One of my continuing goals through these articles is from time-to-time discuss both existing and newly-developed tech designed to aid the independent adjuster. Frankly, if something exists that can make my life (or in this case, my job) easier and less stressful, then I’m all in. It blows my mind for an adjuster to turn their nose up at new technology just because, “I’ve ALWAYS done it this way.” Well, here you go, Gronk….knock yourself out.
Listen up, fellow IA’s. If the tools are there for you to use, then use them!
Today, I want to look at various web sites that are chock full of information that will help solidify your investigations and make you king of the adjusting hill with the carriers you represent. Specifically, I want to discuss weather data sites. Without 
naming names, I recently reviewed a claim where the adjuster took the homeowner’s word that a tornado damaged their roof. As a result of this lone tornado, a new roof was written up. Nothing really out of the ordinary here. In fact, it happens all the time. Of course, if you want the carrier to accept this finding, then you need to show documented evidence of a tornado in that bat-town and on that bat-date. For all you adjusters under the age of 50, that’s a well-played reference to the old Batman TV show starring Adam West and Burt Ward.
The problem with this particular claim is that when historical data was pulled, there was zero evidence of a tornado. In fact, the only windstorm within the previous weeks was Hurricane Dorian. This would suggest the damage was from a named storm, meaning the deductible jumped up significantly. No one is saying there was any questionable behavior from anyone, but simply incorrect reporting. All the confusion could have been easily avoided by retrieving the type of historical weather data available to anyone with an internet connection.
If you are inspecting a claim with loss due to weather-related events, then back up your estimate with officially-documented data. There are numerous web sites that provide this sort of information. Here are a few of the sites I have used, and still use today:
almanac.com/weather/history – From the reliable folks that bring you The Old Farmer’s Almanac, first published in 1792 when George Washington was the POTUS. The online version was a few years later, of course, but simply type in a City, State or Zip Code along with the date(s) in question and faster than you can pull a splinter from your wooden teeth (Ok, if you don’t get THAT George W. reference, then you really need to read some history books, if for no other reason than to learn the whole wooden teeth reference is a myth!), you are presented with that day’s temps, pressure & dew point, precip, and wind speed & gusts.
wunderground.com/history – This is the Weather Underground site. Again, you load the location and date, hit SEARCH and it brings up all the relevant data for that location and date. I use this as more of a confirmation than verification as they sometimes aren’t as thorough as other sites.
plrb.org – This is an extremely thorough site, although you need an account. Check with your IA firm as they may have an account with ready access. For this site, you start at the home page and navigate the tabs from “WEATHER/CATS” to “WEATHER RESEARCH” to “HISTORICAL DATABASE.” Next, select the date range, peril and location then hit SEARCH to bring up all pertinent information.
Mind you, at this point I’ll admit that I am not above some shameless self-promotion by saying we at Integrity Adjusters have some tech that will pull this information for you “automagically” without having to go to a single web site! (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). You can read about that by clicking here.
As I mentioned, there are numerous other sites you can use. Just make sure you actually use them! A thorough and competent adjuster always provides accurate and unquestionable data to justify their estimates. Of course, in most cases, adding this information to your estimate isn’t required; but doing so will elevate you in the eyes of a carrier from average & mundane to a superhero fighting the good fight in the underbelly of the adjusting Gotham City landscape.
(Cue the cape blowing in the wind)
