by Gene Strother, President of Adjust U
I recently asked key members of the Mid-America Catastrophe Services executive, deployment, account management, and CAT teams to share their thoughts on the top five things each catastrophe adjuster should do to prep for hurricane season. Following are their responses.
Zack Meadows, Partner/CEO
- Make sure you have a good operational computer.
- Make sure you have Xactimate up and running
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- Download the carriers’ profiles ahead of time.
- LICENSE-LICENSE-LICENSE…..DO NOT DEPEND ON AN EMERGENCY LICENSE!
- Make sure you can cover a month’s worth of expenses.
Robert Uhler, Executive Vice President
- Check ladder, hinges, locks, wear and tear. Replace or repair before deployment.
- Check Cougar Paw shoe pads and have replacement pads ready for deployment
- Check equipment and have a pre-deployment checklist of equipment. Don’t want to leave something at home.
- Prepare Equipment and organize it in totes and ready for deployment.
- Licensing – Verify your licenses to ensure they are current and renew as appropriate.
Keith Craft, Director of Catastrophe Operations
- Make sure that you have an active license in the Hurricane states (TX, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC, and NC)
- Make sure that you are certified with the carriers that require a special certification (TWIA, LA Citizens, Florida Citizens, etc).
- Make sure you have a two-story ladder.
- Review the claim handling guidelines in Smartsheet for the carriers that Mid-America is associated with.
- Reach out by email to our deployment department to make sure they know you are ready for deployment.
Nicole Orso, Deployment Manager
- Confirm all coastal licenses are up to date (Texas to the Carolinas)
- Get LCPIC Certified to confirm you are eligible for work if a Storm hits Louisiana. (This is huge, as they represent tons of opportunity in an event due to policy count.)
- Get TWIA certified to confirm they are eligible for deployment if a CAT hits the Texas coast.
Courtney Belletty, Inside Deployment Manager
- Make sure your medical appointments are all taken care of before deploying.
- Have your vehicle serviced before deploying and is in ready-to-roll shape.
- Licenses!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t stress that one enough.
- Be ready- when you get the call don’t say give me about two weeks… you need to be sitting on GO… Time is money and Time doesn’t wait for anyone.
- Check your emails.. make sure adjusterservices@midamcat.com is saved to your email so it doesn’t go to spam.
Paul Griff, Senior Account Manager
- Licenses up to date
- Call firms you are registered with to inform them you are available for deployment
- Check all equipment including computer and any needed subscriptions (Xactimate is current)
- Vehicle ready/in condition for immediate travel.
Matt Meadows, Account Manager
- A fast computer with plenty of memory
- Portable internet device
- At least a 17-20 ft ladder to access all one-stories. A 32+ ft ladder to access almost all homes if you want to go the extra mile.
- Gas cans in case fuel supplies are limited
- Cougar paws/roofing shoes with new pads
- Up-to-date license for all potentially hit areas (North Carolina to Texas)
- Lousiana Citizens certification completed with MidAmCat
A recap of the recurring themes
As you can see, some of the suggestions reverberate throughout the responses. The total list can be broken down as follows (listed in order of frequency mentioned by our staff):
- Have your licenses up to date, especially for the Coastal states. This is the only thing mentioned by all seven responders.
- Make sure your equipment and tools (Cougar Paws, ladder, etc) are sufficient and ready to go. This was mentioned five times.
- Deployment readiness and communication with Deployment Departments were mentioned four times.
- Three responders mentioned carrier certifications and in particular LPCIC and TWIA certifications.
- A good computer, fast and with lots of memory, and Internet access were mentioned three times.
- Make sure you have your Xactimate subscription. You can take care of that here and get the Mid-America discount.
- Make sure your vehicle is serviced and roadworthy.
- Be prepared to absorb at least a month’s worth of expenses at the beginning. Be financially prepared to go to work.
- Take care of medical appointments and needs.
- Review carrier guidelines. We put this information at your fingertips.
- Download carrier profiles to Xactimate.
Seneca, the great Roman senator and Stoic philosopher said, “Luck Is where opportunity meets preparation.”
Everybody knows, I suppose, that the motto of the Boy Scouts of America is “Be prepared.”
The motto was coined by the English soldier Robert Baden-Powell, the father of scouting.
When he was asked by a reporter in 1907 what scouts should be prepared for, he replied, “Why, for any old thing!”
Make your own luck this hurricane season. Be prepared for the opportunity that comes your way. And, by the way, if you need help getting ready, if you need to level up in Xactimate, Desk Adjusting, or claims-handling in general, or if you need to get your FAA drone license, mosey on over the Adjust U course list and prepare yourself for success!
To really stand out in a competitive industry like insurance claims adjusting, you have to be willing to go the extra mile, to work harder, and to train more vigorously than others. Adjust U exists to bring out the best in the insurance adjuster. We help you make your own luck.
Gene Strother, President of Adjust U