It is never too early and often too late…..

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

I am a 44 year old Daddy.  Summer (my wife) and I have 6 kids.  Our oldest is 17, our youngest is 5.  For the past 2 years I have watched my father – the toughest man I have ever known – at times be rendered helpless during his struggle with cancer.  Within the last 3 weeks of October, I have witnessed the burial of two high school classmates – both warriors that fought to the very last breath.  One fought against cancer, the other against diabetes. 

Bridget

Bridget was 42 years old when she passed the first week of October.  Up until the time of her death she ran marathons and enjoyed her wine.  Bridget still holds several West Virginia state records in both track and basketball.  A fitness enthusiast she was the last person you would expect to have any type of health issues.  I still think I am going to find out via a phone call or Facebook status that it was all a mistake and that she actually “won”; defeating death the way she used to will our teams to win back in junior high and high school.  Hitting that last second shot at the crucial moment.  The truth is it is final.  The buzzer has sounded for Bridget.  She and I first shot basketball together when she was 10 and I was 12 on a blacktop court at the base of a coalmine in Coalton, West Virginia.  We were friends for life.  She left behind her husband, Chuck; her Australian Shepherds, her beloved West Virginia Mountaineers and thousands of friends.

Chris

This is Chris.  Or I should say this is Chris as I most remember him, back in high school.  A moment captured of Chris where he is young, excited and looking forward to a long life full of plans and dreams.  Chris died four days ago after a lifetime of battling Type 1 diabetes.  He was 39 years old.  In spite of his condition, Chris was an accomplished soccer player and athlete.  He enjoyed camping, fishing and NASCAR.  Active in his church and always available to help a friend, Chris was beloved by many.  Chris was another son of West Virginia:  Let’s Go Mountaineers.  Two sons and a daughter are now left without a father because of Diabetes.

Dad

This is my dad, John.  The photo on the left was taken 2 years ago at an annual family reunion we have here in Kentucky.  He is 63 in the picture to the left.  You can also see his ever present pack of cigarettes on the table to his right. He smoked heavily his entire adult life.  The picture on the right was taken of my father last week – 2 years later.  The primary difference is that he has quit smoking.  Also he has had his right lung removed due to lung cancer.  He has had to go through intense chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The man that used to work nonstop 16 hour days can barely toddle around the yard without becoming winded and exhausted.  At this time, tests show that he is in remission.  There is always a bit of somberness attached with that statement though.  Cancer seems to always hang around; like a bad smell you can never entirely get out of your couch.  Dad realizes his earlier attitude and nonchalance towards taking care of himself was misguided.  He wishes he had it to do all over.  Dad has 14 grandchildren – the majority under 12 years old.  He hopes he can see them all graduate and marry.  I hope he is around for next Christmas.  We’ll see.

As we continue on through life our experiences mold us.  This past month has impacted me.  Diabetes is a scourge that continues to grow and multiply – silently leaving devastation in its wake.  The ripples that cancer sends out laps up against every part of your being; finding its way in to every nook and cranny of your soul.  I wonder if eventually it doesn’t wash away every vestige of innocence and optimism that one has.  The consequences of both cause you to become raw and exposed.  The diseases are an emotionally organic process.  Growing and changing, I don’t know how the impact of either ultimately leave survivors as I am still dealing with what has happened to my friends and in quiet fear observing the cruel game cancer is playing with my father.

My “take-aways” for you?

*  If your demographic is at risk: female or male - get tested.  You can find out more at The American Cancer Society or the American Diabetes Association.

*  If someone you love is in one of those demographics – encourage them to get tested.

*  Please contribute your time, energy and/or finances to charity or foundation of your choice.  The American Cancer Society, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Susan B Komen Foundation are all excellent organizations.

*  Finally, please…please…don’t take anything for granted.  Not today or tomorrow.  If it needs to be said; speak.  If it needs to be forgiven; forgive.  If you love; say it, express it and show it.

Brian J.

Hurricane Isaac – Quite a bit of bark and very little bite

During this past month Mariposa, like many other I.A. firms, responded to the potential impact of Isaac.  In the days leading up to landfall Isaac grew in size and mass.  The storm also moved very slowly, leading our carrier partners to forecast significant damages throughout Florida and the gulf coast.  As a result of a variety of circumstances, Isaac did not produce the expected damage. 

Licensing Requirements – “Home State Designation”

We discovered that Louisiana, as do many states, has revised its licensing requirements.  This includes the designation of a “home-state” license for adjusters that reside in states that do not require a license.  After plenty of research it appears that the best procedure for all adjusters that live in a “non licensing” state, such as Colorado, are best served to choose a “home state”, for example Texas, and contact the Texas DOI for the must current requirements to obtain a Texas license.  Adjusters will then designate Texas as their home state.  Many of the processes to do this are constantly changing and being amended.  Even many of the states DOI websites have dated and incorrect information. 

