Git 'er Done!
By Jeannine Patané • December 2004

    I rolled into Pensacola, Florida around 4:30 in the afternoon, looking for the Pensacola Inn. The hotel had its sign destroyed by Hurricane Ivan, but there was a temporary banner hanging up to identify the location. This was the place Skip and I were supposed to meet, although he was still adjusting an insurance claim. I never met Skip before, just talked to him on the phone earlier that day. He was my only contact in Pensacola, and being fresh into town, I was leaning on him to see if he could point me in the right direction for resources.
    Walking into the hotel lobby was like walking into an insurance convention. Allstate employees took over the lobby with over a dozen computer stations. There were many people bustling about in their khaki pants and navy blue shirts, and most of them had cell phones or headsets glued to their ears. Some contractors and workers made their way to and from the reception desk. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had their disaster assistance number posted in the lobby. I sat in an overstuffed lobby chair watching the scene and waiting for Skip. I wondered if he could help me get situated.
    It took awhile before Skip and I were able to greet each other in person, but it took less than 10 minutes for Skip to offer me a job to help him with his claim work. I was definitely curious to what he was doing, but I wanted to learn more about his work before I agreed to help him. It took us awhile to find a place to set up his laptop, and when we got it powered, he showed me the database software he had to use from his employer, as well as some digital photos of prior claims. Skip seemed a little stressed; he felt it would take another six months to get to all his claims. Insurance adjusting is something I am not familiar with, so I asked several questions to get a feel of everything he does and where he could use the most help.
    Pilot is the adjusting company Skip works for and one of Pilot’s biggest clients is Allstate. With a multitude of claims made to insurance companies after a natural disaster such as Hurricane Ivan, these companies are swamped and need numerous adjusters to expedite the claims. Some people won’t repair any damage to their homes until an adjuster assesses the damage. Pilot did emergency hiring to meet the timely demand. Skip heard about the position through relatives and applied online in his residence in North Carolina. Pilot accepted him and gave him a three-day crash course in insurance adjusting, handed him the software and loose paperwork then pushed him out the door with a list of claims to follow up on. Skip can competently do the work, he just felt overloaded with the time frame to complete everything.
    The following morning Skip and I went to a claim on Peridido Key. The area consisted of many vacation beach homes, and it was one of the harder hit areas from the hurricane. The police had a checkpoint at the base of the bridge that went to the island, because the damage was so extensive, the city was trying to protect house remnants from looters. We cleared the checkpoint, crested the bridge, and then dropped down into what looked like a dump station. Someone had a good sense of humor and posted a large sign along the roadside that read, “Please excuse our mess while we are renovating.” Being overwhelmed at the site of the devastation, I couldn’t help but laugh.
    The claim was for a floor-level condominium. All the carpet was removed and the entire bottom four-foot section of sheetrock was removed already. The floor-level condos in the building faired the best. It was the top floor condos that received the most water damage due to the damaged roof. I helped Skip measure the space, check sheetrock thickness and square footage for replacement, and take photos. After snapping a few photos, I remembered the unlabeled photos that were downloaded on Skip’s computer. He mentioned last night that he needed to label the photos with the related claims.
    When we got back to his vehicle, Skip couldn’t find his sunglasses and panicked. He also wasn’t able to find the power cord for his printer. I opened all the doors to his vehicle and pulled everything out in the parking lot. If the space we spend the most time in is disorderly, it doesn’t help our frame of mind with anything else in our life. It reflects in our work. We cleaned out the console, moved all computer equipment and peripherals in one area, and all claim paperwork in an easy-to-reach place, then moved all his camping gear and other miscellaneous items to another area of the vehicle. Trash was disposed of. He was beginning to feel more organized.
    Skip wasn’t allowing himself the time to do the required paperwork. One thing I learned as a handywoman was that 50 percent of my time is paperwork, and the other 50 percent was in the field doing hands-on work. The same rule-of-thumb applies to Skip. We sat down together in the Pensacola Public Library to get some paperwork done. He couldn’t get his printer to work; he was stressed and impatient with the installation procedures. I gave him another task and got the printer working for him. We organized files and went through each policyholder’s claim status. We developed a punch list. We were in business. The public library provided a quiet, studious environment that was conducive to our concentration. Soon I began to excuse myself for brief periods, and then for longer periods. Skip began to confidently handle things on his own, and by the end of the day, he accomplished a multitude of tasks.
    Skip didn’t need a secretary or an assistant. He needed someone to reassure him that it’s OK to take the time to do the paperwork. In fact, it’s necessary. That’s what being an insurance adjuster is all about. Claims can’t be successfully processed unless all the required paperwork is filled out as directed. Skip was worried that the paperwork would slow him down from contacting and visiting his pending claims, thus slowing down the reimbursement checks to the policyholders. What he needed to hear was no one would get their checks unless he completed the estimates, so he needed to manage his time efficiently and get the paperwork completed.
    By the end of the day, I knew my work with Skip was complete and I needed to move on. There were many people who held back from repairing their homes or businesses until an adjuster like Skip assesses the damage first. I came to Pensacola to get my hands on projects, not insurance paperwork. I wanted to find people who didn’t care about insurance because they just wanted to get the work done. I am thankful Skip helped me define what I wanted to do with my time in Pensacola. It was time I made my own contacts and got my work boots on.