What IA firms are looking for in NEW ADJUSTERS | Crawford & Co interview
Matt and Crawford's Director of Claims Training Geoffrey Conrad go deep on what new adjusters should be doing to get started including:
What is the first call list?
What is Crawford looking for in new adjusters?
How to make extra money with We Go Look
How important it is to learn policy - and how to learn it
Are field adjusters being replaced by technology?
Adjusters need to know how to "read the room"
How to handle negotiations with contractors
Do you adjust for the insured or do you adjust for the carrier?
Handyman repairs vs customary and reasonable restoration
Does Crawford want you to have an Xactimate Level 2 or 3 certification
What training does Crawford offer to new adjusters?
Why adjusters who think they'll get on the job training on a major hurricane are hurting everybody, including adjusters in general
More of a reader? Catch the video transcript below.
getting deployed
What IA firms are looking for in new adjusters
Interview with the director of training for Crawford and Company (a major IA firm), Geoffrey Conrad.
Matt:
When you go to IA firm trainings, they are all looking to identify talent. It’s in their best interest to find people for whom things just seem to click—they’re showing up on time, asking the right questions, they are eager to learn.
If you think “Well I'll just go show up to this IA firm training and glide through it so I can put it on my resume…” think again!
Every touch with with a firm or any other place that's associated with our industry is a potential opportunity for you to get noticed and to get work.
Geoffrey:
Absolutely. It's definitely a two-way street. I mean, we're learning about you and whether or not you really want to be there.
This industry is not for everyone, but if it is for you, we want to make sure that we put you to work and keep you working.
The first call list…is it real? How do you get on it?
Geoffrey:
I have the responsibility of making sure we can find talent, train them up, and make them available to all of our carriers.
There is a huge demand for adjusters…we want to find good people, and what I look for when I teach a training is individuals who have that care factor—who really want to make sure that the claims experience for the customer is going to be a good one.
We can teach policy, we can teach you how to properly document a claim file and how to use an estimating program to pay the customer…
But the great adjusters are the ones who actually care.
They're not there just to make money. Making money is a huge bonus in this industry, but we wanna make sure that we provide a great claims experience for our customers because that's really what's going to matter most. This is what is going to keep the insured with that carrier for many more years to come.
The insurance carrier sells the promise, and as adjusters we are there to deliver it. And if we don't do that one thing, then they go elsewhere.
So [the key to getting on a first call list as a new adjuster] is to invest in yourself.
And we want to give you that opportunity to invest in yourself and sharpen those skills, the the processes, get familiar with the carrier systems and sharpen those estimating tools - that is going to get you work very quickly.
We want to build relationships with you and [see you] taking advantage of the opportunities we provide is going to put you at the top of that first call list.
Matt:
I say it all the time on here. The first call list is absolutely real.
Carriers will say to IA firms “Hey, we need 25 people to go to St. Louis for a storm—we would love it if 10 of those people were on this list (referring to a list of people they know had worked for them before).”
Carriers track adjuster’s metrics just like the IA firms do, meaning it’s important to not only be able to be fast and to get those claims closed and have a good cycle time, but to close a good, accurate claim and take care of the customer.
The adjusters who are consistently doing this are the ones that are going to be called back storm after storm by the firms and even be specifically requested by the carriers. This is the first call list.
How Geoffrey quickly found success as an adjuster
Matt:
So tell us a little bit about Jeffrey Conrad.
Geoffrey:
So I grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. I've always been fascinated by hurricanes. And I remember as a young kid, my dad didn't play around with hurricanes…if there was a hurricane we were packing up and getting outta there.
I made the comment one day as we're packing up the car, “I hope that hurricane comes here…I just wanna get off the school.”
So when I entered this industry and told him what I was doing, he said “that's fitting.”
But it wasn’t until my first experience with a true major catastrophe—I experienced Katrina very personally just like a lot of folks in the Gulf Coast…
I was a branch manager of a financial office there in Gulfport, Mississippi and it was completely wiped out by hurricane Katrina. Many folks were out of a job.
I still technically had a job but [my twin brother] evacuated to Texas and got the dreaded phone call that he no longer had one. So he calls me and says “Hey, I’m in a bad place, I don’t have a lot of money and I’ve evacuated my family. Do you know anyone that is hiring?
There was an adjusting firm in Mobile that was likely hiring since we just had this major event there so I told him to send his resume. I remember showing up to the HR department there and introducing myself as my twin brother’s name Christopher Conrad—I did the interview pretending to be him to get him the position.
I did come clean after he was offered the position…they were really desperate so they said the offer was still his and it was mine too if I wanted the job.
So the rest is history. We worked 15 years together doing claims.
Matt:
Mostly catastrophe claims?
