Mistakes New Insurance Adjusters Make
Mistakes New Insurance Adjusters Makes
MISTAKE #1: Insufficient (or no) preparation for estimate writing.
The easiest first step you can take and the most important is gaining a solid grasp of how to use Xactimate. The majority of all adjusters use this estimating software for property-related claims in the US. It is ultimately important to be functional in Xactimate. This is partially related to a big misconception in the insurance claims industry. Many people think most of a claims adjuster’s work is in the inspection. 75% of the work you will do as an adjuster is actually estimate writing.
Back to the equation, more claims closed = more money. Being able to write 5 claims in an evening will make you 5 times more successful than an adjuster who can only write one claim per evening. It earns you more money. It will increase your value to your employer. This employer will likely give you more claims and more opportunities whereby the cycle begins again.
Please don’t be the person that thinks they can learn on the fly during their first big storm deployment. First, nobody has time to help you because they are too busy writing their own claims. Taking 2 hours to help you could literally cost them thousands of dollars. Plus, two hours of frustrated help from a fellow adjuster won’t be nearly enough time to get you up to speed. The only other option is to go to your adjusting firm’s help center and wait for one of the overworked help staff to walk you through. But again, time is money and time spent waiting is the time you aren’t closing claims.
So first things first – get Xactimate training. Then practice, practice, practice. Once you know the basics, there are a host of “tricks of the trade” that you can learn to cut your writing time down.
If you have any questions about becoming an adjuster, or where to start after you become one, contact us today!
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