Many new adjusters get stuck trying to choose the “right” path before they ever handle a claim.
Should you chase CAT deployments because demand can spike after a storm? Should you focus on daily claims because they can help you build steadier work over time? Should you wait until you feel completely ready before putting yourself out there?
It is a fair question. When you are still learning about licensing, IA rosters, training, deployments, and how adjusters actually get work, the choice can feel bigger than it needs to.
At AdjusterPro, we’ve been helping new and aspiring adjusters understand licensing, training, and career paths in the claims industry for over 20 years. We do offer licensing courses, but we are not here to tell you that daily claims or CAT claims are automatically the “best” path for everyone. The right starting point depends on your availability, goals, location, and the opportunities you can realistically get.
| Quick answer: New independent adjusters should start with the path that best fits their goals, availability, location, and current opportunities. CAT claims can be a smart way to gain experience quickly when demand is high and you’re prepared to travel. Daily claims can help you build steady skills, confidence, and long-term trust with IA firms. Many adjusters use both paths over time to create a stronger, more flexible career. |
Table of Contents
- What’s the Difference Between Daily Claims & CAT Claims?
- Do Staff Adjusters Handle Both Daily & CAT Claims?
- What Should New Adjusters Start With?
- Why CAT Claims Offer a First Break for New Independent Adjusters
- What You Should Know Before Choosing Daily or CAT
- Can CAT Claims Lead to Daily Claims Work?
- Do Daily Claims Pay Less than CAT Claims?
- Are Daily or CAT Claims Better for You?
- How to Start Your Adjusting Career with Daily or CAT Claims
What’s the Difference Between Daily Claims and CAT Claims?
Daily claims and CAT claims are different types of claim work.
Daily claims are everyday insurance claims that happen throughout the year. They are not tied to one major catastrophe. These might include auto accidents, property damage, water leaks, theft, fire damage, liability issues, vandalism, or other routine losses.
CAT claims, short for catastrophe claims, come from major events that create a sudden increase in claim volume. These events may include hurricanes, hailstorms, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, or other large-scale disasters.
| Daily Claims | CAT Claims |
| Every day claims not tied to one major catastrophe | Claims caused by a major weather or disaster event |
| Often local, regional, or routine | Often urgent, high-volume, and travel-based |
| Happen throughout the year | Depend on storms, disasters, and major events |
| Can help build long-term consistency | Can create a first break when demand spikes |
| May take more trust to get assignments as a new independent adjuster | Requires readiness, flexibility, and pressure management |
| Can support more consistent income over time as you build trust and receive assignments | May offer strong earning opportunities during active CAT events, but work is less predictable |
| Can provide a more gradual way to build claim-handling fundamentals | Can accelerate learning, but may feel intense because of pace, volume, and pressure |
Neither type of claim work is automatically better.
The better question is: Where can you get good experience the fastest while staying realistic about your current skills, availability, and goals?
Do Staff Adjusters Handle Daily Claims and CAT Claims?
Yes. Daily claims and CAT claims are types of claim work, not employment types. Staff adjusters and independent adjusters can handle daily claims, CAT claims, or both.
For staff adjusters, the decision usually depends on the role, carrier, department, and training program. For independent adjusters, the decision is more often about where work is available and how to build trust with IA firms.
What Do Daily Claims Look Like for Staff Adjusters?
For staff adjusters, daily claims are usually part of the carrier’s regular claim operation. These roles may involve customer communication, coverage review, documentation, inspections, estimates, negotiation, and file resolution.
| Pros | Cons |
| Often provides more structure, supervision, and training | May feel repetitive over time |
| Can be a realistic starting point for brand-new staff adjusters | May not offer the same travel, urgency, or variety as CAT work |
| Helps build strong claim-handling fundamentals | May offer less exposure to major storm claims early on |
What Do CAT Claims Look Like for Staff Adjusters?
For staff adjusters, CAT claims usually involve helping the carrier respond after a major weather or disaster event. A staff CAT adjuster may travel, inspect damaged property, work longer days, support storm response teams, or handle claims from policyholders who need urgent help.
| Pros | Cons |
| May offer higher earning potential in some roles because of travel, overtime, bonuses, or specialized CAT responsibilities | Higher pay is not guaranteed and varies by carrier, role, location, and experience |
| Gives adjusters exposure to high-volume, real-world claim situations | Can involve travel, long days, and customers facing major losses |
| Can accelerate learning for adjusters who already have a solid foundation | Usually not a starting point (unless the carrier is specifically hiring you for a CAT-specific trainee program, but this may require prior experience in claims work) |
For the rest of this article, we’ll focus mainly on daily claims and CAT claims from the independent adjuster’s perspective.