Geoffrey:
Yes. All pretty much catastrophe. I started out as an agent advocate. This was a great intro for me into this industry because I dealt with the personal aspect of claims and emotions from customers that really had nothing to go back to. I was the shoulder to cry on and the reassurance that, “hey, we're here to help get you back to pre-loss condition.”
So as I migrated to being an adjuster, I just kept that same emotion.
I treated every customer as if they were my only one. This [helped me] excel as an adjuster and then very quickly made my way into that trainer position.
I was thrown out there with very little support, very little training, and I just just said, you know what? I want to make sure no one goes through what I went through.
So I fell in love with teaching and introducing this pretty cool industry to new folks.
WILL IA Firms hire adjusters without experience?
Geoffrey:
When I entered this industry, I always saw Crawford as ‘the elite,’ and that I needed to work my way to get to Crawford.
But then I came on board with Crawford [as a trainer] and yes, we're looking for those veteran adjusters, but we really want to tap into those new adjusters and introduce them and, and get them trained up.
We've got a huge responsibility when a Hurricane hits which means a huge demand for adjuster. So far this year we’ve trained up 1400 new adjusters and we still did not meet our client requests [in terms of demand].
So we are working on investment and attraction to get new adjusters on. One of the things we’ve done this year is what we call “adjuster roundups” where adjusters wanting to learn about working with Crawford can come and our presidents are there, our field resource managers, HR...
We’re getting these new adjusters on our roster and then giving them all the training they need to sharpen those skills to be ready for deployment. We want to continue to give adjusters those opportunities and build that relationship—to make sure we see them and recognize their faces.
We want to make sure that the next event, that we're your only choice for deployment. It’s a big free for all whenever a big event hits and we just want to build that loyalty, that's our goal.
Dealing with slow storms seasons as an adjuster
How to make money with WE GO LOOK between deployments
Matt:
So it sounds like you have a lot of opportunities there at Crawford, beyond the scope of just insurance claims for independent adjusters.
We’re nearing Christmas at the time of this interview and generally speaking this is a slow time of year so adjusters are looking for ways to keep the lights on and get hands-on practice with certain aspects of claims handling like scoping.
Can you talk a little about Crawford’s WE GO LOOK initiative as a way to make money whenever you aren’t on deployment?
Geoffrey:
So when you get on Crawford’s roster, we can see where you are located on a map. If we’ve got a carrier that’s looking for any sort of property information—measurements or photos—we can send adjusters from that area to provide data to our remote desk adjusters.
We are always trying to keep our folks working, and this is another way we can do that.
Getting hired
What sort of training do IA firms require new claims adjusters to have?
Matt:
Let’s do a deep dive on training. Because when I got started, like most new adjusters, I wasn’t prepared. We were all just thrown in on a big event with the hopes we could figure it out, which hurt a lot of people.
Geoffrey:
Yeah. We try our best not to send anyone out there that's not prepared and doesn't know what they're doing.
Deployment is not the best time to learn.
We want to make sure that if you’re on our roster, that you’re ready—[and especially] that you have an understanding of policy.
I realized very quickly that I can't effectively do my job if I have no idea what that policy states. I've heard adjusters showing up basically trying to deny [everything].
But your role as and adjuster is actually to find coverage. As soon as that insured feels like you're out there to deny, they are going to kick you off their property and you just made our job as the IA firm 10 times harder.
How we convey our role to the insured and the correlation of their policy [is important]: “I’m here to find ways to pay. And if something's not covered, I'm gonna share the legal verbiage from the policy defining this. I'm not making this up. I’m not deciding what is and isn’t covered.”
We have to pay attention to how we talk to the customer.
If you say "I can do this.” Or “I can't do that,” you've now conveyed to them that this is a negotiation. And they're gonna wear you out and try to get you to change your mind. That’s really going to complicate your job and really get the entire claims experience tainted with a very negative atmosphere.
I learned early on to say “Unfortunately the policy excludes damage caused by this and here's the particular policy language.”
How to learn policy as a new adjuster
Matt:
So how do you recommend people learn policy?
Geoffrey:
So even in a veteran adjusting class, you’d be surprised how many adjusters have been doing this for years and have never read a policy in it’s entirety.
But you can’t effectively do your job because the customer's not going feel like you're there to find ways to pay.
So what we do is we break out a policy and just start reading it.
Suggested reading:
Example homeowner’s policy
Included with the free road to the storm guide & Video training series
Enter your details below to be sent a free copy of the example policy, as well as the Pre-Deployment Checklists and complete Road To the Storm Video Training Series.
So we read the verbiage line by line and give claims scenarios…read it and say “this is what needs to happen in order for there to be coverage here. And we want to make sure that we support the coverage decision with all the evidence needed—your file documentation, your photographs, etc.
