Learning a new career always has some challenges, and the career of insurance adjusting isn’t any different.  As a new adjuster, you’re usually responsible for training yourself.  This can be both good and bad.  Lets look at some of the insurance adjuster training pitfalls you may run into.

The good news
You can learn according to your time frame, and on your schedule.

The bad news
It can be challenging to make sure you select the best training to give yourself the best possibilities for success.  All companies believe they’re the best, but it’s up to you to determine which is best for you.

So, what should you look for in a training company when you’re trying to learn the skills of an insurance adjuster?

First, I’ve found it’s important to see who’s the trainer.  Not many companies talk about this, but it’s a huge indication as to what type of training you get.

• Has the trainer ever been an adjuster?
• Has he done the type of adjusting you want to do?
• Is he in touch with the recent world of adjusting, or is his experience from several years ago?

Next, many companies focus primarily on low cost.  But when you‘re starting or advancing a career, a $100 savings may be nice to have, but not at the expense of knowing what you really need to do your job well.

Find a company that has quality instructors.  Top quality training features field experienced instructors who also know how to communicate the information to their students.

Some online classes are better than live classes for a number of reasons, such as learning on your own time frame, and not having the inconvenience and expense of travel. The best ones will serve your needs exceptionally.

However, you need to see what the class offers and what instruction is included.  I’ve seen classes that are merely a slide show with quizzes. This can be a boring, difficult way to learn.  I’ve seen others that are text with a person simply reading the text as you follow along. Again, not much better.

And then you have a small segment that are very similar to classroom training.  As you look at slides, the instructor is actually teaching from experience. These classes are higher quality and have better content if the instructor has experience as an adjuster and as an instructor.

2021 Training is one of those training companies that stands out in the crowd.  Their instructors teach from real world experience and their classes are 100% online. You save the expense of travel and hotel while getting a similar experience to being in class. There are others out there that are good; just make sure you do your homework.

Remember, the goal it to be prepared, not just have a piece of paper saying you completed a course. It might get you a job the first time, but it will be the skills you learned, insights from the trainer on how to apply them, plus your own follow through that will make you a skilled adjuster who gets deployed regularly.

Bob Kramer has been an adjuster for several years, and shares from real property adjusting field experience. He writes for active and aspiring claims adjusters, sharing How-To information and stories from the field. His goal is to help adjusters become more effective and profitable.