I’m glad you’re still reading this 8 part series about the attributes of a successful adjuster.

I hope they’re serving as effective reminders of needed personal skills.  It’s important to recognize your strengths and work on your weaknesses.  Let’s look at the last attribute now.

Attribute of a Successful Claims Adjuster #8 – Having a Business Mind

There are two types of adjusters out there.  The ones who understand that this is a business, and those who don’t.  This is what will affect your pocket book the most.

Adjusters understand that they can make a large amount of money in a short amount of time.  When you can bill $1,000 a day for your claims, it’s not that hard to earn significant money.

But you need to think of the long and short term ramifications of all of your actions.  Business minded adjusters will look for ways to be quicker and more efficient.  If you’re new, check out ways people are getting creative.

Some things are easy.  Have you heard people say that the longer your ladder, the longer you’ll stay? Why is this?  Because you are more self-sufficient.  Therefore, does it make sense to save $200 and buy a smaller ladder?  What if you were able to work a storm for 2 weeks longer because you had a ladder that would get you on top of most houses in the area?

If you bill $1,000 a day and have expenses of $150 a day, you’re making $850 profit per day.  An additional 14 days of work would net you an additional $11,900.  So does it make business sense to get the smaller ladder just to save a few hundred dollars?  Of course not.

Creative adjusters think outside the box. Some adjusters hire drivers.  They find a friend who needs income and hire them to driving them from claim to claim.  Their reasoning is simple.  If they can be productive writing claims and making calls as they commute, then they can close more claims every day.  This gives them a two-fold benefit.

First, if they close two more claims a day and net a potential $600 and they’re paying the driver $100/day, then they just made $500 more that day.

Second, what is the CAT company most interested in?  Adjusters who can close claims quickly and accurately.  You will be left on storms longer because of the amount of extra work you can get done in a day.

There are so many things you’ll see out in the field.  I’ve seen adjusters who rented homes during large catastrophes.  They then rented the rooms out to other adjusters who needed a place to sleep.  So in the end, they managed the house, living rent free for the few months they were working claims.

That’s puttping more money back into your pocket.

Others buy RVs to drive from location to location to avoid the expense of hotels.  This can be especially cost effective if you’re continually busy.  I wouldn’t suggest this at the beginning of your career, though.  Don’t buy all the big things, such as a new truck or an RV, thinking the money will never stop.  It could cause cash flow problems if things slow down for 3-4 months.

You need to think of your adjusting work as a business.  Look at the long term and short term aspects of your choices and how they affect your money.  Be smart and mindful as you work.  At 2021Training, we talk about some of these principles in our Practical Adjusting class. Make sure you take this class especially if you’re a new adjuster. It will save you A LOT of money in the future by learning the information taught in that class.

There you have it.  The 8 Attributes of as Successful Adjuster:

1. Can Do Attitude
2. Be a Self Starter
3. Be Resourceful
4. Be Logical
5. Have Adequate Computer Skills
6. Care About People
7. Be Respectful
8. Have a Business Mindset

Please share with us what other attributes you’ve found important in your career.  To Your Success!

2021Training.com provides training and CE’s for adjusters, including licensing for the state of Texas. We create affordable online training and provide an interactive experience by delivering audio/video training that’s highly regarded by our students