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The Independent Adjuster Podcast (IA Path)
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The Independent Adjuster Podcast is where Pathfinders like you find clarity, take action, and escape the traditional grind of the adjuster industry.
Host Chris Stanley redefines success with the EXP Free Path, teaching you how to think differently, act boldly, and claim your future without waiting for luck or experience. It’s time to build a career that works for you, one episode at a time.
The Independent Adjuster Podcast (IA Path)
How to Get Your First Catastrophic Auto Hail Deployment
The skies are rumbling and "nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars" are falling across the country – it's hail season! For independent adjusters, this means opportunity is literally raining down. Are you positioned to capitalize on these $500 per day catastrophic deployments?
Hey, Pathfinders, welcome back to the Independent Adjuster Podcast by IA Path. It is hail season, and if you don't know that, you might want to get ready because hail deployments are happening. Last week at IA Path, we had an IA firm reach out and ask us for IA Path graduates who wanted to head to Kentucky and Indiana, and so we put out the notification and post to the graduates and within an hour those slots were filled between the IA firm's own roster and the IA Path graduates. And so I tell you that, because you need to be ready for hail season, and if you want to be one of those people to get a hail deployment, to earn $500 a day on a catastrophic deployment, then there's some things you got to do. And so that's what today's podcast is all about. It's about how to get your first catastrophic auto hail deployment, because the nickels, the dimes, the quarters and the half dollars, they're falling from the sky and they're damaging cars and we are needed to look at them. And so with each storm that comes through, each time it happens, it creates opportunity for you as an IA. But if you don't know how to get that work, you're not going to get it. So let's go through what you need to do to be ready. Number one you got to know what to do, how to do your job, or you're going to get sent home. Most people think that, hey, they're going to train me on the job, they're going to get me in the door. I went to this industry orientation with an IA firm and they said don't worry, We'll have managers, We'll have trainers, We'll make sure you know what to do. Bullcrap, Once that storm hits, you are typically on your own and, yes, there may be a manager present, there may be a supervisor and a trainer present, but they do not want you to learn on the job. It is go time. It is not the time to learn how to do your job, and so that's the first thing. And so what does that break down?
Speaker 1:As Number one within this, you need to know how to properly identify hail damage. You don't want to just guess. You want to know how to do your job. You need to know what qualifies as an oversized dent. You need to know how to use a PDR matrix. You need to know how to write conventional repair, which is damage beyond PDR. You need to know how to blend an R&I. You need to know how to know when and which markup to use when there is damage that can be fixed with PDR. And all of this sounds Greek to you. You need to learn how to write auto damage estimates first. You don't learn how to write hail. First you learn how to write auto damage collision estimates and then hail super easy, it all makes sense.
Speaker 1:Then, Number two you need to get your licenses in order. You need to have the licenses of where the hail is going to fall. Think Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Kentucky, Indiana. All those have licenses. And even if hail falls in a state like, I don't know, Missouri or Nebraska, where no license is required, guess what? The IA firms and the paintless dent repair companies that are going to hire you want to see that you have a license. Number three tell IA firms and PDR companies you're available. Sounds super obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people forget to contact the IA firms and say, hey, let's go, I'm ready. Because if you think about an IA firm, there are a list of thousands of people who may possibly be qualified for this work. They don't know who's available. They don't know who's ready, willing and able. So you need to jump in front of them and wave your hands like a crazy maniac and say pick me, pick me, All right.
Speaker 1:Number four you need to be storm ready. What do I mean by that? You need to be financially and logistically ready to deploy. You need to have at least $3,000 available for travel, hotel rental, car and food. Some way, shape or form Cash your bank account. I'm kind of against credit cards, but even if you've got to use a credit card some people do that You've got to have your own laptop with CCC1 installed. Make sure it's working, Test it. You need to have a reliable vehicle or a funds for a flight and rental, and you need to get your family and daily claims in order so you can leave within 24 to 48 hours of being deployed. If you can't leave on short notice, you can't accept the deployment when you get the call.
Speaker 1:Number five you need to watch the weather and respond fast. So how I do that is CoreLogic sends out daily hail reports and they let you know, on a scale of one to five, how much damage was done in an area by their estimations. So what I do is I watch for level four and level five hailstorms and as soon as one hits that same morning, that afternoon. Whatever I notice, notice the reports, I contact the IA firms and let them know you're available. You want to be in their head when the order comes from an insurance company for 40 IAs to deploy to an area you want them to go. George just contacted me. Oh, Joy just called and said she's available and ready to go. They want their job. The people handling the deployment, the recruiters, the dispatchers they want their job to be easy. They don't want to have to go through a thousand names to find 20. So make their job easy. Make sure they know you're available. That way you can take one of those first spots. So that's what you got to do to get your first hail deployment.
Speaker 1:Let's recap. Number one you gotta know what you're doing. Ideally you need to be certified, and so the ia firms believe that you know do the job. Two, you need to have at least one adjuster license, preferably in a state that hail falls, and you have more adjuster licenses than the other hail states. So that way you're more likely to get deployed.
Speaker 1:Number three you need to tell the IA firms and PDR companies which FYI means paintless dent repair companies, they're the people who fix the hail damage cars that you're available so that way they know they can choose you and call on you. You need to be storm ready financially and logistically. And five you need to watch the weather and respond fast. Can't wait to see you guys out in the field hearing the stories of how being an IA is changing your life. So excited for you this hail season. If you need help learning how to write auto hail estimates or collision estimates, if you want to stay at home doing daily claims, check out our certifications and our EXP free career path at I pathcom. Until next time, keep walking your path and claiming your life.