UPDATED: In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the story’s drama revolves around an elusive slip of paper hidden within the wrapper of a humble chocolate bar: the Golden Ticket.
There are only five golden tickets in the world, and those that find one are invited to a private showing of the delectably mysterious chocolate factory operated by the eccentric Mr. Wonka. It doesn’t matter who you are, how wealthy, privileged, or well-connected you might be. The only criterion for admittance is the possession of one golden ticket.
Since Roald Dahl wrote that story and it was popularized by the movie starring Gene Wilder, the concept of the Golden Ticket has endured in our imagination as a symbol of that one elusive possession that gains us easy entry through an otherwise impenetrable barrier.
I’ve used the phrase many times myself in the context of the claims business. For years I said there was “no golden ticket that would guarantee you admittance into the claims industry.” Some things can help you; like knowing how to use Xactimate or getting the State Farm or NFIP certifications. And while these are important for making you competitive in the employment landscape, they don’t equate to a ‘golden ticket.’
There was no Golden Ticket. At least, not until recently.
When I originally wrote this article in 2015, the industry had started seeing a huge spike in demand for adjusters licensed in New York. We were getting calls from our IA Firm partners and requests from our insurance carrier clients to send them lists of anyone and everyone who had taken, or was taking our New York exam prep course…the need was that high.
The original blog included the following paragraph:
At this particular moment, there is one credential that will basically guarantee you work in the business of independent claims. This may change in 6 months or 3 years or it might be this way for a long time to come, but right now it’s as close to a sure thing as I’ve ever seen. What is it? The golden ticket is the New York adjuster license.
Now we find ourselves eight years down the road, and low and behold; things really aren’t very different than they were in 2015. There is still a dramatic supply and demand imbalance between how many adjusters are needed for the state of New York and the number of adjusters licensed to work in New York.
High Demand or Short Supply?
So are licensed New York adjusters in high demand, or is there a low supply? The answer, of course, is both.
There seems to always be a shortage of adjusters licensed in New York because of the state’s tough reciprocity regulations. Unlike most states in today’s insurance industry landscape, New York offers NO reciprocal licensing to adjusters licensed in other states.
That means anyone wanting a NY license must go through the onerous process of studying for and passing the New York adjuster exam, posting a bond, and dealing with the NY Department of Insurance’s application process. And, to be frank, the NY exam isn’t a cakewalk. It’s absolutely do-able, but it’s tough enough that many an adjuster has chosen to avoid the challenge all together.
Which brings us to the demand for adjusters. As one of our country’s most populous states, there are a lot of insurance claims in New York. According to the Insurance Information Institute, New York ranks in the top 5 for almost all insurance loss types by state: homeowners, auto, commercial, and workers’ comp.
Being on the eastern seaboard also means New York deals with a decent amount of catastrophe-related claims as well. Demand for adjusters skyrockets, and the lack of licensed adjusters can cause problems far beyond the standard supply and demand issues. Even 11 years later, the state still hasn’t fully recovered from Superstorm Sandy’s damages.
More recent events have illustrated how much more work still needs to be done in New York to protect the state from big storms. In 2021, the remnants of Hurricane Ida made their way to New York and caused massive damage. Though the storm wasn’t technically a hurricane any longer, it still crippled the state with flooding, shutting down the transit system and causing over 40 deaths.
At the end of the day, what was true in 2015 is still true today. New York still has far more insurance claims than most other states and not enough licensed adjusters to handle those claims.
Seize the Opportunity!
While we can’t predict the future, it doesn’t look like things will change regarding insurance claims in New York. As long as the state won’t offer reciprocal licenses, there will remain an ample opportunity for adjusters from all experience levels to obtain a New York adjuster license and jump to the front of the line for employers.
So, what should you do? Extremely simple: go get the New York adjuster license! We offer everything you need on our New York 17-70 Adjuster License page. Or you can visit our How to Get Your New York Adjuster License blog and read through the process in detail.
After your home state’s license, which is the first step any would-be adjuster should take, consider getting the NY adjuster license. It will take some dedication and drive to obtain this ‘golden ticket’, but the pain is absolutely worth the gain.