Note: Due to the nature of CAT claims, you will also need excellent communication and soft skills when handling this kind of work. When you are working for the insurer, your job is to manage the claim in the insurer’s interest while being sensitive and just towards the policyholder. This is why insurers tend to trust seasoned adjusters with CAT claims, rather than beginners.
Should New Adjusters Start With CAT Claims or Daily Claims?
If you are an entry-level staff adjuster, you will normally start by handling normal claims until you gain the experience for catastrophe claims (although your employer may deploy you if a large storm or disaster occurs).
If you are a new independent adjuster, this is far less black-and-white. When CAT demand is active, CAT work is often the fastest way for new independent adjusters to get noticed. A major storm or disaster can create thousands of claims in a short period. When that happens, carriers and IA firms may need more adjusters than they would during normal claim volume. CAT work may help you get on IA Firm radars, gain experience quickly, show that you are responsive, and build credibility that can lead to future assignments.
CAT claims can give you opportunity quickly, but they also ask you to grow quickly.
On the flip side, for a brand-new independent adjuster with almost no experience, daily claims usually give you an easier–albeit slower–learning curve: smaller claim volume, more normal pacing, more chances to learn file documentation, inspections, estimating, carrier guidelines, customer communication, and reinspection feedback before you are under storm-volume pressure.
If you are organized, responsive, coachable, and willing to work hard, CAT claims can be a smart way to build early experience.
If you prefer to learn in a lower-pressure environment, daily claims is a better option for you.
Why CAT Claims Are Often a First Break for New Independent Adjusters
For new independent adjusters, CAT claims are one of the more common entry points into the industry.
That does not mean every new adjuster must start with CAT work. But during a large-scale catastrophe, IA firms need many adjusters quickly. That urgency creates opportunities for newer adjusters who are licensed, trained, responsive, and willing to travel.
For example, according to Verisk, in 2024, “late-season hurricanes… drove catastrophe claims to surge 113% year over year, while total claims rose 36%.”
CAT work offers new adjusters an opportunity to prove they can do the job.
During a deployment, you learn how to inspect damage, communicate with policyholders, write estimates, document files, meet deadlines, and work under pressure. Those skills matter in daily claims, too.
This is why CAT experience often opens doors later. Once a firm sees that you can successfully manage claims in demanding environments, they’re more likely to trust you with future assignments.
Why Daily Claims Can Be Harder to Get When You Are a New Independent Adjuster
Daily claims can be a good path, but they are not always the easiest first assignment for a brand-new independent adjuster.
The reason is trust.
Daily claims don’t create an immediate spike in demand for large numbers of adjusters.
IA firms may have more time to be selective. They may prefer adjusters who already have proven experience, who they have a relationship with, know how to manage files, and can work with less oversight.
That doesn’t mean new adjusters cannot get daily claims. It means getting daily work may require more creativity, relationship-building, and patience.
We recommend starting by getting licensed, joining IA firm rosters, taking available assignments, building relationships, and proving that you communicate clearly and submit good work on time.
Daily claims are possible for newer adjusters. But they usually aren’t the typical first step.
What You Should Know Before Choosing Daily or CAT Claims
If you are new, your first opportunity might not be your ideal long-term role, and that’s ok.
You may want daily claims because you prefer local work. Or, you may want CAT claims because you are drawn to deployment opportunities and higher short-term earning potential. Both goals make sense.
But early in your career, the most important goal is to become the kind of adjuster that firms trust.
That means taking advantage of any opportunity to get your foot in the door, be it CAT claims, desk work, staff work, small assignments, or assisting. Those early assignments will help you build experience, confidence, and credibility.
The behaviors that earn trust are simple, but they matter: answer the phone, schedule quickly, communicate clearly, document files well, treat people respectfully, and submit accurate work on time.
At its core, claims adjusting is about customer service. And customer service comes down to communication and relationships.
Can CAT Claims Lead to Daily Claims Work?
Yes, they can.
CAT work can help a new independent adjuster prove they are ready for more responsibility.
Imagine a new adjuster who gets deployed after a hailstorm. They show up prepared, answer calls quickly, schedule inspections, take clear photos, submit organized files, and respond professionally to feedback.
That adjuster may still be new, but they are starting to build something valuable: trust.
If an IA firm sees that an adjuster is dependable during a busy CAT event, that firm may be more comfortable assigning daily claims later when normal claim volume needs support.
This doesn’t happen automatically. One deployment does not guarantee daily work. But CAT experience helps you demonstrate the habits firms look for when assigning future claims.
The reverse can also be true. If you get daily claims early and handle them well, that experience can make you more prepared for CAT opportunities later.