Remember – compliance is the adjuster’s responsibility.  Not the states, the carrier’s or the IA firms.  A responsible, prepared and professional Independent Adjuster will see that they have at least one license with a designated home state.

With this information in mind, in order to be considered for CAT work with Mariposa:

1.  You must have a current adjusters license.  Even if your state of residence does not require a license, you must have a license with a designated home state.

2.  You must designate a home state for the license you obtain.  If your state does not require that you have a license please contact a licensing state’s DOI, such as Texas or Indiana, and make arrangements for         a “home state” designation.

For further information, contact your state’s Department of Insurance, Sircon or NIPR, or organizations such as Adjuster Pro or Mile High Adjusters.

8 Day Indiana Total Adjuster Program from AdjusterPro

AdjusterPro will be presenting its 8 day Indiana Total Adjuster Program in Indianapolis August 20th-27th.  This program is approved by the Indiana Department of Insurance and offers the nation’s only Indiana Adjuster PreLicensing Course & Exam.

Why Indiana?  Check out why Indiana could replace Texas as the go-to licensing state for Independent Adjusters!

Program includes:

      Indiana Adjuster PreLicensing & Exam
      Adjusting 101: Survive & Thrive
      Xactimate 27 Training: Estimatics in 2012 & Beyond

Total program cost is $799.  Seating is limited so please contact John O’Brien or Michael Miller at (214) 329-9030, email info@adjusterpro.com, or view more/register 24/7 online at the following link:
http://www.adjusterpro.com/insurance-adjuster-training/indiana-total-adjuster.html

Mariposa is pleased to announce the July 2012 Employee of the Month: Bob Chandler.

Bob has put out a monumental effort in July, inspecting 57 claims in 31 days.  During that same time period, Bob had 52 claims closed.  Charged with covering a large portion of Ohio during a small storm event for a new client, Bob performed in an exemplary way.  His files stayed within the guidelines and he presented a continually improving work product.  Bob was critical in elevating our status with the new carrier by being able to respond to an emergency claim immediately.  Bob received the claim, inspected the risk and had a report filed within 36 hours.  This effort proved to be important in to establishing our storm capabilities with this client.  During this same time period Bob also attended to numerous commercial claims from another carrier, and maintained his administrative duties at the home office.  Kudos and congratulations to Bob Chandler – Mariposa’s July 2012 Employee of the Month.

You are invited to join us next year in Orlando or Denver for the Mariposa 2013 Catastrophe Claims Conference.

In addition to free lunches and cocktail hours, you will have the opportunity to meet with our catastrophe carriers and many of the classes we offer will include CE credits for Florida and Texas..
Adjusters will receive 7 CE credits in Orlando and 10 CE credits at the Denver conference.

Adjusters who attend the 2013 conference will receive a $100.00 refund if they are deployed with Mariposa during the 2013 storm season.  Payment will be made with your first storm payroll.

Check out the link for more details on the innovative seminars we are offering, list of vendors, dates, locations, online reservations and online lodging reservations.

Click here for Orlando Information

Click here for Denver Information

We are pleased to announce the winner of the Employee of the Month for June – Mark Valentine!

Mark received numerous nominations this month for several reasons.  Mark has had a successful transition from an FSA to an Assistant Account Manager.  In addition to his successful transition, Mark handled all additional duties of Account Manager for two weeks this month while Merry was on sick-leave.  Mark stayed focused and kept all his plates spinning with no loss of service to our client.  Mark’s outstanding professionalism as well as his excellent written and verbal communication skills are very much appreciated by our entire staff, as well as by our client’s staff.  Thank you, Mark, for your dedication to excellence and your dedication to Mariposa.

We are pleased to announce the winner of the Employee of the Month for May – Matt Lerer.

Matt received numerous nominations due in part to his exemplary planning of the 2012 Mariposa Retreat in Celebration, Florida.  Along with the coordination of the location and activities, Matt served as the liaison for a wonderful evening of entertainment with Alice Tan Ridley.  Matt’s success as the event planner was a result of his patience, perseverance and planning.  Matt came to Mariposa part-time in 2010 as a Political Science Major from “THE” Ohio State University.  He transitioned to full time in 2011.  Please join me in congratulating Matt as our MIS Employee of the Month.

Hurricane Season 2012:

Let the fun begin!  The 2012 Hurricane Season is upon us and has shaped up to be an interesting event.  We have had two early guests to the party already: Alberto & Beryl.  Both proved to be like uninterested distant relatives making a “pop-in” appearance at a funeral viewing (“Make sure someone sees you, then we are out of there . . . unless they have shrimp puffs on the buffet”), however, I contend if for no other reason than to keep that eternal flame of optimism (or is that denial) alive that this is an indicator of a strong storm season to come.

