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Are you saying that "You are willing to ride along with people to help train them 'free of charge'" or "I would like to ride along with an experienced adjuster to learn the ropes 'for free'"?

No I am willing to ride along with an Adjuster in the Vero Berach area

To learn, or to offer training? I don't really see a lot of people wanting you to ride with you, just for the sake of riding along...

You should be more willing to pay for the opportunity to ride with an experienced adjuster. Aside from carrying the ladder, a ride-along is essentially dead weight.

Posted By dbonham on 21 Jan 2013 11:48 AM
You should be more willing to pay for the opportunity to ride with an experienced adjuster. Aside from carrying the ladder, a ride-along is essentially dead weight.

I am not going to pay anyone after i just paid all the schools I went to. Like all the people that paid me to teach them the tile business I owned for 30 years

 

Please make a little sense before you answer next time

OK, allow me to simplify it for you. You are no longer training anyone. Your 30 years in the tile business mean little to you now as you venture into claims adjusting. Sounds like your're jumping into a new career at mid-life, you would be well advised to humble yourself and at least try to obtain some field experience. On second thought, maybe you don't need to ride along with anyone, just catch the next mass deployment and see if your ego will see you through it. We are talking about a business that has chewed people up and spit them out. You would be well advised to accept that you are a beginner and try to learn as much as you can. If you approach it right, there are quite a few people on this site that could help you.

Dbonham is absolutely correct Adjuster Don. Take a step backwards and take a deep breath. I too started many years ago with 20 + years as a General Contractor. Before I became an IA, I was hired by many Storm Chasing Roofing companies to meet CAT Adjusters and scope for the insured. I used it as "information gathering time" so I could catapult myself into the IA business. I too thought like you that with 20 years in the General Contracting business, being a Realtor, and Lender, I would be able to adjust quickly with "policy interpretation" and be well ahead of the game in construction knowledge. Guess what....I was.......BUT....there is SOOOOOO much more. The people here can help you....but my friend...you are just now taking your 1st baby steps........

A few questions for you......

1. Are you on any rosters?
2. Have those IA firms given you any training?
3. Are you State Farm certified for Allstate trained?
4. Do you know Xactimate?
5. Are you Xactimate certified?
6. Have you actually ever scoped a loss?
7. Has any carrier briefed or trained you on their software?
8. Do you have $5,000 - $7000 to pay expenses once you are deployed?

While many IA "old-pros" may say State Farm or Allstate is not the way to go to make money....it "IS" a great starting place to "prove" yourself worthy to an IA firm.
I can grant you this.......with no experience the IA firms that hire rookie adjusters are looking for everything I asked you and multiple state licenses, and xatimate certifications, and THEN it may take several years before you can prove your worth.

Many, and I mean MANY new adjusters got to the field being deployed only to be sent home within 7 days. You MUST, and I mean MUST schedule, scope, estimate, and close the file. So many fail because they "scope" 4-6 losses a day for 5 days and never prepare the estimate to close the file because they cannot work Xactimate or the carrier's software. All that time and expense waisted and they are sent home.

Good luck in your venture, and I hope you know more than "tile" and truly understand all construction and it's terms.

Posted By Don Hilaman on 21 Jan 2013 02:54 PM

Posted By dbonham on 21 Jan 2013 11:48 AM
You should be more willing to pay for the opportunity to ride with an experienced adjuster. Aside from carrying the ladder, a ride-along is essentially dead weight.

I am not going to pay anyone after i just paid all the schools I went to. Like all the people that paid me to teach them the tile business I owned for 30 years

 

Please make a little sense before you answer next time

What does you paying the schools have to do with taking time out of someone else's day (and essentially money out of their pocket to train you) ??  

Then two aren't related, and to try to connect the two doesn't make sense.

Most of life is tuition -- and you usually get exactly what you pay for, but sometimes less.

Just something to think about when you are asking for something for free.....

Posted By Pondman on 22 Jan 2013 08:35 PM
Dbonham is absolutely correct Adjuster Don. Take a step backwards and take a deep breath. I too started many years ago with 20 + years as a General Contractor. Before I became an IA, I was hired by many Storm Chasing Roofing companies to meet CAT Adjusters and scope for the insured. I used it as "information gathering time" so I could catapult myself into the IA business. I too thought like you that with 20 years in the General Contracting business, being a Realtor, and Lender, I would be able to adjust quickly with "policy interpretation" and be well ahead of the game in construction knowledge. Guess what....I was.......BUT....there is SOOOOOO much more. The people here can help you....but my friend...you are just now taking your 1st baby steps........