The best long-term strategy is not “daily or CAT forever.” It is learning how both can work together.
| One of the best ways to understand the difference between daily and CAT claims is to look at how the path can unfold in real life. After his first significant CAT deployment, AdjusterPro’s owner knew he wanted to stay in the industry. He enjoyed the work, was good at it, and had made more money than he had before. But with only one season of experience, many IA firms still considered him too new. Instead of getting discouraged, he worked to get on as many IA firm rosters as possible. A few weeks later, one company asked if he could handle local claims in South Florida. They were hesitant because of his limited experience, but they offered him one trial claim. He accepted, scheduled the inspection immediately, inspected the claim the next day, and submitted the report before the day ended. To him, that pace felt normal after working CAT claims. To the firm, it stood out. After reviewing the file, they asked if he could do it again. That one trial claim led to more daily claims in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach. Soon, another firm called with a similar opportunity. Before long, daily claims became full-time work. The lesson is not that every adjuster will follow the same path. The lesson is that CAT experience, roster-building, quick communication, and strong file handling can help create daily claim opportunities. |
Do Daily Claims Pay Less Than CAT Claims?
Daily claims can pay less than CAT claims on a per-claim or short-term basis, but that does not automatically make CAT work the better starting point.
Exact pay varies by claim type, fee schedule, IA firm, location, experience level, and current demand. CAT claims may create higher short-term earning windows because of urgent claim volume, but daily claims can provide valuable opportunities to keep working, learning, and building trust between major storm events.
CAT claims often come with higher earning potential because major storms can create a sudden surge in claim volume and, therefore, a spike in demand for adjusters. If you are licensed, trained, deployed quickly, and able to handle a high workload, CAT work may help you earn more in a shorter period of time.
Daily claims don’t create the same short-term spike in demand. However, because they are not tied to a major catastrophe, daily claims aren’t dependent on storm seasons or large-scale events. They can also help new adjusters build experience, improve file-handling skills, and develop trust with IA firms over time.
The tradeoff is a surge in opportunity versus broader availability. CAT claims may offer bigger earning windows when demand is high, but that work is event-driven and not guaranteed. Daily claims grow more slowly, but they can help you keep learning and building your career between storms.
For new adjusters, the better question is not just “Which pays more?” It is “Which path can help me get real experience, build trust, and keep moving forward in my adjusting career?”
So, are Daily Claims or Catastrophe Claims Better for You?
The truth is, many adjusters build their careers with both.
CAT claims can open the door when demand is high. Daily claims can help keep your career moving when storm activity slows down.
If you feel strongly that one path fits your lifestyle, goals, or availability better than another, it is okay to follow that path. But if you are open to more than one option, don’t get stuck trying to choose the perfect path before you even begin.
Instead, look for the first realistic opportunity that fits your license, training, availability, and goals.
| If this describes you… | Consider this path |
| You are licensed, trained, flexible, and able to travel quickly… | CAT claims may be a strong first opportunity when demand is active. |
| You need more local or steady work… | Daily claims or related claims work may be a better fit. |
| You are changing careers and want to build experience quickly… | CAT claims may help you gain exposure fast, while daily claims can help you build consistency over time. |
| You are starting part-time or have limited availability… | Daily claims, desk adjusting, inspections, or related claims work may be more realistic starting points. |
| You are retired or semi-retired and entering claims for flexible work… | Daily claims, local inspections, or desk claims may better fit your schedule and lifestyle. |
| There is no active CAT demand right now… | Keep building experience through daily, desk, inspection, or related claim opportunities. |
| You want long-term career stability… | Build toward both daily and CAT opportunities. |
How to Start Your Adjusting Career With Daily or CAT Claims
No matter where you start, the first steps are the same.
| Step 1: Get licensed. Find out what your state requires and complete the licensing process. Step 2: Start networking and looking for opportunities. Independent adjusters should connect with IA firms, join rosters, and learn where daily or CAT work may be available. Aspiring staff adjusters should watch career job boards, connect with recruiters, and look for trainee or entry-level claims roles. Step 3: Build your reputation and experience. Take the opportunities you can realistically handle, communicate well, meet deadlines, ask targeted questions, and do careful work. Whether you start in daily claims or CAT claims, your reputation is what helps you earn the next opportunity. |
If you are just getting started, your next step is to understand what your state requires. Licensing rules vary by state, so before you apply for daily claims, CAT claims, or IA rosters, make sure you know exactly what license you need and how to get it.
Start here: Find your state’s adjuster licensing requirements and take the first step toward getting licensed.
Already licensed and ready to apply? Consider adding certifications that strengthen your resume, show IA firms you are serious, and prepare you for the type of claims work you want to pursue. For more information, check out → What Certifications Do Independent Adjusting Firms Look For?
