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Well buford, I was referring to competent, empowered desk adjusters.  If a desk adjuster can write an Xactimate estimate, they'll know if a contractor is overcharging for repairs.  You can cite specific examples where one adjuster will pay for waste on drywall, and another that can find coverage for a chicken coop.  I don't know how many go out in the field and come back because they suck, or those who never left the desk because they have no motivation to climb roofs.  To each their own.

I can tell you that the one who cuts the check is ultimately going to win.  They'll negotiate with the contractor for the price, and waste factor on drywall becomes a moot point.  I know a lot of firms that are basically using IA's as photo takers because they can't get anyone else to go out.  Desk adjusters don't need IA's to make coverage decisions, they need IA's to simply make recommendations and to use their expertise to determine the appropriate cause of loss.   That, and return phone calls.   More times than not, neither expectation is met from the IA.

You don't need to talk to me about my head popping, either.  I believe I know what it takes to be successful, and my product expectations and standards are certainly above half of the people in this industry.

You guys are right. When I am super busy it is because of the extraordinary talent and skill I demonstrate by drawing circles on the roof and copying and pasting a report in the program. What a difficult, difficult task. Only the cream of the crop (and 3 year old children) can draw circles. I almost forgot the extreme difficulty it takes in taking a picture and uploading it to the computer. Only a handful of people in the world are capable of this next-to-impossible task.

I am sure the reason I am not busy right not is because the 2 companies i work for found someone who is better at drawing circles and copying and pasting word documents.
It has nothing to do with the fact that no carriers are sending my companies claims right now. HAHA. The only mistake I made was not working for more companies in the past several years. There are so many adjusters now, that they have a good handful of guys they can call now. No reason to call some guy like me that they have never met before.

Olegred, I am sure the owners of all of the major companies are in secret meetings right now saying "we have to get this guy." Did you see how he drew his circles? Did you see how he measured the piece of fascia that was broken? THIS GUY IS AWESOME!!!

I mean come on!! You guys are busy because your company is getting claims in. Quit acting like this job is too difficult for the average person and only you 2 are capable. Sounds like some of you are busy because you have done a good job staying in contact with multiple IA firms and it sounds like some are busy because the one or 2 companies you work for are getting claims in.  Please don't insult my intelligence and act like you are super adjuster and you are some rare talent that is hard to come by.   I can give an unemployed homeless guy 100 claims and give a general adjuster none and the homeless guy will make more money.

 

What a delight to read your whining complaint. Dude, relax, you'll get some claims, we are in the springtime, as we speak the clouds are getting ready to drop some large hail.....  In your rather incoherent rambling, you mix 2 issues. One, adjusters's skill and two, adjusters self marketing strategy. They are correlated somewhat but not  rigidly. I know a few guys that are not the best in the world but they know how to get work (multiple vendor contacts and so on. And I know excellent adjusters that are helpless in self-promoting. Looks, like you are a second type. Just change your ways, learn. You'll be ok.

bob-o Your post #80 was the best I have read in years.

Always remember that the fellow adjuster you criticize today, might someday be that staff employee that would have sent you claims, had they not remembered these postings. He who pays the fee bill, is the final authority on quality of work.

Joe60.........

You got that right!!

Aw Joe, how could one of the best adjusters in the state of Florida be in a position to hand a 3 day wonder from Texas his pink slip, oops s list.

I have recently been dealing with Big Blue on a few claims. Seems they are using Pilot and all the new adjusters they hired off the street and trained in 2005 for their mold and problem files. Even the staff adjuster I have been dealing with was hired in 2005. I'm just posting this under the what it's worth department. Ohh I did have to ask these guys what they did before they went to work handling claims. One had been in sales and the other had worked in a casino. You can only guess what fun and misery I'm in right now trying to get my clients claim straighten out. Imagine trying to have a serious conversation with people who don't have a clue about claims. They are literaly digging their own hole to fall in.

Maybe only those who started in 2005 will survive this. Everyone I know with 20+ years experience is sitting at home and have been sitting for some time now. A lot of these guys haved moved on and from what they are saying may never return to this up and down crazy business.

  The best question is why are carriers shying away from using IA's. With the economic downturn and the stock market's focus on short term stock prices, it seems that the industry is bucking the general trend towards cost-cutting and contract personel, who are not entitled to benefits.  In addition, with the climate in Washington, DC favoring higher insurance and payroll costs, one would think that cutting salaried employees would be in vogue. Since these factors all would appear to favor the IA business model, there must be other reasons.  Could these be the ease of entry into this profession and the lack of standardized training. I believe until we, as IA's, can provide the level of service, that the carrier's feel that they can receive from their own staff, this may continue. In some cases, we may be there, but in others, we may want to ask ourselves what we can do to improve our work product.

I do not feel another person is needed in the catastrophe adjusting world that needs a license to get some work. Saw an add drom Compass asjusters in Prescott AZ. last week for people to Measure, Photos & diagram homeowners loss, within 50 miles of you zip code for $35.00 per house and .65 per mile. . Thats it these are regular claims. You send all to the Homeoffice and they write the estimate in exactimate.

The is the starve out version of FICUS TREE. These people can be hired from local  unemployed for $25.00 per house with 12 houses per day and send to a center, one or two persons can wite the scope on the scope (tic) sheets with the xmate code and send the whole thing to India and get it back in 24 hours ready to print and send. Nope not a good biz. for new adjusters.

Looks like the schools will have to hit the road as needed to train the FICUS in two days, on a contract basis. And what ever happened to fee bill Billing. This is a dirty little secret but flood adjusters have been doing this for years (very quite) and it works real fine.

I don't know.... I am on really good terms with a bunch of big carriers managers, they trust my work. I have the feeling that they would hire me if I wanted. For now I would regard shying away from hiring IA as a myth, nothing more.

Posted By Ray Hall on 02 Mar 2010 10:46 AM

I do not feel another person is needed in the catastrophe adjusting world that needs a license to get some work. Saw an add drom Compass asjusters in Prescott AZ. last week for people to Measure, Photos & diagram homeowners loss, within 50 miles of you zip code for $35.00 per house and .65 per mile. . Thats it these are regular claims. You send all to the Homeoffice and they write the estimate in exactimate.

This is what I was talking about in a post last week.  Why are IA's needed if you have empowered desk adjusters? Thinking that people in India are writing the estimates is excessive, as I think it will be more domestic. 

And Olegred, there's nothing wrong with being confident about your skills and abilities, though it is wise to remain humble.  There is always someone better than you out there.  You are completely off base in your assumption that shying away from IA's is a myth.  It's quite the opposite; turns out it is very real.