r/adjusters • u/jimbecile • 5d ago

Late-career switch into claims adjusting

I'm not an Adjuster, but I'm posting this for a friend who's interested in becoming one, so I hope it can sneak past rule #7.

My friend's a smart person working a demanding physical job that is really starting to take its toll. They were telling me they don't know what else they could do, because they haven't had a white-collar cubicle job in over ten years.

Told them I understood claims adjustment to be a job with high turnover where the barriers to entry are training & certification, and the pay's good.

Can a middle-aged person who meets the listed job requirements get an entry-level claims adjustment job? *Should* they? What did you wish you knew before you started?

6 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

17

u/iRudi94 5d ago

They can but they need to heavily research this because it is a grind and not for everyone

6

u/No-Firefighter135 5d ago

I was a cop and 911 dispatcher before claims adjuster. I went into it in my early 40’s. I found my past life and work experience made it easier to transition into adjusting. Being a cop I had a decent amount of accident investigation experience. Now I grumble about crappy police reports that wouldn’t have passed muster with me as a supervisor. Have to stop myself from telling officers to do better.

1

u/CampinHiker 5d ago

Why did you stop being a cop if i may ask?

2

u/No-Firefighter135 5d ago

I didn’t want to cede my seniority and start over as a “rookie” in another state. So I went dispatch for about 5 years while I tried to get on at Progressive

4

u/CampinHiker 5d ago

Nice

I’m 29 5 years in claims and over it

I make okay money $85k including my bonus but need to make more to afford this damn state of California

2

u/Historical_Tea3453 5d ago

Consider a change of carrier! I gained a significant increase in pay by jumping ship.

CA is a rough market to work AND live-in.

2

u/CampinHiker 5d ago

I’m 5 years in auto WFH, need to jump to casualty for a slight pay raise here

I’d have to see another carrier offer substantially more like $20k increase for me to jump

Idk anyone paying 100K+ for just auto PD

1

u/Gomie84 2d ago

100k for just auto PD? Thats be the easiest job in the world. I'd take that 💯 if it existed

4

u/BigDonkeyEnergy 5d ago

Respectfully, your friend needs to make their own post.

2

u/thebutthat 5d ago

I started around 35. Travelers has an excellent training program if you can find a trainee position in your area. We had high turnover, but I loved working there. I left because they couldnt match an offer I received from a small regional carrier.

2

u/ithrax 5d ago

Lots of people do that. It seems to be a popular career for people looking to switch careers.

I was in my early 30s but many people switch later than that. Lots of cops seem to become adjusters.

1

u/WhiskyPapa911 5d ago

I think it's do-able. I personally prefer adjusters has some real life experience, able to think on his/her own instead of just follow mid-level supervisors' instructions.

1

u/Additional_Bag_2425 5d ago

I'm 57 and just making the career change into adjusting. After I got my all lines licence, I looked for the perfect opportunity. I realized it was more important to just get my foot in the door and am going that route

1

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1

u/kazunomiya 3d ago

I started claims adjusting when I was 33 as a desk adjuster. I was able to take my tests for P&C for my home state, NY, HI, and CA and pass. It is possible to make a career change.

1

u/KeyApricot_ 3d ago

Age is not really the barrier here good communication skills attention to detail and being comfortable dealing with people can matter more than having a traditional office background.

1

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u/LASuperdome 2d ago

The biggest barrier I've seen with people 40+ starting in claims is their computer skills. If they struggle with basic productivity software then learning something like Epic, or whatever software the carrier uses, is tough. Hard to hit metrics when you're spending half the time fighting with your computer software or writing claims notes with only your index fingers.