How to be a Successful Insurance Adjuster
How to be a Successful Insurance Adjuster
Claims Adjusters 411
Life as an independent adjuster can be very unpredictable. It is also very fulfilling and can be quite lucrative. Your role and duties vary depending on which insurance carrier you are handling claims for. There is at least one thing that remains pretty constant. You must be willing to stay on your toes and have excellent work ethic.
Be Flexible
Flexibility is the most important quality in an insurance adjuster. The job, the location, your duties, your employer, your ‘customers’, these all change often. To be successful, you need to remain adaptable and not get flustered in the midst of uncertainty.
Successful adjusters are flexible and adapt to circumstances as they come, or as they change. Count on things changing. This isn’t a job where you can plan months, weeks, or sometimes even days in advance. That kind of life isn’t for everybody, but it is one of the things that makes the career so exciting and adventurous.
Be Organized
Actual tasks will vary a bit depending on your employer and the carrier you are representing. But if you want to be successful, i.e.: close claims and make money, you have to be very organized.
Lack of organization usually results in things starting to fall through the cracks, details missed, and mistakes made. As a new adjuster trying to prove yourself, that is the last thing you want. It’s important to figure out a system that works for you. Make a note of every action you take and conversation you have, and keep a detailed schedule you stick to.
Be Confident
The best claims adjusters are confident, but never cocky. It can sometimes be a fine line but one worth figuring out. Your interactions with the homeowner need to be confident enough to show that you know what you are doing, but authentic enough to establish trust.
Authenticity is an important piece of projecting true confidence. The best adjusters were confident and knowledgeable but they were also real. They listened. They asked questions. The adjuster didn’t speak down to homeowners but were honest about the situation.
In catastrophe deployments, you are often dealing with people who are going through a terrible situation. They might be devastated, scared, exhausted, angry, or any combination of those emotions. And they may be a little wary of their insurance adjuster. Projecting confidence, being authentic, and establishing that you are trustworthy goes a long way towards satisfying the homeowner. Also, it makes the claims process go as smoothly as possible during a trying time.
