NACA OFFICERS President Vice President Secretary/Treasurer Sergeant at Arms |
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Spring arrived and was a little more active than winter. While some adjusters got a small bit of work, it was not nearly enough of us. Summer is fast approaching and hurricane season is only a week away as I write this. Alberto has already come and gone with not a whimper, but it is encouraging to know the waters are warm enough for development now. Hopefully, it is an indication of good things to come. Although predictions are for fewer storms this year, it only takes 1 or 2 good ones to hit for us to be busy for a year. It is not the quantity, but the quality that counts and, of course, whether they hit or not.
I know it has been very hard for adjusters to hang on with no income for such a long period. This is when membership in NACA is so important. Members have access to a huge amount of contacts in the industry. Call your contacts and member companies. Make sure they have all of your new certifications, an updated resume and your current contact information. Take the time now to make sure all of your equipment is updated, primed and ready to roll. Remember, if you are going to work flood, you must have your current NFIP card with you on your claims. If you travel with a pet, make sure to have its health records and medications with you also.
To the NACA member companies, please make sure you use our members when you have work. As a part of NACA, you know our members are well qualified and will do a good job. Please use them. They and their work will not disappoint you.
The 2013 Convention in Houston, Texas is coming together very well. The education committee has been hard at work and is putting together a great array of classes with most topics being new. We are planning to offer 3 certifications along with a huge discount for the Haag residential roofing certification. Please read the article by Russ Jackson for more details.
We are in the process of setting up a website for on-line CEs as well as investigating other ways to keep NACA current and a viable entity in the future. Please read the article by Charles Norton. Your Board of Directors and Committee Chairmen, as well as all committee members, are working hard to make sure NACA remains at the forefront of our profession. I thank them and appreciation their untireless efforts.
Keep doing your storm dance and I hope to see you on the road very soon.
Wanda Hogan
2012 President
[email protected]
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NACA MEMBERSHIP DUES DEADLINE
Annual Membership Dues must be paid by June 30th. 2012-2013 Dues Invoices have been sent out. You can pay your membership dues now with a credit card if you wish. Click here and scroll down to "Payment Options" then choose the appropriate "Annual Dues".
Please don't hesitate to contact Lori Ringo if you have any questions or concerns -- We are here for you!
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2013 NACA CONVENTION
Your NACA officers and committees are planning another great convention for you! Mark your calendar NOW - you won't want to miss this convention!
January 20-24, 2013
Omni Houston Galleria Hotel
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The Life of a Catastrophe Claims Adjuster...Continued!
by Melissa Aplin
This will be a recurring article. Do you have an interesting story? Are you a career cat adjuster? Do you know a candidate for this article? Contact Melissa Aplin or Lori Ringo.
Welcome back NACA members! In our last article we interviewed Steven Hullman who showed us that business and pleasure go hand in hand for a catastrophe claims adjuster. When most people think of what a claims adjuster actually does they think, writing reports, writing estimates, etc. What is unique about a catastrophe claims adjuster is that you do not have the same 9-5 office routine, you actually are constantly changing offices across the country, and sometimes even choosing how often you would like to change your view.
For this article we interviewed Washington native (coincidence our last candidate was from Washington?), Tony Slee to find out what Catastrophe Claims adjusting means to him. We found Tony's responses to be similar to Mr. Hullman's, the traveling, sight seeing, excitement, is what comes with the job.
In 2005 Tony decided he no longer wanted to work a 40-hour week routine job. He went to Vale training and with his previous knowledge from being a carpenter for 20 years, he was able to catch on quickly. Today Tony has traveled across the country bringing him to places he never would have gone to or even knew existed. His wife travels with him, "we are a team" said Tony. She reduces his workload by scheduling and mapping his appointments, leaving time for venturing the new territory, perhaps. His travels have brought him all over but the one place that was his favorite was Louisville, Kentucky. At that time Tony was able to visit the famous Churchill Downs Race Track. Aside from the traveling, the fact that you can work for a few months a year then relax the rest is another perk of the job said Tony.
How does a newbie get started in the business? Tony encourages newbies to attend an adjusting training course and also to speak to as many veteran adjusters as possible. At NACA conventions newbies are given the opportunity to mingle with veteran adjusters, Tony said this is a great way for newbies to learn things you don't learn in a training course. Tony recommends adjusters pay attention to what each carrier looks for in their reports, this way they recognize your work and you'll most likely be called for the next storm.
Newbies, if you happen to run into Tony or Steven at the next NACA convention, be sure to pick their brains. These guys know what being successful and enjoying your job at the same time is all about.
