Florida issues a single license type for all property loss adjusters. The license always ends in a -20, but the designation before the -20 is based on a couple of factors.
The WeTrainAdjusters Florida PPIA Licensing and Designation course gives adjusters the quickest, most cost-effective path to becoming licensed. Our online course meets all of Florida's educational requirements and exempts students who successfully complete the online training from having to take the Florida State Exam.
The basic difference between an IA and PA is who the adjuster is working for. Independent adjusters work for insurance companies. Their goal is to ensure that they get the information needed by their companies to settle claims. On the other hand, public adjusters work for people who are insured. Their goal is to help make sure that insured claimants receive the settlement they're entitled to under the terms of their policy.
In Florida, the requirements for the two positions are very different. For additional details, read our article on Career Options as a Public Adjuster.
Some of this depends on the type of adjusting that interests you. Our courses currently concentrate on residential property adjusting. If that's your interest, then we have a number of courses to get you started. If you are interested in learning general information about the job, duties, and responsibilities of residential property adjusters, I'd suggest you start with the course Introduction to Catastrophe Claims Adjusting. Even though it refers to catastrophe adjusting in the title, it is a good introduction for almost anyone new to the job.
Below is the order in which we recommend taking the courses if you are new to property adjusting. You will have to consider any prior knowledge that would allow you to skip certain courses. Nonetheless, the list below is a layout of the courses assuming you know nothing.
From there, if you want to concentrate on daily claims, you may need information on adjusting water losses. Our main courses that address this need are:
Writing estimates is usually done using an estimating application program. The most popular estimating package is Xactimate
There are a number of options to learning Xactimate. Our training uses a combination of video, text, and a workbook.
There are really two parts to being an adjuster.
First, Florida and most other states require adjusters to be licensed. You can take our Florida Licensing and Designation course to obtain your Florida Adjuster license. This course includes a final exam which will exempt you from having to take the State exam.
We offer additional training that will help you do the job of an adjuster. Take a look at our training packages to see which one might be a good fit for your needs and skillset/
In order to get your fingerprinting done, you have to go to an authorized vendor (listed on the Florida DFS website) and you can schedule an appointment using their online system. Once that’s done, the fingerprint results will be sent to Florida DFS electronically.
Read about fingerprinting on the Florida DFS website.
Then go to this site to schedule your fingerprinting:
www.L1enrollment.com/FLInsurance
Completing our Florida Licensing and Designation course and passing our exam, combined with the State of Florida application, and a successful background check will get you the Florida Adjusters license. Passing our exam exempts students from having to take the State of Florida exam. This is true for both residents and non-residents of Florida.
Once you have your Florida license (both resident and non-resident) you can get licensed in other states using reciprocity. Reciprocity allows you to get additional licenses without doing background checks or testing. Take a look at our reciprocity page to learn more.
As a licensed adjuster, you can work directly for an insurance company or an independent adjusting firm. You can work as an "independent" adjuster wherein you offer your adjusting services to an independent adjusting firm, which in turn is hired out by insurance companies.
Treat getting a job as an adjuster like you would any job search. If you have contacts within the insurance industry, reach out to them. Check job sites like monster.com or ziprecruiter.com. Use a search engine like Google or Bing. Good starting searches are “Independent adjuster jobs” and “Florida adjuster positions”.
Also, keep in mind that the best opportunity for new adjusters is during a CAT. A CAT (catastrophe) is an event that generates a need for a lot of adjusters in a short period of time. In Florida, this is most often a hurricane or hail storm where there is a widespread loss.
WeTrainAdjusters offers a resume review service. This is a review and upate of your resume by one of our professional editors. It is included in a number of our training packages that we offer.
Your Florida All-lines Adjuster license allows you to legally adjust any type of property loss, but to adjust flood losses, FEMA requires you to get additional certification. This includes having a Flood Control Number (FCN). To learn more about flood adjusting, getting a FCN, and more visit FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
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