I've passed the test to be a licensed public adjuster solicitor in New Jersey, the state where, I'm told, insurance companies receive less esteem than lawyers, journalists or politicians. In New Jersey, that says a lot.
I'm calling it a target-rich environment.
My license should come in the mail sometime in July.
It means several dozen family members, a lot of old friends, and an unknowable number of people and businesses from my 20 years with The Press of Atlantic City will soon have available someone who can help them unlock the full value of their property insurance policies.
I'm looking forward to a busy late summer and early fall.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
"Post" retirement? What's that?
I'm now a senior claims rep with Metro Public Adjustment and heading toward regional manager sometime late this summer or in early fall. What an amazing opportunity to find at the theoretical end of my "working" life. And what an ironic joke retirement at 62 or 65 turns out to be. Many of us seem to be discovering that retirement is just when you stop doing what everyone else wants and get to do what you want -- but not in an easy chair with a remote or on the beach in Florida. I'm really not ready for that.
I'm licensed as a public adjuster. I inspect homes for insurance damage only and represent the insured during the insurance claim process. I'm also an independent contractor, and what I've got is a small business without any need to handle paperwork or pay overhead. Metro takes care of it. I'm working on my own schedule. It's not very time consuming and I'm paid well. The company provided me with all the training, all done in house, to get started.
In less than a year, I've gone from being the person listening to an orientation about property insurance to the person delivering the orientation.
Here's why I choose to do this:
I need the money.
I'm bored.
I'm tired of working for asshats. Not everyone I worked for was an asshat, but they turned up pretty regularly.
I want to work on my schedule, not someone else's, and take time off when I feel like it, not when it is convenient for an employer.
I want to help people.
Anyone can identify with the first four points. The last one is special. With just the three apprenticeship insurance claims I found in order to qualify to work under Metro's umbrella, I've gotten three homeowners insurance payouts of $62,683 so far. Two of those claims are being pushed and negotiated even farther, to get the insurance companies to fully meet their contracted obligations.
I'd call that helping people, especially since in one case an insurance company that initially was going to spend maybe $2,000 to just clean clothes and wash floors in a house damaged by a smoky fire has paid almost $50,000 and counting to fully restore the property to the way it was before the fire. And in two other cases, homeowners who didn't know they had claims got $8,000 and $5,300 respectively for new roofs.
Now I'm handling claims on my own and recruiting and training my own team. I'm working for a company that pays me more of each claim the more claims I bring in. It pays me a fee out of every claim one of my recruits brings in. I share directly in the company's growth and prosperity from the actual business it does.
I wish I'd known about this industry when I was 25 years old. But that doesn't count as a "what if" worthy of beating myself up: Within three years I'll be making more each year than I ever made in journalism, even as an executive editor. And within five years I'll be financially secure for the rest of my life.
Did I mention I'm once again a cheerful person?
Life can be good.
--Bill Watson
I'm licensed as a public adjuster. I inspect homes for insurance damage only and represent the insured during the insurance claim process. I'm also an independent contractor, and what I've got is a small business without any need to handle paperwork or pay overhead. Metro takes care of it. I'm working on my own schedule. It's not very time consuming and I'm paid well. The company provided me with all the training, all done in house, to get started.
In less than a year, I've gone from being the person listening to an orientation about property insurance to the person delivering the orientation.
Here's why I choose to do this:
I need the money.
I'm bored.
I'm tired of working for asshats. Not everyone I worked for was an asshat, but they turned up pretty regularly.
I want to work on my schedule, not someone else's, and take time off when I feel like it, not when it is convenient for an employer.
I want to help people.
Anyone can identify with the first four points. The last one is special. With just the three apprenticeship insurance claims I found in order to qualify to work under Metro's umbrella, I've gotten three homeowners insurance payouts of $62,683 so far. Two of those claims are being pushed and negotiated even farther, to get the insurance companies to fully meet their contracted obligations.
