Do you have interest in becoming an insurance adjuster. I am looking for 5 people that would like to learn how to do inspections and make good money while learning. It is too late in the season to teach the complete job of inspection and writing estimates, however, we can teach the inspection portion on the job. The following letter was written to newbies and wantabies adjusters. A construction background is useful but not necessary. Once you have read the letter and are still interested, please call me at 830-312-9021. My name is Dave Reaume.
“I am a highly successful adjuster with 19 years experience and I am starting a new training program. There will be no out of pocket cost until I place you for work, this does not mean putting your name on a roster, it means getting you employment with IA firms that work with me. The class is one month, 5-6 days a week, 4-5 hours a day. When the class is complete, I will place you in one of the IA firms that I have a relationship with.
The training is intense and mostly done through Zoom. I will only be training 5 students at a time so as to give the needed attention to each individual student. You will be learning: 1) Xactimate estimating software, 2) how to draw, measure, what to measure and sketch a roof, 3) necessary industry terminology, and 4) help each student form a plan of action. When you complete this course, you will be able to create a highly complicated estimate that makes sense and is organized. There will be plenty of homework and when the class is over, I will find you work in the field for a month somewhere in the US. The first few days, I will be with you and after that I will be reviewing your estimates prior to submission to the IA firm you will be working for.
Information is the most valuable asset necessary for a successful career in insurance adjusting. The positives to a career in insurance adjusting are numerous and it all begins with financial opportunity. If you are willing to work long hours and minimize time off, you can make incredible money. The secret is really no secret-you have to be willing to work every waking hour while you are deployed for work. The trouble with talking about money is that no two storms are alike, no two carriers are alike, no two states are alike, and no two years are alike. That means this industry is in a constant state of change. If you cannot easily adapt with time, then this job is not for you. However, if you are flexible, well trained, hard working, informed and positive minded adjusting is a wonderful way to make a living.
Insurance adjusting has an extremely high attrition rate of adjusters entering the field then exiting. The following is an illustration on just how high the attrition rate is. During Hurricane Ike (Houston 2008) I was deployed by Nationwide Insurance. Back then we would meet at a hotel for an orientation. We had 65 adjusters in the orientation class and we were asked to raise our hands if we worked Hurricane Katrina (New Orleans 2005). Only five adjusters raised their hand including me. In a three year period of time, 60 adjusters of the 65 deployed had less than 3 years’ experience in the industry. There are many causes for the high attrition rate and I will go over a few of them now.
The easiest and most common way to begin adjusting is during a Hurricane. I tease frequently by saying I can get my dead mother files during a hurricane. Now that is an obvious exaggeration but the truth is hurricanes create the largest need with a short duration. That means warm bodies can get files. A large percentage of adjusters that have never worked a storm before will turn in most if not all their files because they do not have a clue as to what is needed to complete a claim. The ones that figure it out and produce some work usually go home with some money. Most of them will make some large purchases for large screen TV’s or oversized rims and tires for their truck or some other extravagance they have longed for. In a matter of 2-3 months their bank accounts are drained and they are looking for some more work. They go back to the firm they worked for during the hurricane and request some more work. By then the hurricane season has finished and the only storm work available is a winter storm up east. The winter storms have a much smaller demand than hurricanes and the adjusting firms are inundated with requests for work. When I request work and you request work to the same firm, it is highly likely that I will get the work because I produced far greater numbers than you and you will be left out of the proverbial cold while I travel to it. Unfortunately for the newbie, any work will be disbursed to the best producers in order to keep them happy. After a few months of unemployment, it is back to the workforce.
The big question is how do you become a successful CAT adjuster? Let me begin with the financial requirements to get started.
When you get called to your first storm, you will need seed money to cover you expenses long enough until you start receiving your pay. Generally, you will need a minimum of $5,000 cash or have a credit card with at least that much credit. You will have a 3-5 week lag in receiving your pay and all expenses have to be covered by you until then. Having more than $5,000 is preferred, but having at least that amount is necessary.
