Why you won’t make it as an adjuster (and what to do about it)
In this video I talk about why most new adjusters wash out and the one thing successful adjusters are doing differently than their competition.
Plus exactly what you could be earning as an adjuster if you closed even just ONE more claim a day while deployed…
More of a reader? Catch the video transcript below.
The one thing you need to learn to make it as an independent adjuster
What if you could close just one more claim per day while you were on a CAT deployment?
In this video I'm gonna talk about what that could mean for you as an adjuster, and run some numbers so you can see what is possible when you more than just survive your first or next storm.
Preparing for success on your first or next deployment
Okay, so you’ve taken all the Xactimate trainings and at this point you could sketch the Disney Castle inside and out….
You've gotten more about restoration construction than most people will learn in their entire lifetimes…
You've got a drone, a pile of scoping apps, some augmented reality gadgets, lasers, some cougar paws…
How hard could this cat adjuster thing be?
Right now, I'm seeing that there's a little bit of a disconnect among new and even experienced adjusters.
On the one hand, there's an expectation that this job is a path to riches. It's the easy-money six figure job you don't need any formal education to do well in.
On the other hand, people don't believe me when I tell them how long it takes me to close a typical claim for a typical carrier on a CAT deployment.
So I'm gonna share with you some numbers—this is for CAT property.
For a typical wind hail claim, not including file set up and contact, I'm aiming for an hour.
It doesn't really matter how big or cut up the house is. The only things that can kick me over an hour are outbuildings, fences, and lots of contents…and this includes a giant tree on the house.
Even when I got started, the only digital tool that I had to run claims with was the early versions of Xactimate (and I wish I could say it's improved since then!)
So I could use a computer to write the claim, but that was it.
I had no laser, I had to use a Polaroid. And I had to staple those pictures on a piece of paper and write using a pen.
The label for the photo, the activity diary, the invoice…everything but the estimate itself were handwritten.
So how long did it take me to close those hail claims back in the day? About the same amount of time as it would take me today. One hour start to finish.
Now let's look at a typical storm related water loss. Again, not including file setup or contact, usually an hour. But not more than three hours for a large loss. MAX. And that is a foot of water in every single room of the house.
Now you're probably thinking, ‘that sounds reasonable, I could scope a loss in an hour…’
But I’m not just scoping here.
This isn't my inspection time (where I then have to stay up all night writing these claims.) I'm writing these up ON SITE. The whole thing. Settling with the insured on site. When I leave the house, there's not one thing left to do.
In one hour.
Wondering how that’s possible? Keep reading/watching, but first, the numbers…
What could you make if you closed just one extra claim per day?
So the most common claim that you'll handle as a CAT property adjuster is going to be wind and hail. That's your bread and butter.
The key takeaway here is that because storm season is fleeting and mother nature is fickle, CAT Property adjusters must be fast.
We have to be able to close claims quickly to do well on a storm, but we also have to turn in high quality claims and great customer service if we want to get asked to work again in the future.
Speed + Quality + Customer = a long and rewarding career in CAT property claims
You won't make it as a cat property adjuster if you can't close a lot of claims with excellent quality. It's as simple as that.
So what happens if you can add just one more claim to your day and do it without losing quality or angering your insureds?
Let's run some quick math.
We'll assume that you're averaging just $300 per claim closed (we can talk about fee schedule in another video).
If you're able to close claims five days a week when you're on a CAT deployment, losing a couple of days to bad weather, office days, and days off, and you add one more close claim per day in that week, then you'll be closing an additional five claims that week.
5 X $300 = a cool $1,500 extra earned PER WEEK.
Not bad. Most people don't make $1,500 a week, let alone adding that to what you're already earning.
So what is that in a month? Well, $1,500 X 4.3 weeks = $6,450
That’s almost $6,500 extra you’d bring home per month.
For closing just one extra claim per day.
Now assume you're out on CAT duty for six months.
That's an extra $38,700 per year.
Just by adding one…ONE closed claim per day.
How can I close one more claim per day?
Understand this…you can have all the high tech gadgets, drones, lasers, etc…
You can be an Xactimate certified trainer, a master in the software…
A Hague certified inspector (a master of damage evaluation)…
You can have 50 years of construction experience and dropped $20,000 on adjuster specific training…
But if you can't manage your time, you're going to fail at this job.
Most adjusters that I know who routinely earn low to mid six figures have only a couple or even none of the credentials I just listed, including myself at the time…
(Though I did finally bite the bullet and become an Xactimate Certified Trainer since everybody was always asking for Xactimate Level 1 and 2 Certification exam prep. You can find that here.)
But what we all share is the ability to be very fast and maintain a high level of quality.
We are all on the first call list because we recognize that when it’s all said and done, volume is what makes this crazy job worth it—closing as many claims as possible with the highest possible file and customer service.
We have to make hay while the sun shines, but we can’t be messy about it.
Free advanced time management webinar
If you want to know more about how to close more claims in a day, even if it's just one more a day, I invite you to check out the advanced time management webinar training I’m hosting.
You're going to learn the three myths about running claims that are holding you back and three specific, actionable ways you can easily add at least one more closed claim per day while deployed.