I'd call that helping people, especially since in one case an insurance company that initially was going to spend maybe $2,000 to just clean clothes and wash floors in a house damaged by a smoky fire has paid almost $50,000 and counting to fully restore the property to the way it was before the fire. And in two other cases, homeowners who didn't know they had claims got $8,000 and $5,300 respectively for new roofs.
Now I'm handling claims on my own and recruiting and training my own team. I'm working for a company that pays me more of each claim the more claims I bring in. It pays me a fee out of every claim one of my recruits brings in. I share directly in the company's growth and prosperity from the actual business it does.
I wish I'd known about this industry when I was 25 years old. But that doesn't count as a "what if" worthy of beating myself up: Within three years I'll be making more each year than I ever made in journalism, even as an executive editor. And within five years I'll be financially secure for the rest of my life.
Did I mention I'm once again a cheerful person?
Life can be good.
--Bill Watson
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Enough to make a stone weep
Insurance companies are part of the American corporate structure. They share many of the same goals and philosophies held by most publicly traded corporations. That means the bottom line is profit, morning noon and night, 24-7, and if it comes at the expense of your roof, what do you think will happen next?
Think about it. How many people do you know who were laid off not because a company was in trouble, but because they weren't making as high a profit as greedy stockholders and greedy executives (with stock options) wanted. Everyone knows someone in that boat. Some of us have been in that boat.
When something serious goes wrong and you need your property insurance, don't think you're calling in your friendly agent or the wonderful folks you see in television ads. You're calling in the guy who fired your best friend after 27 years on the job in the name of corporate greed. That's the kind of guy who is going to come to your home or business, look around with a bored expression, and perhaps tell you there really isn't a claim, or offer a few hundred bucks. He may even be from another state - you won't see him at Rotary next week, nor in church on Sunday. You'll never see him again and the only consequences he faces come about if he gives you too much money. His employers will not like that.
You don't have to take it. Public adjusters go to bat for you just like attorneys - and, like some attorneys, public adjusters at Metro get no fee unless they succeed in getting you money. Even up the fight: Get some smart help. I'm available, for instance, and if I help you, I don't get any money unless you get paid by the insurance company. We usually get people more money than they'd find possible without us. On my three "apprenticeship" claims, as an example, I got homeowners more than $45,000 the insurance companies didn't want to give them. And I find claims people didn't know they had in about half the houses and businesses I visit.
If insurance companies win, it's because you lose. If I win, it's because you win, too. Which one sounds better?
Think about it. How many people do you know who were laid off not because a company was in trouble, but because they weren't making as high a profit as greedy stockholders and greedy executives (with stock options) wanted. Everyone knows someone in that boat. Some of us have been in that boat.
When something serious goes wrong and you need your property insurance, don't think you're calling in your friendly agent or the wonderful folks you see in television ads. You're calling in the guy who fired your best friend after 27 years on the job in the name of corporate greed. That's the kind of guy who is going to come to your home or business, look around with a bored expression, and perhaps tell you there really isn't a claim, or offer a few hundred bucks. He may even be from another state - you won't see him at Rotary next week, nor in church on Sunday. You'll never see him again and the only consequences he faces come about if he gives you too much money. His employers will not like that.
You don't have to take it. Public adjusters go to bat for you just like attorneys - and, like some attorneys, public adjusters at Metro get no fee unless they succeed in getting you money. Even up the fight: Get some smart help. I'm available, for instance, and if I help you, I don't get any money unless you get paid by the insurance company. We usually get people more money than they'd find possible without us. On my three "apprenticeship" claims, as an example, I got homeowners more than $45,000 the insurance companies didn't want to give them. And I find claims people didn't know they had in about half the houses and businesses I visit.
If insurance companies win, it's because you lose. If I win, it's because you win, too. Which one sounds better?
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Smoke gets in your eyes...
... and your walls and your heating ducts.
Even when the fire is confined to one plastic storage tub in the basement.
We're headed this week to the home of a family in the Poconos who are now living in a motel after what seemed like a small fire earlier this month ruined their home.