A few questions for you......

1. Are you on any rosters?  Yes 3
2. Have those IA firms given you any training?  Citizens Cert in the next week
3. Are you State Farm certified for Allstate trained?  Not yet on the to do list 
4. Do you know Xactimate? I have taken 6 -8 hour classtime days training
                                                          Testing for level 1
                                                 ever scoped a loss? Not as of yet
7. Has any carrier briefed or trained you on their software? They all use XM8 so far
8. Do you have $5,000 - $7000 to pay expenses once you are deployed?  I am looking for daily claims  But yes I do have that cash.  

While many IA "old-pros" may say State Farm or Allstate is not the way to go to make money....it "IS" a great starting place to "prove" yourself worthy to an IA firm.
I can grant you this.......with no experience the IA firms that hire rookie adjusters are looking for everything I asked you and multiple state licenses, and xatimate certifications, and THEN it may take several years before you can prove your worth.

Many, and I mean MANY new adjusters got to the field being deployed only to be sent home within 7 days. You MUST, and I mean MUST schedule, scope, estimate, and close the file. So many fail because they "scope" 4-6 losses a day for 5 days and never prepare the estimate to close the file because they cannot work Xactimate or the carrier's software. All that time and expense waisted and they are sent home.

 I totally agree about using there software or Xactimate. You have to use it everyday to be proficient and how to run it correctly. With that takes practice. You only get 30 days to play with the software. I have spent 6 days in Xactimate classes. Until you actually do the scope and use live information is when it all comes together. 

Good luck in your venture, and I hope you know more than "tile" and truly understand all construction and it's terms.

Yes I have been working on this career change for about a year now. I have found out that the insurance company terms are different than the every day terms used in the trades.

          I do understand that people can help others here. Thats why we are all here. I do appreciate the time you took to write this post       and make it so that it is understable. I am makeing a big effort to make a go of this and getting advice where ever I can.

         My point was I have helped many people in my business over the years. I justed wanted too do is observe and  take someone to lunch for there effort.

Thanks for the Advice

Good luck to you, Don. This has become an increasingly difficult profession to break into. Some actually do provide free ride alongs. I do, but I do it very infrequently - maybe six or seven times since I went independent in 1998. Finding someone in a specific area (as in your case, Vero Beach) will be even more difficult, but who knows. Someone may step up to the plate.

I understand what your saying and don't need it spelled out to me. I was once in your shoes and was lucky my friends step father was an ex insurance agent  turned IA. He let me work along side him as his assistant for about 9 months paid me $500 a week plus expenses like food and nominal things like that. I am very greatful for his help in getting me in the business.

After getting licensed it is difficult to land a gig with out actual hands on experience. In most cases the only way to get work is when a major event happens and they need all hands and then some. The carrier I currently work for does not allow ride alongs or I would have you go with me so you can get the jist of the day to day operations. keep an eye on the classifieds section for new work, check it morning miday and evening as new stuff pops up frequently.  Check out all the IA firms and send out your resume, you never know! Pilot has a training/experience program you might want to check out since Hurrican season is less than six months away.

Certain carrier require that you get thier certifcation to handle their claims- Allstate, State Farm, USAA and so on

What estimating software are you using? Each carrier want's something different so getting familiarized is also key so it won't slow you down. Remember time is money in this gig and the faster you are means the more you can turn in and get new claims assigned. If you have any questions feel free to email me at alex@coastalclaimservices.com I'm in Vero Beach close to Bent Pines.

One thing you've got going for you is that you live in Florida. Florida has more Adjusters per capita than any other state...except good ol' Texas that is. If you look around I bet you can find someone to shadow. Even a "mock" inspection scenario would be beneficial. Good luck, the opportunity comes for everyone eventually..Be as ready as you can. You could be working in your own backyard this fall...

Posted By Medulus on 23 Jan 2013 02:34 PM
Good luck to you, Don. This has become an increasingly difficult profession to break into. Some actually do provide free ride alongs. I do, but I do it very infrequently - maybe six or seven times since I went independent in 1998. Finding someone in a specific area (as in your case, Vero Beach) will be even more difficult, but who knows. Someone may step up to the plate.

