At AdjusterPro, we’re proud to serve our clients with outstanding courses at a great value.
We sell courses, it’s true, but finally what we are offering is much more than just another educational widget. What we are offering is an opportunity. What that opportunity means to different people will vary – for some it’s an opportunity to become self-employed and take control over what they earn, for others its an opportunity to use existing skills in construction, customer service, or IT in a more fulfilling and profitable way. But the common thread through these opportunities is that each is about improving the quality of someone’s life. Whether that is represented by the prospect of more money, more independence, more responsibility depends on the person.
The question then is this – what sort of opportunity does work in claims adjusting really, truly provide? Is it a good opportunity? Is it risky or safe? How does it compare with other career/educational investments? Those are the questions that I’d like to begin addressing here.
In this particular post, let’s consider this career as an investment. The traditional and socially “correct” way to become a high-income earner is to pass through the hallowed halls of higher education. A Bachelors degree!
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average cost of a 4-year undergrad program for a public school is around $64,000.
For a private school, that number precisely doubles to $128,000. What does $128,000 get you then aside from a slip of paper, a handshake, and a monthly Student Loan payment until you’re 65 years old? How about a 47% chance of getting decent work. What!? I remember watching the Presidential debate a couple of years ago and the candidates were just hammering on this point with a young, soon-to-be college grad. Currently, 53% of recent college grads are either unemployed or underemployed. Not only that but those jobs that are available aren’t as good.
Economist Richard Vedder recently noted that average wages for college grads dropped 4.7% between 2008 and 2010 and will continue to decline.
Wow. So, you can shell out 128k and spend 4 of your prime years with a nose in the books to then face a coin-flip for a “good” job? Now, I’m not a gambling man but that risk vs reward ratio is just ridiculously unattractive to me when put in those terms. And yet, in droves we send our sons and daughters to college so they have “every” opportunity to succeed. I think we need to re-think just how good an opportunity that really is.
Now, compare that with becoming a licensed and trained independent claims adjuster. Let’s say your path takes you through 40 hours adjuster licensing, Xactimate 28 training plus Xactimate certification for levels 1, 2, and 3. Maybe you grab a couple of carrier-specific certifications like State Farm and All-State as well. That’s going to run you a couple thousand bucks once you’ve factored in travel expenses for the carrier certifications which have to be done partially on site. Total investment of time – between 4 weeks and 3 months depending on how aggressive you want to be.
Ok, so at this point you are $2k and, say, 2 months invested – what are your prospects?
Well, I dare say if you actually completed all of the above sequence of programs your chances would be extremely good long-term. Unfortunately, the Dept. of Labor and Statistics doesn’t exactly keep these kind of metrics for the independent claims industry. I would say at absolute worst you’d be at 60/40 but I would personally think it much closer to 80/20…or even better.
So there is your risk – what about the reward? How about immediate 6 figure earnings potential? One of our students, a former golf pro, took our course and went on to make over 200k in his first full year of work. He didn’t do anything unusual – just worked hard and smart. And his story isn’t even that exceptional – it happens all the time. Heck, I know because I’ve done it myself.
So, on the one side of the casino you have a game where the stakes are $120,000 and 4 years of your life for a 50% shot of a 50k job. On the other side, you can go to a table and stake $2,000 and 2 months of your life for a better shot of earning well north of $100,000.
I’m not a gambling man but I know which table I’m going to first.
And to me, that is the investment opportunity this career provides.
Bottom Line:
Insurance adjusting has a low cost of entry, few regulatory barriers to becoming certified, and all kinds of upside. Not everyone does it of course but that sure isn’t unique to becoming a claims adjuster. That’s life. An opportunity isn’t about guarantees, its about a shot to assert yourself to make your life better. It’s up to you. Ready to start? Click here.
