Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 10/6/2011

Question
Hello Richard, I am a Fl Licensed All lines Adjuster. I was informed by a local body shop owner(has large contracts) that HE uses a particular auto appraiser who is then paid by the insurance company @ a rate of 95 dollars per inspection. He provided his contact information and asked me to call whenever I received my credentials. How exactly does this work? do i need or do you recommend any additional certification or training? thank you for your assistance in advance.

Kind Regards,

Charlie

Answer
Hi Charlie,

If you are seeking to become an auto damage estimator on an independent basis, this woudl require that you first actually set up a business. You will need a business license from the county or city where you will be located. You will also need a business phone and a mailing address, a computer with high speed internet connection, a good qulaity digital camera and a contract with one or more of the 3 major damage estimating software vendors. Once you have all of that in place, and with some business cards, brochures or some description of your service territory & fees, you will need to start contacting insurance companies to try to aquire some work.

I have never heard of a situation where a body shop hires an appraiser and then the insurance company pays the appraiser. The insurance comapny gives the assignments to the appraiser. So you need to market yourself to the insurance company property damage managers or claims managers or vice presidents of claims.

In many cases when you are just starting out, you may need to contact other large independent appraisal companies such as PDA or others to see if you can do some sub-contracted work for them. It can be very difficult to get an insurance company to give you a shot when you are an unknown.


I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh