I'm in the middle of studying for my State Farm adjuster's certification, but I thought I would take a break from all the reading and videos to write a few words about the real change and the reality of that change. This is something YOU can do if you want to, that is, if you're healthy enough and all that. I wouldn't want to be accused of saying EVERYONE can do it. It's a good gig, and you can get it, but it does take umpf, and it does take networking, study, and the willingness on your part to put yourself out there.
OK, so recently, I have been added to over 10 separate IA firms, which are Independent Adjuster firms. They are the people who go out when there's a large event such as a hurricane, tornado, fire, or flood. Most of the adjusters who come out to the properties are IAs or Independent Adjusters. Then, there are people like me, who are both independent and working from home in our jammies. We are desk adjusters. We can be staff (working for a company) or independent. Currently, I am registered as a W2 for a company, so technically, I'm employed, but I won't be paid until I am sent out, so I'm continuing my search for a company that will hire me and use me (first train me) to work basic hours throughout the week until there is a major weather event. I can choose to go on the deployment or not. As a staffer, I may be compelled to go, but I can always quit and either find another company that won't force me, or I can quit and make so much more as an independent.
The thing about this job is I have so much more control than I would in any other field. I'm not saying you should tell the employer to take a hike or anything like that, but you have choices. If you really don't want to work 6 or 7 days a week for 10 or 12-hour shifts, then you say no, and if they insist, you have options. The good news is, even during the deployment of the weather event, as an independent, you can choose to take whatever or how many claims you want to work and be paid on a fee schedule. The higher the claim, the more you are paid. The average claim pays about $450, and you split that 70/30 or 60/40 with the IA firm. So a $500 claim would net you $350 or $300, but you do at least two of those a day, and usually more after you get your tech down. So, on a conservative basis, you make $600-1000 a day. If you're a staffer, you make $48 an hour, 40 hours, and time and a half over 40 hours. You do the math. (At 7x12=84, that's 40 at $48=1920, and then the overtime is 44 hours x 60 = $2640. Are you serious?) There is tax, and it is real, but as an IA, you are 1099 and should already know that.
OK, so yeah, working that many hours for more than a few weeks would be insane, and it would burn anyone out, so as an IA, you can pull away from it, and go back in when and if they allow you through either the same company or the next. Remember, the companies all have their own contracts, their own splits, and you need to be flexible. That's why you register with 10 rosters. You can go back and forth and be cordial, polite, loving, kind, and good, and every one of them will want you back for your expertise. Keep it together at the front; know that whatever stress you're under will pass. Remember, you don't have to take a deployment. You can do daily work too if you want. You don't have to push your own envelope to the max. You can just sit at home, work daily auto collisions, storms, freezing, wind, and hail; you can call the shots.
Quick overview. You want to get started; what do you do? (a) go to www.iapath.com and let Chris Stanley walk you through it. Go to YouTube and watch AdjusterTV (Matthew Allen) and let him and his guests help you. Go to YouTube and watch CNC (Catastrophe & National Claims) videos. They have connections with State Farm, and you can get your certifications through them if you are hired, or you can go through AdjusterPro.com or Alacritysolutions.com. There are really so many ways. Just write down all the rosters you're on so you don't get confused when someone out of the blue calls you and wants to send you to another state.
Before you actually go out, you'll need your state's adjuster's license. If your state doesn't require it, get the Florida license. You have to have one. You'll need several in the future, but the companies will help you get that, and some have discounts with AdjusterPro when it comes to paying for said licenses. Think which states have catastrophe events: Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, but Hurricane Sandy hit much higher up the coast. Then there are tornadoes. There are fires. There are blizzards, freezing things, and snow-weight-breaking things in the eastern states. You'll likely stay pretty busy and be paid well.
One question I get asked is, what about benefits? Let me ask you. If you're making that kind of money, do you think you can afford your own benefits? I think you can. I want to be W2 and on the desk for at least a year, but if I'm being hired by who I think I'm being hired by (and will find out soon), I will likely stay on staff, work the gigs given to me, and be happy with the day to day work. If I get a deployment and have to work 12 hours a day for weeks on end, I think I would do that to save money, but not do it full time all the time. I like the choices, and I like the freedom. I really, really like the coffee, and my wardrobe. I may have to go on Amazon and find me some more pretty PJs.
Photo Credit: Amazon.com
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