Your First Deployment — What Nobody Tells You Until You’re Already There

Before You Leave

Get Ready

01. Gear Up

You need a reliable vehicle, a laptop, a good camera, a ladder (or access to one), measuring tools, a flashlight, chalk for marking roof damage, and enough clothes for at least two weeks. Cat deployments can run anywhere from a week to three months. Pack like you won’t be home for a while, because you might not be.

02. Know Your Software

Xactimate should be installed, updated, and familiar before you leave your driveway. If your first claim is also your first time opening Xactimate, you’re in trouble. Dave’s rule: you should be able to build a basic sketch and write a simple claim before you deploy.

03. Know Your Policy

The carrier will give you orientation materials. Read them. Know the policy type, the deductible structure, the coverage limits. Most of what you’re working will be the standard homeowner’s policy (HO-3 in Texas, HO-B equivalent). Learn it cold. “I don’t know” is only acceptable if you follow it with “but I’ll find out.”

Your First Day

Start With One Claim a Day

Go inspect the property. Come back to the help room or your hotel. Write the claim. Close it. Upload it. Done.

Was that easy? Tomorrow, try two. Build to three. Then four. Some storms, experienced adjusters handle seven hail claims a day. But you build to that. You don’t start there.

The adjusters who fail aren’t the ones who start slow. They’re the ones who schedule ten inspections before they’ve ever written a claim, bury themselves in open files, and either panic or quit.

When You’re at the Property

Listen, Then Work Your Process

Let the homeowner talk first. They have a story they want to tell you. Take five minutes and listen. It builds trust, and it often gives you information about the damage you wouldn’t get otherwise.

Then run your process. Every adjuster develops a routine. Dave’s: take a photo of the claim folder, take a risk photo of the front of the house before the homeowner sees you, then knock. Walk the property. Inspect systematically — roof, exterior, interior. Document everything.

Set an expectation before you leave. “My goal is to have this written up tonight. You should hear from me this evening or tomorrow.” Now you have a deadline — and the homeowner has a reason to trust you.

Communication

The Biggest Factor in Your Scores

Tell the homeowner what’s happening. If you don’t have an answer yet, tell them you’re working on it. If the news is bad, deliver it early and completely. If the news is good, deliver it clearly with next steps.

Don’t talk about dollar amounts at the property. You haven’t written the estimate yet. A number you say out loud at 2pm becomes a verbal contract they’ll hold you to at 5pm.

Keep Your Notes Clean

A Judge Might Read This

Every note in a claim file is discoverable in court. Write every entry like a judge is going to read it. Because they might.