclosing he'd even worked claims for them.
You all state in regularly in the forums, many were allowed to work during Katrina that may not otherwise have made it in a normal storm year. This is nothing new. As a staff manager, I recall many a year independent firms sent us those that were inexperienced during extremely heavy storm periods when the experienced adjusters were deployed on prior assignments.