A lot of times adjusters don't really understand why their files are getting kicked back or their coverage decisions are being denied. Because looking at your documentation and photographs, they don't support your findings.
When adjusters take the shortcut, or rushing to close a bunch of claims today, they just made their job 10 times harder because nothing's getting improved.
They didn't take the time to properly document or have sufficient photographs in the file. Properly labeling your photos…these are things that actually increase efficiency.
You’ll see that your files will [start to be] approved and that ultimately makes you a lot of money.
Are field adjusters being replaced by technology?
Matt:
So in the industry, you have new people that are used to technology—they're texting, emailing, and everything else.
Then you have veterans who may not even know where the power button is on their laptop when they show up for a training.
Geoffrey:
There’s always a mix in our trainings so you have to find that balance.
But the biggest challenge for our veterans is embracing the new technologies—Hover, Matterport…these are things that create efficiency and claim handling where, you know, a lot of the claims can be handled at the desk.
But then you have the an older generation adjuster going, “Hey, we're, we're gonna be obsolete! We're being replaced!”
And my answer to that is that as an IA firm, we're always going to have a need for field adjusters.
Whenever an IA firm has got a large carrier as their customer, overnight, they could get 15,000-20,000 claims.
The customer doesn’t want to wait more than four days to get their claim handled so wow are you going to get to every one of those claims quickly?
The cycle time for an average field loss is going to be about 12-14 days total. If we can take some of those claims that were identified as light to moderate damage and bring that to a desk adjuster, now you’re reducing that claim cycle time down to just 4-5 days.
We want to make sure we get to all of our customers and get money in their hands very quickly, and to do so, you have to embrace change—if we don’t, we get left behind.
But no, there will never be a time when we don’t have a need for field adjusters. Some customers demand somebody to come to their home to look at the things inside and out.
Matt:
If the homeowner is a millenial or Gen Zer or whatever, and it’s a simple claim like a tree limb falling on a fence, they may just want to be able to file a claim on an app, take a couple photos, and then get paid straight into their checking account.
But for most other claims, both the customer and the carrier are going to want to have a person person there answering the insured’s questions, who is responsible for making the coverage decision, writing the estimate, negotiating with the contractor, etc.
Geoffrey:
Right. There's nothing that can take that away.
Even the photo and scope thing, you know… the app-based jobs. Those claims are probably not gonna a fire in somebody's kitchen, or a big hail claims because it makes more work on the backend if it gets denied maybe due to bad photos. It opens it for a reinspection and drags out the process and costs everybody money and time.
Do I need an xactimate certification?
Matt:
If somebody's showing up to a Crawford training, is there any benefit for a new adjuster to get their Xactimate level 1 or 2 certification before they show up?
Geoffrey:
Obviously, estimating tools like Xactimate are very important to be familiar with and Carriers are now looking for those certifications.
If we have a small event somewhere, they’re gonna say, “Hey, send all the level two Xactimate certified folks.”
So they're going be at the top of the list, really.
Investing in yourself is only going to make you more popular in this industry and pay dividends. If you're really good and you've got all those certifications and licenses, you're only securing your longevity.
Unfortunately some folks wait for a bit event before investing in themselves thinking “Hey, I can go to Ida and make a lot of money” but they don’t because they are struggling to learn while onsite.
Onsite an event is not the time to be learning. You should have already been prepared.
Training with Crawford
Geoffrey:
So we've got an entry level 5 day class which covers policy, customer experience, file documentation, and three days of scenario based Xactimate.
We also have our carrier certifications. Whether a carrier requires certification or not, we want to build familiarity with a carrier’s claim file system and specific process and estimating tools they use so that you aren’t seeing it for the first time when you get deployed.
We add that to their Renovo profile…we ask that of all our adjusters—to update their licenses and certifications on their Crawford adjuster profile. Keeping your profile up to date will definitely keep you working.
That's the key to success in this industry. If you wanna work, make sure that we know you want to work. Cause we're gonna put you to work.
Matt:
And don’t rely on the guy that is hiring you to teach you how to do everything. You mentioned hurricane Ida…the people who make a bunch of money on these big storm deployments are the ones who know how to be super efficient and quickly close those claims—because you aren’t paid until you close that sucker and turn your invoice in.
So if you’re flailing around and panic thinking “well my phone is ringing off the hook with insureds and managers, so I’ll just go out and scope a bunch of them for 10 days straight and then come back and write them all up later” that’s going to be a disaster.
Geoffrey:
Right? There’s this misnomer out there…
"Hey, I’ve got my adjuster’s license! Who’s hiring?” But how about, “Who’s training!”
This certification was designed with direct input from several major IA firms with the promise that if you pass certification, and learn all these steps to producing a high quality claim and the exact mindset you need to show up on your first storm with, they will move you to the front of the line and give you priority onboarding for newbie deployment opportunities.