On the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, University of Colorado forecasters predicted 13 named tropical storms for the season, an increase of three from their forecast released in April. They say five of those storms will be hurricanes (with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or above), an increase from four hurricanes in their April forecast.  The forecast for a major hurricane, a Category 3, 4 or 5 storm with winds well above 100 mph, remains at two.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that it expected a near-normal Atlantic hurricane season, with nine to 15 named storms and four to eight hurricanes. NOAA expects one to three of the hurricanes to be major ones.

Where does that leave us as IA’s?  Same place as always.  Bookmarking the NOAA site . . .praying to Jim Cantore on the Weather Channel ... making deals with whatever Higher Power you have that you will live a much better life if there would be one decent storm ( adding the disclaimer that you want no one hurt).  All in all, pretty much the same routine all involved have gone through every year before and will continue to go through for years to come.  It is the act of waiting on the Hurricane Santa Claus.  Let us hope that El Nino doesn’t put coal in our storm stockings.

DID YOU KNOW?

The World Meteorological Organization is in charge of assigning names to tropical storms that originate in the Atlantic Ocean and reach a sustained wind speed of 39 miles per hour. Any storm that reachs a sustained wind speed of 74 miles per hour is called a “hurricane”.

Summer’s 4/4/4 rule

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” – Benjamin Franklin

As with any other successful endeavor, having a game plan for your deploy activity is crucial.  At Mariposa we have a general expectation of “Scope today, Write today”.  Back when my wife, Summer, and I were independent adjusters with Mariposa we had been utilizing this philosophy successfully for years.  Looking around us we saw adjusters failing miserably by scoping multiple losses for multiple days and not writing a single claim.  We all know the folly in this and I am not going to beat the drum of what is wrong with it.  It would be like me explaining that eating too much bad food makes you fat, drinking too much beer makes you a jerk or relying on too much duct tape makes you a West Virginian – all of which I have done in the past.  Instead I am going to provide you with an option that if worked properly and to the letter can make you a well -paid star at Mariposa.

Summer came up with a plan for us.  Scope four claims a day, write and submit those four claims that night (within 24 hours), and schedule an “Administrative Day” every four days.  This 4/4/4 plan allowed us as IA’s to be successful and sane and pleased our Reviewers as we were submitting 20 to 24 claims per week, 80 to 100 claims a month all within 24 hours of inspection.  Here is the crux of the 4/4/4

1)  Scope Four (4) Claims a Day: Consistently scope at least 4 claims EVERY day.  I can hear, many in the congregation snorting right now, “Hmmmph ... only four?  I can scope seven or eight on a good day!”  Right – but you are not writing those that same night.  If you are not writing and submitting, you are falling behind.  We would schedule with the insured with a window of time:  8 am to 10 am, 10 to 12, 12 to 2, 2 to 4.  This gave us ample wiggle room and the insured was not waiting around all day.  Additionally, when scheduling appointments we would ask the insured if they would consider being on our “Drop In” list.  This would be a list of insureds that may be scheduled later in the week; HOWEVER,  should something come up and another appointment cancel – you can call a “Drop In” insured and possibly get their inspection in earlier.  Anything to get your four scopes per day.  NOTE:  make sure that if it is obvious that you are going to be more than an hour into your previous appointment, that you make a courtesy call to those later in the day.  This isn’t required but it sets such a nice tone before you even start the inspection.  Insureds that feel they are being considered are quite often the most considerate - even in the midst of chaos.

2)  Write and Submit Four (4) Claims at night - Scope today, write tonight: Make it your mantra.  What you write during the day, get submitted that night without fail.  Barring the unforeseen circumstance of needing an expert, ITEL or some other extenuating service – every day you should either be submitting four “First and Finals” or three “ First and Finals” and one “First Report”., and so on. You get the idea. With scoping four claims a day, you are going to be back at home, the hotel, the RV, wherever “Storm Central” is for you,  sometime between 5 and 6 p.m.  That gives you plenty of time to write your four reports and get them submitted before getting a good meal, possibly a rerun of the “Dukes of Hazzard” and a full night’s sleep.

3)  Schedule an administrative day every four (4) days:  You read correctly.  Schedule an administrative day every four days in the field.  Note that this is an ADMINISTRATIVE DAY; not an OFF DAY.  You will use your Admin. day for things such as scheduling upcoming appointments, rescheduling appointments,  and making necessary calls.  Your ADMIN day can be used to schedule a hard-to-please insured for their appointment.  Do not make a habit of purposely scheduling appointments on your ADMIN day.  Only in an emergency do you want to have an appointment on your ADMIN day.  This is a day for you to recharge, regroup and “sharpen the blade”.  Do laundry; catch a movie; reward yourself for four solid days of work prior.  Your ADMIN day is not a CATCH UP day.  This is not a day for you to try to write 16 claims after having scoped for four days straight. The 4/4/4 system does not work like that.  If you attempt to do it that way – it will, as Forrest Gump says, “jump up and bite you in the buttocks”.