You will need a reliable vehicle and depending upon the type of vehicle (truck or car), different equipment will be necessary.
You will need a descent computer which means something better than a cheap discounted consumer grade. This is necessary because time is the most vital commodity that an adjuster has. If your computer is crashing all the time and sometimes you lose the work you had already completed when it crashes, you are losing money. I recommend purchasing the on sale models from a store like Best Buy in the $600-$700 range; that range of computer has never failed me.
Ladders are the next thing. If you have a truck or a roof rack on your car, I recommend a 16’ and a 24’ extension ladder. Those two ladders will get you on 99% of the roof. If you have a little extra money or after you have worked a storm or two, get yourself a 12’ and/or a 15” telescoping ladder. The telescoping ladders are less necessary and more for convenience if you have a truck or roof racked car. If you have a car with no roof rack like me, you will need at least a 12’ telescoping ladder and Werner folding and telescoping 22’ ladder, which folds into two 6’ pieces and is lighter than the little giant. With these two ladders you will be able to get up on 99% of the roofs.
You will need a camera. The best camera is one that has a small size picture option. You do not want to take pictures that are 5 meg or even 10 meg, when you upload the pictures into Xactimate it will frequently crash your software and if it did not crash your software, your file will take too long to upload back to the carrier. I recommend a camera that has an option of 640 x 480 because the quality of the photo is adequate and it is small enough to not hinder your work. You should be able to find a camera in the $150 to $200 range. Do not buy higher end cameras because you will break them frequently or misplace them. I usually buy a new camera every 2-3 storms.
I highly recommend roofing boots. This may not be absolutely necessary, but it is very important. Most everybody purchases the Cougar Paws. You can call Cougar Paws directly and, if you ask them, they sometimes have older or slightly defected models that can be purchased for $20-$40 savings. Otherwise, you will pay $120 to $180 range. I personally will not get up on a roof with a greater than 8/12 pitch without my roofing boots. It is not worth risking your life over couple hundred dollars.
Tape measures are necessary. At least one 30’-40’ metal tape. The best for me is the fat max series. Most of the fat max’s are in the $30 range. At least one 100’ tape measure that usually will be in the $20 range. If you have some extra money, I recommend a laser tape measure. There is a Bosch model that sells for $85 range.
You will need a pitch gauge. You can get an app for your phone or you can purchase one. A cheap gauge sells for $15 and an electronic sells for $30.
You will need a shingle gauge which amazon sells for $25.
I recommend a small laser printer. You can usually get by without one, but you will have to find places that print for you and, once again, that will be wasting time. It is just easier to have one with you.
You will need office supplies like pens, staplers, note pads, and batteries.
As you can see, there is a significant amount of money necessary just to get started in CAT adjusting. When you start throwing in unnecessary courses and certifications, the costs can skyrocket. I do not recommend any software courses or schools to start. After you have been on at least one storm and you liked the job and were capable of doing the job, then you can look into courses that you have interest in. There is a far better way to learn this job than spending money on course work which will be the next thing I will talk about.
There are three major skills required in doing CAT adjusting work. All three skills are necessary in order to be a successful adjuster and the better you are at all three the more successful you will be. The first and foremost skill will be getting on roofs. I have taught over 20 people CAT adjusting and 2 of them froze on the roof. You may have been on a couple of roofs in your life and you think it is going to be easy. I assure you that stepping off a ladder 20’ in the air and onto a 7/12 pitch roof is not easy. There are numerous ways to minimize the danger, but most of that will be learned on the job.
The second skill needed is some good computer skills. If you do not use a computer very often, then it is likely that you will have much difficulty learning the estimating software that we use. I have been using Xactimate for 16 years and I still am learning every year. The software is highly complex and the best way to learn is on the job. Courses can help a newbie but most of the learning is doing the work.
