From a young age, CAT adjuster, David Jones, aspired to impact the world positively. Now, after over a decade of experience, he’s found a way to make his dream a reality through adjusting.
When David entered the field in 2008, there was a tremendous demand for adjusters due to the wildfires in California and Hurricane Ike’s landfall. He saw how much destruction was happening across the country and wanted to help. David threw himself into the job and helped those who were impacted by the hurricane. After his first exposure to field adjusting, he knew it was the career for him.
“It was love at first claim,” David said.
David has adjusted various types of claims, including homeowners, commercial property, auto, and flood. He has worked all over the world, from the United States to Canada to Australia, and has taken action in almost every hurricane aftermath since 2008. While David enjoys his work as an adjuster, he found a new purpose after transitioning into managerial positions. Currently, David is a team manager to a group of remote adjusters. As a team leader, he works with carriers and adjusters daily while ensuring that claims are being completed precisely and promptly. If an adjuster makes a mistake, David seizes the chance to create a teachable moment to help the adjuster grow. David cherishes the interactions he experiences with adjusters and admires their development.
“Seeing an adjuster’s growth is the most rewarding part of this job,”
David said.
Before coming to Crawford, David worked with smaller firms that did not have the resources needed to advance his career. In 2016, he joined Crawford after major floods devastated the Baton Rouge area. Drawn to the company because of its international reach, David has traveled across the world adjusting claims. The company offers adjusters unique opportunities with its diverse and innovative business practices, global reach and established history and reputation. Crawford creates an environment that fosters growth and welcomes creativity.
“Crawford allowed me to grow within the company,” David said.
David advises new adjusters to learn as much as possible from their experiences. While he teaches the adjusters on his team, he also believes that experience is truly the best way to gain skills. He encourages adjusters to “document, document, document” and reminds them that it didn’t happen if it isn’t written down or photographed. David sees how the industry is leaning into different technologies to resolve claims, and how there is now a possibility of reducing the physical demand of adjusters. However, David believes that adjusters will always be needed to ensure policyholders receive excellent service.
David admits that the job can be challenging and stressful especially after a catastrophic storm. But for him, the job is more than just inspections and payments. David is aware of how he can offer support to policyholders as they navigate difficult situations.
David’s first deployment with Crawford sticks with him. For the deployment, he went to Louisiana and helped a policyholder with a total flood loss on their home. After he had completed the inspection, he assured the policyholder that everything would be resolved. Weeks later, the policyholder called David to thank him for his work and invited him to see the completed repairs. While David received appreciative phone calls in the past, he’d never been invited back to a home to see the restoration. He accepted the policyholder’s invitation and loved getting to see the finished work.
On David’s way out, the policyholder told him, “Thank you for restoring my life.” David reminds himself of this moment when he needs to regain his energy and refocus on his purpose. He is humbled by the opportunities the adjusting industry has allotted him and the ability to restore lives daily.
David lives near Dallas, Texas with his family. He is grateful that in his role he can work remotely, which allows him to spend more quality time with his three children. He enjoys watching his son play football and his daughters’ gymnastics competitions. David says they have so much fun when they’re together and cherishes every moment of it. David is also a sports fanatic who has ESPN on all the time. He loved Kobe Bryant, the Lakers, and all of the Kansas City teams.
