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Yes, this thread is about how much staff guys make, not how far they fall from a roof.

"he started it" WAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAA WHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

STFU

Posted By Staffer on 27 Jan 2010 01:15 AM
I'm back. Been busy working with the California claims and the smaller wind in the south over the weekend.

65 daily - I'm guessing you're not that bright. If you read most of the thread you'd see that staff catastrophe adjusters also get a bonus. Not sure how Liberty Mutual works but bonus is typically between $25-40k (various factors) thus that makes that position $80k on the low and over $100k on the higher end. Not too bad considering you get a vehicle, expenses paid, 401k and all the other benefits/bells & whistles.

Bobabooey - A true general adjuster generally only handles claims with $1m and greater damages/exposure and handle 10-15 a year. Those make $100k+. Many different classifications out there thus all generals aren't true generals; just like our military.

Olegred - you are right. We will need IA's in a mega event. Companies normally exclude mega event numbers from all their staffing/performance models.

It is true that there is a bonus and other bells and whistles involved to make a bigger picture.  When I interviewed for a cat position with Travelers, I was offered a decent (within the scope of the majority of underpaid opinions posted here) base salary and would get $100/day for each day out on a cat.  As the second interview came around, I was then told that there would be a cap at $90,000 regardless of how many days worked.

I just received my 10% contributions to my local church for the past year.  Since I never miss a beat in tithing off my gross (not my net), I know I made a little over $160K last year.  I don't chase storms, so my expenses are very low.  I pay for my own E&O, GL, Auto, Health Insurance with BCBS ($430/month with a $500 deductible per person and 20% for major stuff).

IMHO, the bells and whistles, benefits, vehicle, 401K are wonderful for those flummoxed by smoke and mirrors, but have you really figured out the fine print?  Those things are really just a big distraction to those that aren't willing to shop around and figure out how much things really cost should they buy them as an individual.

When I do have expenses, I reduce my taxable income.  When I do drive, my taxable income gets reduced.  Does yours?  I may not be that bright, but you'll have to pardon me for being so content to decline any intrest in your lofty staff position or one like it...

Travel- occasionally I will get a hotel for a one or two night stay, but this question doesn't really apply to me.  However, when I adjusted storm claims for a few years I never had a problem getting a place to stay during the big ones like Ivan, Katrina (FL and LA), and Jeanne/Frances.  Plenty of alternatives to the hotel websites exist such as renting an apartment, condo or even buying a house.  There's also one other item to be added to this list that no one ever thinks about, but it wouldn't be a secret or have value anymore if I posted it.  Just think outside the box and remember that unless it's paid for, the motorhome payment keeps on going when the storm work is gone.

Vendors-   At one time, I was working for 8-10 vendors for daily claims.  I eventually weeded them out on terms of pay, file requirements, marketing strength (are they growing or do they grovel, have nepotistic relationships, or buddy-buddy arrangements with carriers), business goals (are they wanting to replace my spot with a staff position- in my case, I avoid that), and effective communication.

Marketing- you have vendors that market with accuracy, blowhard, and grovel.  Vendors that blowhard, over-promise, under-deliver, and excel at failing continually.  ‘Continually’ is a key word, because their traps keep running a mile-a-minute so they never learn or die for that matter.  Vendors used to groveling suffer by never earning respectful business from respectful carriers.

Communication is a two way street.  This is huge since I count on them to provide me with a consistent expectation on how a file should look. Some vendors actually don't have a clue what the carrier wants and this hurts their adjuster’s chances of getting more assignments. I had a client tip sheet show that the BSC's should be 'In' and further down the list it said to turn them 'off'.

A caveat to the weed them out comment:  If you approach them with a ‘job seeker’ mentality (what’s in it for me), you won’t get anywhere.  Regardless if you’ve done this for years or just getting started, you can’t complain or voice your unsolicited opinion.  People who voice their opinion to show others how smart they are and how stupid the vendor or client are much more common than you realize.  This makes it easy for them to send assignments elsewhere.  As an IA, you are in a glorified customer servant who's “rewarded” with work because others helped you get there.  Once you beat your chest and claim it’s ‘all you’, then your client’s (insureds, vendors and the carriers that they work for) will pick up on the attitude, ignore you and send the work elsewhere.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve upset a few vendors by putting their files on the backburner because, frankly, they and their clients were terrible in many ways (the ‘grovel’ category).  Getting files in that needed to be reworked multiple times because their reviewers couldn’t address their concerns in one or two swipes was another problem.  I should have sucked it up and turned the files in to refuse more assignments.  This action reflected more on me and no one benefited.  I’ve mended the fence with two of them for the sake of professionalism and they’ve actually asked me to come back.  Fortunately, I don’t need that option.  I don’t expect any more good to come out of mending those fences, but time will tell.

Posted By Bobabooey on 30 Jan 2010 05:40 PM
Olegred, if u are as busy as u say I would keep doing what u are doing. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

There's a lot of truth to that, but someone else is always figuring out how to make things faster and better.  Us old dogs have to stay on the up and up because of those damn whippersnappers.