The ADMIN day is not a “Hangover Day”.  Trust me – you work the 4/4/4 program diligently and it will pay dividends.  This results in 20 to 24 claims a week x 4 weeks = 80 claims.  80 claims at $300 average = $24,000 per month.  You are not running yourself ragged, you are not compromising your work, and you are making Mariposa and the carrier very happy by submitting every day.  Eventually you may find that you can work up to 5 claims scoped and 5 claims written a day.  That is up to you.  You have to respect and work the program.

Know that nothing is guaranteed.  We can’t guarantee the number of claims you will receive.  I can’t factor in who is going to lose their mind once they hit the field.  Many IA’s have been “lost at sea” once they were deployed, somehow finding demons they could not overcome.  Make good decisions.  As a point of reference - this is NOT a good decision:

Stick to the program, scope four and submit four everyday - -you will be a star.  Scope five and submit five everyday – now you are pushing Rock-star status.  Making it to six scoped and six submitted per day - -that is a Mariposa Nirvana few have seen.

Our 4/4/4 plan is not for everyone.  It is not even a requirement. Some of you may have a system that works for you.  4/4/4 is an option for success.  The right adjuster with a combination of discipline, drive, technology (including Pictometry) and determination could really rack up the numbers on claims inspected and claims submitted.  Factor in to this working with a partner and that number grows exponentially.  What I am offering is a plan – a plan that I know can work.  You will do what is successful for you or will end up losing claims, credibility and money.  Work a plan.

An Invitation

Let me take a moment and invite those that have not joined to become members of our Mariposa Facebook Group.  At Mariposa we are a close-knit group and we work with adjusters and service providers that we know.  One of the best ways to get to know, and be known by, those at MIS is by participating in our Facebook Group.  More and more we are using the group for a variety of contact and network activities.  Join here:  Mariposa Facebook Group.

Final thoughts

This section was going to be the standard piece on what equipment to get ready for the upcoming season.  My conscience and my heart will not allow me to do that.  IA’s throughout the country have had several long months to get ready for the season – you have your ladders, computers, chalk, shingle gauges, pitch gauges, cameras and batteries.  My message is this:

That was me last year.  A simple 4/12 story and a half garage changed my life and my family forever.  Do not discount what becoming too comfortable can do to you.  Do not allow someone or something to take you “out of your groove” or throw you off rhythm.  Do not take chances; no matter how small they appear.  Every ascent, every slope, every roof.  Check your angles, check your base.  Make sure that the bottom of your ladder is not going to kick out on you.  If you have someone that can hold the ladder, have them hold the ladder:  up and down.  Do not underestimate the impact that one small compromise in judgment can make.  This time last year I was mere hours away from having my left leg amputated at the knee as a result of my fall.  I never want anyone to experience this.  Please keep your head about you ...take things a step slower and a step safer.

Be careful on those roofs.  Have a safe and rewarding 2012 season. 

Brian J.

You can contact Brian at brian.jones@mariposaltd.com.

Erin Chandler is promoted to Senior Finance Manager

Whitehouse, O.H. – May 16, 2012

Mariposa Insurance Services announced that Erin Chandler has been promoted from accounting manager to senior manager of accounting. Erin’s new responsibilities include building strategies for growth, in addition to managing accounting and payroll and serving as a liaison between adjusters, carriers and Mariposa’s software sales department.

Erin started working for Mariposa part time in 2005 in a clerical role, working in claims and contacting adjusters, and has since steadily taken on increasing responsibility beginning with processing invoices, bills and payroll, and currently manages the accounting department.  As an integral member of Mariposa Insurance Services, Erin’s promotion will allow her to play a stronger role in advancing Mariposa forward.

Bob Khosropur, senior vice president of operations for Mariposa Insurance Services, believes that Erin’s desire for continuous learning and greater involvement in the management of Mariposa has earned her this promotion.
“Erin has demonstrated the qualities of dependability and accountability, and has willingly assumed additional responsibilities to ensure that the accounting department is fully serving the needs of the company,” said Bob.

Erin and her husband, Bob Chandler, live in Stony Ridge, O.H. with their children.

We are pleased to announce the winner of the Employee of the Month for April – Susan Kirkham.

Susan was instrumental in putting together the Mariposa Health and Wellness program.  She has been tireless in her efforts to bring health and fitness awareness to the Mariposa staff and those around her.  Her passion for this is evident.  Susan encouraged and inspired others to tackle the Tough Mudder that the Mariposa Adventure Racing team participated in.  We want to say thank-you to Susan for sharing her passion with the Mariposa staff and for encouraging all of us to live healthier lives.