The last skill necessary is social interaction. I know one of the best adjuster that is fearless on roofs and highly knowledgeable in Xactimate in yet he has a hard time finding work; he lacks in communications skills. He talks back to his storm managers; he is sometimes rude to the insured, he talks back to file reviewers. You will need to be able to handle all types of crap. I always tell my apprentices that “shit rolls downhill” and you are at the bottom of the hill. The thing to remember is; if the shit rolls down hill and you are paid minimum wage, then the stress outweighs the reward. However, since we are paid so well, it is easy to take anything thrown at us. This skill can be taught, but it does help to have some communications skills already present.
Now I will tell you the best way to become a successful CAT adjuster with the lowest risk and highest success rate. It begins with the financial ability followed by a plan of action. Once you get started, the most difficult aspect to deal with is the inconsistent income (feast or famine). Assuming you have the financial ability to get started, the following is a list of suggestions that will make your transition into the exciting world of adjusting easier.
I know a small percentage of adjusters that have learned how to budget there windfalls into monthly allotments. They come home with $40,000 or $70,000 after a storm and do not go on a buying spree. They give themselves $3,000, $4,000, or $5,000 budgets and stick to their budget. This method is the least likely to be successful because most of the successful adjusters are Gypsy’s in spirit, and the Gypsy spirit does not co-exist with a fiscally responsible person.
Having a spouse that makes enough money to cover or almost cover the total monthly expenses of the household can work unbelievably well. As long as your spouse does not have a problem with you being gone for months at a time, then this is a great situation. I have two friends that I taught that are in this situation and it works well for them. My wife and I started this way, for the first 3 years of our marriage, and it was wonderful. She did not like me being gone so long, but the money was so good and I was home so much that she adapted. Our problem was that she saw me make more money in 26 days on Hurricane Sandy than she made in an entire year working as a teacher, so she got her adjusters license and now we travel together.
Having a job that allows you to leave with almost no notice can work. These jobs are almost non-existent but I have seen a few adjusters set up this way. You will have to be able to leave for the jobsite within a few hours of notification. Most adjusting firms require you to be on site and making inspections within 48 hours of notification. The regular job keeps some stability of income and the storm money is your windfall.
After you have established yourself as a producer and a quality adjuster, you can sometimes get daily claims in the area that you live. You have to have a little bit of luck in that the company you have worked for has daily claims in your area and do not have any or enough adjusters to cover the workload. The other problem is that some adjusting firms do not like adjusters to work both CAT and daily at the same time. If you are lucky and live in an area that does not have a lot of adjusters available and there are daily claims, then you have a great situation. My brother has this setup and the company he works for allows him to work CAT as long as he works for them on the CAT.
Having a business that allows you to suddenly leave is another great option. When I first started as an adjuster, I was selling on Ebay. Once I would get a call, I could take down all my sales with a single click of my mouse. I would have a family member ship anything that needed to be shipped and I was on the road. When I returned from the storm, I could put all my items back on Ebay with single click of my mouse. There are many side businesses that would allow you to leave at the drop of a hat and certainly this type of a business would work.
If you have a business with a partner and your partner is OK with you leaving for extended periods of time is another option. I know a remodeling contractor that has a partner and he has this situation. When he gets back, he sometimes gives his partner the same amount of time off as he took.
I know people that are retired, have their home paid off, cars paid off, and very little living expense. Their retirement covers their expenses and going on a storm gives them money for travel and large purchases.
My wife and I live in Mexico now. Our home is paid off and all our cars are paid off. There are very little taxes to be paid and the cost of living is 25% of the US. We have two apartments that make us enough money to live. I think this is the ideal situation. The money we earn is for investments, travel, or savings. We do not have to work, which makes working a whole lot of fun. Logistically, it takes us a little more time to get where we are going. Our truck is packed and ready to go at all times and we usually are on the road in 30 minutes. With two of us driving and one always working on phones calls and notes, we are usually hitting the pavement as fast as anyone.
You can certainly find many other ways to make insurance adjusting your career; however, the main point is you will need a plan. Make a plan.
If you are interested in my help, have the financial needs available, and would like more information on my course, please email me your name, phone number, and a short description of yourself and your experience (if any) to the listed email address or call me at the listed phone number. My Name is Dave Reaume”