 

Yes I hope someone does step up but you never know. I have been working with a large loss comercial adjuster as a mentor in Pa before I moved to Florida. So I do have some education from Pa that I brought with me (AIC 35 ect). I was trying to find a networking group like the one I belonged to in Philadelphia Loss Conference. We met once a month for dinner, guest speakers from the insurance companies and Law firms,Vendors ect. I am not totally a beginner.It is an uphill battle and want to do daily claims on a small scale and move up from there. I feel a Cat is no where for a beginner to be out of the gate.

Thanks for the Kind words

 

Don,

Quick question......How are you being able to take Citizens Certification nexk week? Who is sponsoring you in this? Citizens requires 2 years adjusting background. I'm curious as to how you are able to do this?

Adjuster Don, just exactly what are you going to do to help me? I am more than willing to let you ride along, in fact, if you do exactly what I tell you, in the right situation, I will guarantee that you will make money. We just helped two adjusters and they both took home a good payday. So, what exactly are you going to do. Nobody rides for free!

Posted By acasey on 23 Jan 2013 02:40 PM

I understand what your saying and don't need it spelled out to me. I was once in your shoes and was lucky my friends step father was an ex insurance agent  turned IA. He let me work along side him as his assistant for about 9 months paid me $500 a week plus expenses like food and nominal things like that. I am very greatful for his help in getting me in the business.

After getting licensed it is difficult to land a gig with out actual hands on experience. In most cases the only way to get work is when a major event happens and they need all hands and then some. The carrier I currently work for does not allow ride alongs or I would have you go with me so you can get the jist of the day to day operations. keep an eye on the classifieds section for new work, check it morning miday and evening as new stuff pops up frequently.  Check out all the IA firms and send out your resume, you never know! Pilot has a training/experience program you might want to check out since Hurrican season is less than six months away.

Certain carrier require that you get thier certifcation to handle their claims- Allstate, State Farm, USAA and so on

What estimating software are you using? Each carrier want's something different so getting familiarized is also key so it won't slow you down. Remember time is money in this gig and the faster you are means the more you can turn in and get new claims assigned. If you have any questions feel free to email me at alex@coastalclaimservices.com I'm in Vero Beach close to Bent Pines.

        Alex Thank you for the insight on the ideas and I am working on getting them all. I have a class for getting Citizens Cert and keep working       from there. I have been added to Renfroe's Roster and working on others. Thjis is a diffcult industry to get into and takes some patiences. I have been at it for about a year as I winded down my company.

Thanks Don   dhilaman@verizon.net

Posted By ChuckDeaton on 23 Jan 2013 10:12 PM
Adjuster Don, just exactly what are you going to do to help me? I am more than willing to let you ride along, in fact, if you do exactly what I tell you, in the right situation, I will guarantee that you will make money. We just helped two adjusters and they both took home a good payday. So, what exactly are you going to do. Nobody rides for free!

           Chuck I am willing to do what ever you need done. The idea is to listen and keep my mouth shut is the idea and learn what ever you have to offer! I am no kid and starting over in a new career is the hardest thing I have ever done. That said I know how to be an apprentice.I am willing to buy lunch and listen unless spoken too. I can measure everything you need and take your scope notes, I am far from dead weight.

dhilaman@verizon.net  610 357 4028   I am in the Vero beach Area and can travel

Don

Posted By Pondman on 23 Jan 2013 03:45 PM
Don,

Quick question......How are you being able to take Citizens Certification nexk week? Who is sponsoring you in this? Citizens requires 2 years adjusting background. I'm curious as to how you are able to do this?

 

         Pondman

      I signed up with an adjustment firm and they offered a Citizens training next week on a webinar. I sent them an e-mail and they told me they were setting it up and would get back to me.I just repeated what they told me. 

Posted By dbonham on 23 Jan 2013 03:14 PM
One thing you've got going for you is that you live in Florida. Florida has more Adjusters per capita than any other state...except good ol' Texas that is. If you look around I bet you can find someone to shadow. Even a "mock" inspection scenario would be beneficial. Good luck, the opportunity comes for everyone eventually..Be as ready as you can. You could be working in your own backyard this fall...

      dbonham

         I hope to be doing something with the effort I want to put into this. There is alot to learn and a CAT to me is no place to learn. I will do all      the small claims no one wants and move up from there is fine by me. A Mock would be a good thing as well to get a feel for live imformation to record and work through.

Thanks  Don