Casualty adjuster, Walter Robinson, believes his professional and personal duty is to serve others. In January, Walter sprang into action when his community in Alabama was deeply impacted by a tornado. With 20 years of adjusting experience, Walter’s actions demonstrate what it’s like to be an adjuster who lives by the RESTORE mission.
Walter graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in technology and engineering, but struggled to find the right path for his career. At the time, there was not much opportunity for this kind of work in the area. He accepted a job with an insurance carrier and grew to love the industry, and worked for three large carriers as an inside adjuster before coming to Crawford. Walter knew of Crawford’s positive reputation and at this point in his career, Walter wanted work claims outside of the office as an independent adjuster.
“I’ve always been interested in working claims in the field where I can actually see the personal side of the claim,” he said. “Crawford not only presented me with the opportunity to do that, but also allowed me to work with a great group of people.”
Beyond adjusting, Walter is also a reverend at his church, Eastern Star Missionary Baptist. His passion for claims work is similar to his relationship with his religion. He believes it’s his duty to serve others in their time of need, and he takes his job and faith very seriously by knowing the day-to-day tedious tasks add up to something much larger. Through adjusting, he’s witnessed the impact that servitude can have on an individual or community. Walter lives by the restore mission, and his actions prove how dedicated he is to helping others.
“I love what I do because I don’t consider it as just a job,” he said.
On a Monday night in January 2021, an EF3, deadly tornado brought destruction through Walter’s community. Despite the local news weather forecast's prediction of minor storms, Walter remembers hearing the strong, whistling winds and warning sirens. His home was only half a mile away from where the tornado touched down, and the next morning he watched the devastation that occurred in his immediate community on the news. He recognized the streets that were now covered with debris from destroyed church members’ homes. Walter contacted his family members and friends to ensure they were all safe; the storm caused one fatality of a teenage boy whom Walter’s kids knew.
“As an adjuster you see destruction all the time, but once it’s that close to home, you see how it drastically changes people’s lives,”
he said.
Walter and his wife rode around town checking on their community. Roads and neighborhood entrances were blocked from fallen trees and debris. Walter grabbed his chainsaw and got to work. Clearing up what they could was an effort that Walter and his family were proud to participate in. His church was mainly unharmed, and they quickly organized a drive giving out food, water, clothing and other essentials to those who had lost everything throughout the night. Walter sees this collective effort as a very important part of the restoration and healing process.
“After a storm, one should first make sure that their family is safe then go out to the community and assist wherever the need is,” he said. “I feel that Crawford exemplifies everything that I already stand for. We don’t serve the face, but we serve whatever the need is.”
A storm hitting this close to home shifted Walter’s perspective on what he does as an adjuster. Experiencing this storm has made him more empathetic to what policyholders are experiencing, he said. After this experience, Walter is able to connect with policyholders on a deeper level and understands the full magnitude of his help and patience.
“The tornado reminds me that with any deployment or any claim this could’ve been me because at that time it was me. It was my family and my community,” he said. “To us experiencing the storm, it’s so much more than a claim.”
When Walter isn’t serving policyholders, he’s serving his family and community. He enjoys being involved in his kids’ lives and spending quality time with them. He loves to fish with his brothers and go hunting with his dad and son. Walter and his wife are both very active in their church and spend most of their free time there. He was a deacon for 13 years before becoming a reverend. Walter exemplifies everything Crawford stands for. He is there in the time of need for whoever needs it because of his commitment to serve others. We are humbled to have someone like Walter be a part of our team.
“We help,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, we help. That’s what we do.”