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TECHNICAL SUPPORT COMMITTEE REPORT
by Charles Norton
Due to the efforts of one of our very supportive vendors KMC, I am very excited to announce that very soon NACA will be able to offer online continuing education programs right on our website. These CE classes are approved for all states requiring CE's.
To help promote the launch of this, we may be able to offer members access to a free Ethics course, a $25.00 value, for free!
More details to come in our next newsletter!
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2013 Education Committee Report
by Russel Jackson
NACA is fortunate to have an outstanding 2013 ED Committee, who is aggressive about finding diverse training for the convention. The final training schedule has not been approved by the NACA board of directors, so I will only hit the highlights in this month's newsletter. That said, the committee is recommending both old and new training. There will be a full day's instruction by the estimating software vendors. We have also requested NFIP training from H2O Partners. The committee is excited to announce HAAG Engineering has agreed to conduct their three day roof certification training... more to follow in coming articles. In addition to HAAG's contribution we are working to finalize classes on auto and environmental adjusting as well as social media litigation and others. As I said, this is an overview of the plan. In the next 30 - 45 days the committee will have a final schedule and each class will be discussed in detail.
Make it a Great Summer.
Russ Jackson
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2013 Vendor Show Committee Report
by Denise Norton
At this time, there is not a lot to report on the Vendor Show. Once we are able to get more information on the cost of the setup, we will be able to start selling booths. It looks like we are going to have another great show so make your plans early for the convention. These vendors have pledged to attend the vendor show on Wednesday, January 23 at the Omni Houston Galleria Hotel:
AAA FloodMasters
AMCAT
Aplin Peer & Associates, Inc.
Claims Adjusters 411
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WELCOME NEW NACA MEMBERS!
We would like to welcome the newest members of NACA: General Members Kendall Bergh, James Connolly, Lorraine Crum, Chris Hatcher, Brian Richey and Carl Scholten. The General members will receive a new ballot in June.
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NACA BYLAWS REVISION APPROVED
At the 2012 convention in Las Vegas, a discussion was held regarding the benefits of allowing Associate members to serve on committees. Allowing Associate members to serve on committees will allow NACA to benefit from the creative ideas and input from a larger portion of the membership. It may also benefit the association by encouraging the Associate member to apply for the General membership, once eligible. Associate members will not be able to chair a committee, hold office or vote. The General Members of NACA approved the following bylaws revision:
ARTICLE IV
MEMBERSHIP
SECTION 4
Members:
A. May attend all meeting of The Association.
B. May be eligible to attend all seminars and training sessions of The Association, subject to registration requirements.
C. Shall receive all general and approved writings.
D. Only General Members may vote and hold office in The Association (delete: or its committees).
Add the following:
E. Only General members and Associate Members may serve on a committee and only a General Member may chair a committee of the Association.
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NACA MEMBERSHIP ROSTER ADS
There is still time to place your ad in the 2012-2013 NACA Membership Roster. Full page ads are $375 and half page ads are $200.
For more information, contact Monty Mathias at 407-679-6090 or [email protected] or Judy Mathias at [email protected].
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SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS
by Woody Britton, AIC
As we approach the mid point of the year, we have the lull time between the spring storm season and the hurricane season. This slack time of the year is a great time to take a look at the CE's needed for our state adjuster's licenses. The ability to get the majority of the CE's at the NACA convention is a bonus. Most years, we still have the dreaded 3 hour ethics class to get through. This year, the NACA board has entered into an agreement with KMC ON DEMAND to assist NACA adjusters in completing the continuing education requirements in an easy, online format. Charles Norton has done a tremendous job in putting this new service together. Charles has been working with KMC and the board to provide this valuable service to the adjuster community.
Charles has outlined the upcoming online service in this newsletter. The service is going to be rolled out this summer and I am sure a bulletin will be sent out to the members with location and instructions on using the internet site. I am grateful to Charles for his foresight in putting this together. I would also recommend that the members keep in mind that simply "getting it done" is not the end of our learning. The classes also offer a refresher to the adjuster to help keep your skill set up to speed. We offer a large array of classes at the convention to help with the CE requirements, but we also provide the classes to help keep you up to date on our business and help you put forth the best claim file possible. The convention is the best marketing opportunity in the adjusting community.
While getting the CE's requirements completed, it is important to remember that we never stop learning. We have to keep our computer skills up to date, our policy knowledge sharp and claim file preparation at the highest levels. The addition of the online courses and the classes offered at the convention go hand in hand in helping to make NACA adjusters the best in the industry. The January NACA convention in Houston will work together with the online service to help to put you and your skill set at the top of the vendors list. We wish you a successful storm season. |
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