Not much is burned. Much is ruined. An immense amount of smoke from the plastic tub and its contents got into the heating system. It also got into the walls, up every pipe and wire chase in the building. There's damaged insulation; the ducts for the hot air are coated in sticky stinking burned plastic. Clothing, furniture, carpets, walls, ceilings. An incredible mess.
The homeowner was dealing with his insurance company until they started acting like they were looking for a way out of their financial obligations to him. Offering to just send his clothing for a wash and machine-cleaning his carpets as the solution to his problem struck him as not even close to adequate. So a friend put him on to me, we got a Metro team there within four hours, he's now got us standing up for him. More Thursday.
Even when the fire is confined to one plastic storage tub in the basement.
We're headed this week to the home of a family in the Poconos who are now living in a motel after what seemed like a small fire earlier this month ruined their home.
Not much is burned. Much is ruined. An immense amount of smoke from the plastic tub and its contents got into the heating system. It also got into the walls, up every pipe and wire chase in the building. There's damaged insulation; the ducts for the hot air are coated in sticky stinking burned plastic. Clothing, furniture, carpets, walls, ceilings. An incredible mess.
The homeowner was dealing with his insurance company until they started acting like they were looking for a way out of their financial obligations to him. Offering to just send his clothing for a wash and machine-cleaning his carpets as the solution to his problem struck him as not even close to adequate. So a friend put him on to me, we got a Metro team there within four hours, he's now got us standing up for him. More Thursday.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Popsicles, icicles, shoveling and heavy clothes ...
... these are a few of the things we love.
Wait, no, we don't. And apologies to the Murmaids for paraphrasing their lyrics.
These are a few of the things we got, however, during Halloween Weekend here in northeast Pennsylvania. Really, you could have turned into a popsicle around here on Saturday. And while the icicles were minimal, they're the thing that's going to be a sign you've got the potential for a problem with ice damming.
Most homes aren't built with a heavy, waterproof roll of special material extending around the base of the roof upwards for three feet. Homes without it are more susceptible to ice damming than those with it.
An ice dam is simple. Melting snow collects in a gutter that isn't working because it's clogged or full of frozen slush. In addition to spilling over and forming icicles, it also can back up. And when it does, it can back up UNDER your shingles and come into contact with the wood of your sheathing. From there it's a matter of time to cause rot and a matter of construction and luck whether it drips down onto your interior ceilings and walls, causing more damage.
That's the bad news.
The good news is that your homeowner insurance often covers ice damming. It's one more reason to read the insurance policy.
So don't shrug your shoulders and put the burden of repairs on your already stretched household budget. Call your insurance agent and ask if it's covered. If you get a response filled with bafflegab that amounts to either "no" or a token offer of a small amount of money, call in a public insurance adjuster. You may be unpleasantly surprised at what a real repair costs, including damage to the interior. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much more the public adjuster can get the insurance company to pay for.
Just something to think about next time you're admiring a seven-foot icicle hanging off your groaning (and probably pulled loose and bent) gutter. (That's covered too. :-) )
Wait, no, we don't. And apologies to the Murmaids for paraphrasing their lyrics.
These are a few of the things we got, however, during Halloween Weekend here in northeast Pennsylvania. Really, you could have turned into a popsicle around here on Saturday. And while the icicles were minimal, they're the thing that's going to be a sign you've got the potential for a problem with ice damming.
Most homes aren't built with a heavy, waterproof roll of special material extending around the base of the roof upwards for three feet. Homes without it are more susceptible to ice damming than those with it.
An ice dam is simple. Melting snow collects in a gutter that isn't working because it's clogged or full of frozen slush. In addition to spilling over and forming icicles, it also can back up. And when it does, it can back up UNDER your shingles and come into contact with the wood of your sheathing. From there it's a matter of time to cause rot and a matter of construction and luck whether it drips down onto your interior ceilings and walls, causing more damage.
That's the bad news.
The good news is that your homeowner insurance often covers ice damming. It's one more reason to read the insurance policy.
So don't shrug your shoulders and put the burden of repairs on your already stretched household budget. Call your insurance agent and ask if it's covered. If you get a response filled with bafflegab that amounts to either "no" or a token offer of a small amount of money, call in a public insurance adjuster. You may be unpleasantly surprised at what a real repair costs, including damage to the interior. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much more the public adjuster can get the insurance company to pay for.
Just something to think about next time you're admiring a seven-foot icicle hanging off your groaning (and probably pulled loose and bent) gutter. (That's covered too. :-) )
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Halloween vandalism: Yes, it's usually a covered peril
Halloween is upon us. While most of it is just fun, many areas of the country have a tradition that Halloween is preceded by "Mischief Night" or "Goosey Night", which is given over to pranks and vandalism, some of it extensive and costly to repair. Is vandalism covered by your insurance?
Stomping out a burning paper bag you discover on your front steps after the doorbell rings and finding out there's dog poop in it: That's a prank.
Getting eggs thrown at your car or house: That's vandalism, and damage from eggs is a bigger ticket item than you'd think, simply because it's so destructive at the molecular level that the paint has to be replaced. There's often permanent discoloration. Trying to match the paint color is sometimes impossible. That means a new paint job for the car or the house, or new siding if it's damaged vinyl. Not cheap.
Most standard homeowner insurance policies cover vandalism. Call your agent, and, of course, if you don't like the answers you then get from your insurance company, call a public adjuster.
But don't forget that sometimes a little prevention is better than any cure. Damage from eggs usually requires the eggs to be in place a few hours. It costs you nothing to park your car in the garage, nothing to check it last thing at night if you have to park outside, and nothing to shine a flashlight over your house before bed time to see if you've been "egged."
Now if they turn over your outhouse, that's another story. Fortunately, teenagers committing serious Mischief Night vandalism are not particularly inventive: eggs, spray paint, toilet paper in your trees, that's about the extent of the usual bag of tricks.
Good luck making it through Halloween. Next time we talk about when "No" from an insurance company really means you just have to try harder.
Stomping out a burning paper bag you discover on your front steps after the doorbell rings and finding out there's dog poop in it: That's a prank.
Getting eggs thrown at your car or house: That's vandalism, and damage from eggs is a bigger ticket item than you'd think, simply because it's so destructive at the molecular level that the paint has to be replaced. There's often permanent discoloration. Trying to match the paint color is sometimes impossible. That means a new paint job for the car or the house, or new siding if it's damaged vinyl. Not cheap.
Most standard homeowner insurance policies cover vandalism. Call your agent, and, of course, if you don't like the answers you then get from your insurance company, call a public adjuster.
But don't forget that sometimes a little prevention is better than any cure. Damage from eggs usually requires the eggs to be in place a few hours. It costs you nothing to park your car in the garage, nothing to check it last thing at night if you have to park outside, and nothing to shine a flashlight over your house before bed time to see if you've been "egged."
Now if they turn over your outhouse, that's another story. Fortunately, teenagers committing serious Mischief Night vandalism are not particularly inventive: eggs, spray paint, toilet paper in your trees, that's about the extent of the usual bag of tricks.
Good luck making it through Halloween. Next time we talk about when "No" from an insurance company really means you just have to try harder.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
OK, somebody's $6,000 ahead. Next
Just got word the first insurance claim I ever put in for a homeowner produced a $6,000 settlement for roof and interior work. Not too shabby for something the homeowner didn't think would be covered by his policy.
It gets me one more claim down the road to independent status with my sponsoring company, Metro Public Adjusting. This is going to be good, useful, fulfilling work.
Let me ask again: Anyone else out there in northeast Pennsylvania want their insurance policy reviewed and their home inspected? I'm working on a New Jersey license, but I've got the time if you've got the need for that kind of money for home repairs.
It gets me one more claim down the road to independent status with my sponsoring company, Metro Public Adjusting. This is going to be good, useful, fulfilling work.
Let me ask again: Anyone else out there in northeast Pennsylvania want their insurance policy reviewed and their home inspected? I'm working on a New Jersey license, but I've got the time if you've got the need for that kind of money for home repairs.
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