Looking for information re: second career as an auto adjuster

[myownlilworld]

I would like to suggest auto adjusting as a potential second career for my husband. He is currently a diesel mechanic, though his schooling was originally in basic automotive mechanics, and his company has a couple of fleet contracts with companies that have cars and smaller pickup/box trucks. He has also done some restoration projects, etc., so I don't feel this is a stretch for his knowledge base/comfort zone (in terms of what he'd be evaluating). I am wondering if some of you might be able to comment on the daily life of an auto adjuster. We haven't had any accidents for quite a while, and my most recent experience with an adjuster was property damage from a wind storm. That adjuster seemed to determine the damaged structural areas, enter it into a program (with probably a few other details) and it produced the report without a whole lot of independent composition from him.

I realize that in asking 'what do you do on a daily basis' is probably affected by state requirements, your company of employment (if you're not independent), etc. Clearly, you have to evaluate the damage to the vehicle, ...and of course, some form of report has to be generated for the insured and the company (is it common for a program to handle this?). Outside of that, I can't really imagine. I would appreciate any information or insight you can offer.

 

[fed up]

Many insurance companies are moving to "photo estimates" as the initial appraisal of the damage and then the body shop provides supplements to get the vehicle out the door. I can see outside adjuster business going away completely in the not too distant future

 

[myownlilworld]

Well, that's not encouraging, ...but good to know.

 

[adjusterjack]

Writing up collision repair estimates requires years of experience in the collision repair business. You have to know every component of a vehicle and what it takes to repair or replace damaged components.

No insurance company or independent adjusting company is going to hire your husband with his limited experience unless they have some sort of trainee program but that would be for a lot less money than he is making now.

 

[myownlilworld]

Writing up collision repair estimates requires years of experience in the collision repair business. You have to know every component of a vehicle and what it takes to repair or replace damaged components.

No insurance company or independent adjusting company is going to hire your husband with his limited experience unless they have some sort of trainee program but that would be for a lot less money than he is making now.

I think that it is fairly safe to assume that anyone speaking of a second career expects a learning curve and a period of entry-level pay for that job. Money is not an issue in the short term. What is the issue, is getting him out of a job that requires routine handling of parts in excess of 200lbs. He dodged a bullet with a rare neurological condition (transverse myelitis), in that he is still on his feet and going about his day, but it takes more energy than it once did, and we would like for him to be able to save some for his off duty time, rather than expending it all at work.

As for his ability to adjust to, and learn new skills, I have no worries about that. They haven't even bothered to send him to training in years, because he can look at the truck/car and read the schematics for new systems and figure it out for himself in less time than it would take him to sit through a manufacturer/dealer class on a given system.

 

[adjusterjack]

Then all he can do is send resumes to insurance companies and independent adjusting companies.

 

[Change Request]

Insurance adjusting is a dying field. Between insurance companies cutting costs, photo estimating, and garbage MSOs (like Caliber, Abra, and Gerber), there is no need for that position. Everyone that I know in the business is scared right now.

Not to mention that every shop full of technicians (like your husband now) will hate him because his whole role is to save the insurance company money at their cost. If he has a strong desire to jam it to hard working people, maybe it is for him. If he is professional and has morals, stay away.