What does an adjuster do?

During times of crisis, insurance companies will deploy an insurance claims adjuster to a storm or catastrophe site to assess damages caused by covered perils.  Examples of such perils can include: tornadoes, hurricanes, hail storms, floods, earthquakes and wild fires.  Insurance adjusters can come in many forms.  Some adjusters handle claims in a centralized office environment or work from home (settling claims over the phone and helping homeowners throughout the claim process).  Others will be physically present at the location of loss to create damage estimates.

Insurance adjusters may also be referred to as: claims adjusters, claim handlers, claim representatives, or claim stewards.  It is the job of an insurance adjuster to find covered damages written within the insurance policy, and then create an estimate based on these damages.  Often times, an adjuster will need to climb the roof of a damaged structure in order to properly document and measure damages.  Specialized 2 story and steep adjusting teams are often assigned to high and steep properties.  These teams are properly equipped to safely climb and assess damages to potentially hazardous properties.  Insurance adjusters must also be prepared to meet with contractors and the insured to reconcile claim settlements and estimates.

Different types of adjusters

There are 3 different types of adjusters: independent adjusters, staff adjusters and public adjusters (Insurance Adjuster Help will focus on property adjusting exclusively, not auto-adjusting or bodily injury/medical or liability claims).  An individual who handles claims and is directly employed by an insurance company is referred to as a “staff adjuster”.  Staff adjusters can be local (working from home) or be considered a part of a catastrophe team (which involves traveling to storm sites for extended periods of times).

Staff adjusters whom focus on traveling for catastrophes typically see a higher salary than the claim handlers who stay local.  Often times, insurance companies can become overwhelmed in times of need.  Hurricane Sandy is a prime example of such a situation.  When Hurricane Sandy pummeled the east coast of the United States, on October 29^th 2012, thousands of insurance claims adjusters were needed to evaluate storm damages in a timely manner.  When such scenarios occur, insurance companies will employ the assistance of adjusters from a 3^rd party adjusting firm.  These adjusters are called “independent adjusters”.

Independent adjusters are externally employed from a 3^rd party adjusting firm or vendor.  Independent firms will typically offer specialized training and certifications to become eligible for deployment by an insurance company.  Adjusting firms can represent multiple insurance companies.  So instead of exclusively representing a single insurance company, an independent adjuster may represent multiple insurance companies.  An independent adjuster can expect to travel for long periods of time, usually several months.  Very few independent adjusters work from home.  Independent adjusters are usually required to travel to the given storm or catastrophe site within 48 - 72 hours of accepting a deployment.

The last type of adjuster is the “public adjuster”.  Public adjusters do not represent an insurance company, nor are they employed through an adjusting firm that handles claims for an insurance company.  The public adjuster represents the insured.  When an insured (or homeowner) would like another individual to handle their insurance claim for them, then a public adjuster can become involved with the claims process.  Public adjusters are typically paid by the insured based on a pre-arranged settlement amount.  These settlement amounts can vary, but are typically between 5% - 15% of the total claim settlement amount.  Public adjusters can be self-employed or be employed through a public adjusting company.  Special licensing is required for public adjusting.