Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 4/20/2011

Question
Richard

I am in the process of acquiring my New York Independent Automobile Damage and Theft Appraisal Adjuster License (Series 10-71). I have searched everywhere to try to find some pre-exam online courses, and/or practice exams, and can't find anything anywhere. I found one school "The Insurance Institute" that offers courses for all of the other adjusters licensee, except the one I'm looking for. I did however check out The American Society of Certified Auto Appraisers www.certifiedautoappraisers.com and they offer 5 courses to become certified. I was wondering if you were familiar with these courses and if they would help me in passing the exam? And secondly, would having their certification add validity to my resume when looking for work? I am new to this industry and not sure which associations hold the greatest amount of creditability. You help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Jon

Answer
Hi Jon,

You are talking about two different things. One is getting licensed. The other is obtaining certifications that will help your credibility.

To find schools that will help you pass the state required exam to become licensed, you should contact your state Insurance Commissioners office. They should be able to provide you with a list of state approved schools that provide courses designed to help you pass that state licensing exam. The are generally formal classes that are required by the state before you can even register to take the exam.

Once you have passed the exam and are licensed, then you can look for other courses and classes to help you gain credibility.  If you are going to be an auto damage estimater/appraiser then a good place to start would be ASE to become certified in collision damage analysis and repair estimating. You can also look to I-CAR for a variety of classes. You find ASE at www.ase.com and you can find ICAR at www.i-car.com

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh