Hurricane Season Adjuster To-Do List

While it's nothing new for those of us in the claims world, the official start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season is

June 1st

That Means: It's 5 Days Away! 

At Provencher & Company, we trust our adjusters are as prepared for the upcoming storm season as the insured is advised to be. However, we often get so wrapped up in our daily claim work that we neglect to prepare ourselves personally for a storm deployment.

As such, we have compiled a quick "to-do" list for our adjusters to ensure each of you are ready to go when you get the call to deploy:

1. Prepare your home in advance. Do you live in a "potential threat zone"? Don't be caught in Florida working a storm and have your home unprepared back in Texas with a CAT 3 headed that way.

2. Prepare your vehicle. Tires good for travel? Routine maintenance done? 

3. Using a RV during deployment? Prepare it for the trip too. Routine maintenance, stock supplies, etc.

4. Prepare your computer. It happens every year..... at least one computer crashes in the field and the adjuster panics. Don't be the person that loses all your work. Make sure you are up-to-date on anti-virus software and have an external hard drive. 

5. W5 Claim Management. Learn it, use it, love it! Provencher & Company has a comprehensive claims management system that we have worked hard over many years to develop into all that we want & need. Use it - its to your benefit. Don't worry about losing your photos or estimates. Once you create them, save them to the claim file and there is no fear of the documents being lost. 

6. Estimating Software. The middle of a CAT is not the time to learn a new estimating software. If you are contemplating make a change, please do so NOW! Learn the software prior to having to handle 200 claims in a 2 week period! While Provencher & Company does not currently require one estimating software over another, some of our clients do require Xactimate only. We strongly encourage those adjusters who will be deploying for CAT duty to use Xactimate as it will increase our ability to place you during deployment. 

7. Photo Required. We need a photo for every field or desk adjuster on file. These might be used to produce a CAT ID if you work for us in the field. There are also occasions where our clients want to learn more about a file reviewer. We will be sending out a reminder notice in a few days to those still missing photos. Please supply an unprotected Jpeg file so we can resize it to fit if needed. Send any new photo (or if you want to replace your old photo) to hr@provencherclaims.com. 

8. Updated Personnel File. Please make sure you have completed a 2014 Adjuster File Update Form. If not, we need this! It includes your emergency contact information, state licenses, etc. Heaven Forbid, but if you fall off a roof, we need to know who to contact in case of an emergency! Unfortunately, it happens, even to the most experienced of adjusters! Ask Jerry!


Contributed by:
Julie Rock-Chatellier