| Author |
Message |
THE PHANTOM
| | Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2000 - 2:47 pm: | |
IF I CAN STRESS ANY STATEMENT TOM WEEMS MADE, IT WOULD BE MAKE CONTACTS. THIS BUSINESS IS AS MUCH CONTACTS AS KNOWLEDGE IF NOT MORE SO. INDEPENDENT ADJUSTING FIRMS WITHIN THE BOUNDRY WHERE ONE WISHES TO WORK AND STORM VENDORS WOULD BE A NEW CATASTROPHE ADJUSTER'S MOST IMPORTANT CONTACTS AND THEN ADJUSTER FRIENDS AS WELL AS COMPANY CLAIMS PERSONNEL. YOU JUST CAN NOT HAVE TOO MANY CONTACTS!!!! TO BE A SUCCESS, IT USUALLY TAKES TIME TO DEVELOP YOUR FOUNDATION. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, AN ADJUSTER WOULD HAVE BEEN A FOOL TO JUMP OFF INTO CATASTROPHE WORK WITHOUT SEVERAL YEARS ADJUSTING EXPERIENCE WITH A FIRM OR COMPANY AND DEVELOPED CONTACTS. MOST QUIT SUPERVISOR OR MANAGEMENT LINE JOBS TO BECOME A "STORM TROOPER" BECAUSE THE MONEY WAS MUCH BETTER. TODAY, I WOULD ADVISE MOST TO STICK WITH COMPANY JOBS AS THIS BUSINESS IS NOT NEAR AS LUCRATIVE. I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST TO GO BACK SEVERAL MONTHS AND READ SOME OF JIM FLYNT'S POSTINGS REGARDING THIS SUBJECT.
BURGERS BURNING AGAIN---GOT TO DO MY FLIPPING! |
Tom Weems
| | Posted on Friday, February 18, 2000 - 2:57 pm: | |
My advice is to stay put. Let the major carrier pay your schooling costs and refine your skills. There are lots of very capable and very experienced adjusters sitting around waiting for something to happen right now. I would suggest that you get as much experience under your belt as possible before you jump out here in the real world. Getting work is much more difficult than doing the work.
Make contacts and hone your skills so that when you are ready to make the jump, you don't spend the next year sitting at home wondering when the storms will come. |
Lazyboy
| | Posted on Friday, February 18, 2000 - 7:53 am: | |
Dave, the grass may be greener on the other side, but it still needs mowing. |
ksmith
| | Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2000 - 11:53 pm: | |
wildhunt- if i were you, i'd try to hang in with your present company for three years experience. if you can get on the cat team there, so much the better. the reason i say three years is that you'll likely need some experience before you'll be able to make it on your own. also, some companies like to see three years expereince before they take you on. and get all the company schooling, including the associate in claims designation, that you can. |
R.D. Hood
| | Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2000 - 7:52 pm: | |
Wildhunt256,
Take a minute or TEN and please read Jim Flynt's latest column, "MEDITATIONS".
This will allow all to "give pause" before jumping in or jumping ship, as be the case.
While the grass is always greener over the septic tank, it is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence.
This profession is always open to those that thirst for knowledge, have pride in their work product, enjoy excellant people skills and are willing to pay their dues.
"Caveat Emptor" |
Wildhunt256
| | Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2000 - 6:36 pm: | |
I am currently working as a staff adjuster for a major insurance company. I have only been an adjuster for a year, so I still have a lot to learn. I was fortunate that the jobs I held before my current job were engineering and construction related so I gained a lot of valuable structural knowledge that has helped me tremendously. I am really interested in working as a cat adjuster for my company or being an independent. Since I have only been doing this for a short time, I have a lot of questions about the pros and cons of being a staff adjuster or independent adjuster:
1. How much experience should I have before trying to be a cat adjuster?
2. What are the pros and cons of sticking with my company versus being an independent?
3. What expenses and income could I expect as an independent working storms?
4. How difficult is it to stay busy as an independnet adjuster? Is there a lot of time between storms or can you expect to be busy enough to cover your expenses?
5. How do insurance companies typically compensate independents (per file, amount paid per claim ...)?
I really have a million more questions, but these are the main ones. To be honest, the company I'm currently working for is making a lot of changes and I'm not sure exactly where I will fit into their plans for the future, They also are notorious for holding people back from transfering to cat adjusting within the company. I must complete two years in my current office to be eligible for the cat team, and then there is no guarantee that I will be allowed to go. I would really appreciate any advice on this subject. Thanks!!!!! |
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