A few weeks back I had the fun of telling my son, an E6 Staff Sgt. in the U.S. Army, and Oklahoma National Guard, that I was going to be "deployed" soon. I knew it would make him laugh. He goes on real deployments. He's been commissioned to do so a number of times, and every time he does, he's gone for a year or close to it. The last time he was deployed he came over to my place in October and he set up the Christmas tree. He did it for a good reason. It was (is) his personal Christmas tree, and he set it up, decorated it, and told me that he would be back in a year or so to take it down. It was his promise to his mother, that he would be returning from the war zone. In September of the following year, I greeted my son at the reunion celebration, a few days later, he returned to my place and took down his tree. Thank you, Jesus.
My deployment, the one I will be commissioned and contracted to do, will be of a different sort altogether. I am a licensed insurance Claims Adjuster and at the time of this writing I am licensed in five separate states. I am licensed in my home state of Oklahoma, then in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and in Florida. Let me tell you, getting on with Florida was not the easiest thing to do; nor was it the cheapest state to sign up with either. To get on with your home state you take a test if your state has an exam to take. Study guides can run upward of $100, then there are three-day classes you can take, which are $245 or so. Your test is $65 or $70 I don't remember, but when you get it, you pay for the license as well. It's another $45 or so. That's your home state, and mine is Oklahoma. Yours may vary.
Getting on with Florida was like pulling the proverbial teeth. Some states have reciprocal agreements and Oklahoma is one of those states. I had to pay $68 to get the license, and then $50.75 to have my fingerprints sent over digitally, but you can't do that yourself you know, you have to set an appointment and then drive to wherever it is that they do them; for me, it was Norman, OK. I'm OK with that. Norman is my little slice of heaven. After the $50.75 I had to pay another (additional) $60 for a self-appointment, and you must be appointed. So, roughly $180 to get on with Florida...dang! Alabama isn't too far off with their $120 bill, I think Mississippi is a close 3rd at $118. Thank you Texas and Louisiana for not raking me over the coals!
Anyway, back to the deployment. As a Claims Adjuster without actual experience in the field or the industry, I am subject to being trained in one of three ways. I can be hired as a staff adjuster and be trained by the carrier, or the insurance company. I can be trained as an independent, catching all the free and paid classes I can on my own and just wait to be deployed by someone, or the third and much more realistic way of being trained this late in the "season" (it's actually the beginning of the hurricane season, but late for training) I will be caught up and employed by one of the 40+ companies I am registered with. I will be sent their equipment after I sign a contract stating I will work for them exclusively during the deployment, and they will train me on the fly. That's how about 68% of all Claims Adjusters become experienced Claims Adjusters. We wait to be deployed!
If you know me, and some of you do, you know I am both an overachiever and I don't wait for things to happen. I make things happen. I've been registering with more than an average amount of companies to all but guarantee that I will be chosen. I am racking up the states' licenses and then sending my updated resumes to all of these companies so they keep in touch and they know I'm moving up the invisible ladder! I also take as many of the free classes as I can through Alacrity, Pilot, Pacesetter, and State Farm; others offer training as well. There are many independent adjusting firms that offer training both for their own and for anyone who wants to register on their roster. I am one of those people.
There aren't enough hours in the day to take and complete all the training that is available, but I'm trying. The thing is, it's good practice for the hours I'll have to keep when I am deployed. Most companies work either six or seven days a week, and they work either ten or twelve hours a day. After 40 hours you get paid time and a half, and most of the companies start a person out around $30 an hour; it depends on the deployment and the client carrier. Do the Math! I'll stay on deployment for a while to ride the tide and save what I can; if you do it long enough you can work a year, stay off work a year, travel, write books, and go back to it. Or, if you want to, after the first deployment, you can stay with the company and do day-to-day (daily) work if they have it, or you can become an independent adjuster, get your EIN and work the dailies for several companies. NEVER get bored!
I applied for my EIN online and am waiting for it, I thought it would be here by now, so I may have to call the IRS tomorrow and get an update. Until it does come in I can work under my personal social security number, but it is best if you can work under the EIN and have a name for your "company". My company is one I've had for years, but I had to let it go and the EIN dropped. At least I think it did. I'll find out more tomorrow. My company is Stringfellow Agency. So original. I was going to call it Reulaca, I have used that name in the long distant past when I operated out of my home before it was cool to do so. Reulaca is a mix of my three kids' names: Reuben, Laura, and Caity.
Over the past two days, yesterday and today, I've filled out four separate onboarding packages for four separate companies that are all gearing up for the 2023 Hurricane Season. One company texted me with a happy little text saying "Are you ready for a great hurricane season? We are!" My first thought was, should I be sad that I'm hoping for a catastrophic event? Maybe that makes me a really bad person. Then my next thought was, I can't control God, but I can prepare myself to help others when it happens. I like that thought better. I've been involved in the industry since about April, so three months. I've been watching YouTube videos by Chris Stanley of IA Path, Matt Allen of AdjusterTV, and all the others that give great insight and podcasts to describe what a day in the life looks like. CNC or Catastrophic and National Claims have a good channel to learn from. They are actually the first ones I saw! (Hi Guys!)
I watched the videos, found a few of the "actors" on LinkedIn, and connected with them. Their HR set me up with State Farm's HR which houses in the same building they do in Mobile, AL, and I was immediately put on their roster and started training. They get dibs on me first; I thought that to be only fair. As soon as one company offers me something I'll let them know so they'll have an option to pick me up or let me take the other assignment. One thing I can say, there are so many, so so so many nice people in the Claims industry. It's as if everyone is willing to help everyone. There are Facebook groups to join and become involved with. I'm connected on LinkedIn with more than 2000 Claims people from the adjusters to the CEOs of the companies. EVERYONE is so helpful and wants everyone else to survive and thrive in the industry. You can't say that about a lot of industries.
When I deploy I will so do as a remote desk adjuster. I'll wear the uniform of my people; jammies. I'll literally move from my bedroom to the office in my apartment, and that is where my setup is. They'll send me their equipment, and I'll hook it up to my other two monitors, and be ready to call people, be called, work claims, review claims, examine claims, write claims, and just be the trainee they deserve to train. I want to be both helpful and resourceful. If you know me, and like I said, some of you do, you'll know I'm already reading up on the processes so I'm at least familiar with it. I'll be sticking to AUTO rather than property for now. I want to start slow, build it up, and keep it going. If I like auto I'll stay. I can this, after only two or three months of really getting into this, I know my car inside and out like I've never known it before.
I'm not sure I'm "looking forward" to a "great" hurricane season, but I know it's coming and I know there are wildfires, hail, wind storms, tornadoes, heavy snow and ice, as well as other catastrophic events that can take place. Earthquakes are another big one that can happen instantly and we need to be ready and on the rosters! Before long I'll have another four to six licenses and be that much more ready - - can't wait. Fun times...well, times!! Time times!! I may not be thrilled, but my bank account will thank me later.
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