Once again, I assembled the brain trust at Mid-America Catastrophe Services to discuss a topic of vital interest to the independent property claims adjuster. The question I posed was this: As far as intangibles or personal traits go, what do you see as absolutely essential to the successful adjuster?

Each person had a little different way of saying it, but they all pretty much said the same thing -- and that says something!

I have watched men and women excel in this business as field adjusters, desk adjusters, and file review/quality assurance professionals. I can say without hesitation that those who have stood out have done so in these areas.

NOTE: I will not deal as much with the moral compass issues in this article. We will address essentials like integrity and empathy in other articles. Here, I want to focus on traits (or tools in your intangible toolbag). Let’s count them down from bottom to top.