Anyone here an insurance adjuster?

[sc281]

I've been in banking for a little over 10 years and may be looking to change careers.

I'm interested in insurance adjusting, specifically independent adjusting. I'm liking the idea of travelling and the flexibility of significant downtime between contracts.

Is there anyone here that does it, and if so if like to know your opinion and insight on the matter.

[LS1Goat]

Stng5Pnt8 is an insurance man. Send him a PM. He may be able to provide some insight.

[motoman]

My wife has been a property claims adjuster for the last 8 years.

[odenspike]

I worked for 14 years for an independent adjusting firm starting as a trainee and leaving as VP last year before I left to go to work for a managing general agent in a non claims role. Short version of my thoughts are I would not recommend it and am eternally greatful I escaped and I worked for a great IA firm who still handles claims for several of my programs. I’ll tell you the same thing I have told a 100 people. If you are interested go to work for a big carrier. Get the training and experience from them for a few years and then look at going IA.

[sc281]

I worked for 14 years for an independent adjusting firm starting as a trainee and leaving as VP last year before I left to go to work for a managing general agent in a non claims role. Short version of my thoughts are I would not recommend it and am eternally greatful I escaped and I worked for a great IA firm who still handles claims for several of my programs. I’ll tell you the same thing I have told a 100 people. If you are interested go to work for a big carrier. Get the training and experience from them for a few years and then look at going IA.

What specifically did you not like about it? The research I've been doing is pointing me towards independent the more I read into it.

[Shorty]

I've been a workers comp adjuster for 9 years.

[GE]

I worked for 14 years for an independent adjusting firm starting as a trainee and leaving as VP last year before I left to go to work for a managing general agent in a non claims role. Short version of my thoughts are I would not recommend it and am eternally greatful I escaped and I worked for a great IA firm who still handles claims for several of my programs. I’ll tell you the same thing I have told a 100 people. If you are interested go to work for a big carrier. Get the training and experience from them for a few years and then look at going IA.

Surprised to see you say that. What did you not like about it? The long hours? Being stuck in some rando place in bum fuck Texas for months on end?

[odenspike]

Surprised to see you say that. What did you not like about it? The long hours? Being stuck in some rando place in bum fuck Texas for months on end?

Sorry, a little late on the reply. Don't check in to often. I wasn't a CAT adjuster so I was rarely outside of my home office when I was working claims. I did work in several different cities during my career, but it was for usually years at a time as I was moving around.

I think being a casualty independent adjuster is still a good job, but the nitpicking that goes on from the property clients, lawyers, threat of being sued all the time, unreasonable expectations for turn around times, etc. made it a challenge, plus as an IA you are an expense for the carrier so there's always a lot of downward pressure from the carriers when they are looking to trim costs.

Being an adjuster is still a good job, but for the run of the mill IA who doesn't want to work the high hours it takes to start making more than the average adjuster, it isn't worth it. I tell people to be a teacher or something else. I never had an aversion to working the hours it took to make the money until I started having kids. It provided me a nice living and I am not complaining about that, but as a whole, I would do it again if I had to, but if I didn't sure wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

My last several years I was in a pure management roll, but it's a tough world either as a manager or boots on the ground. The profession isn't attracting a lot of top talent either and pay for IA's have remained pretty stagnant for a daily adjuster so it's not as competitive as it was to being a staff adjuster.

I know there were some ridiculously high fee schedules from the hurricanes last year, enough for me to give it some pause, so I'm sure there were a lot of people that made a lot of money, but I've seen it time and time again where these CAT guys make a lot for a short period and then end up going broke if the weather stays quite and they aren't good enough to get daily work steadily. Anyways, that's my 2 cents.

[Scott Mc]

Start with your Texas license. I enjoy it and work independently for a company called Worley and another called IRS. Long hours and you sometimes get stuck in shitty places but you get paid well and the stories tend to be good.

[4EyedTurd]

If you tell people to be a teacher instead of an adjuster holy shit, don’t walk, fucking run away from being an adjuster.