How Jerry Gardner Built a Career As An Insurance Adjuster

Quick Answer: An independent adjusting career can grow far beyond routine claims. Jerry Gardner started with underwriting inspections after struggling to get hired as a staff adjuster. Over time, he built a business handling complex property losses and liability investigations, with more flexibility to choose the work he enjoys. His advice is straightforward: take small assignments seriously, communicate clearly, keep learning, and follow through. His story shows how persistence and strong professional relationships can create opportunities long after you earn your license.

Jerry Went From Insurance Inspections to Complex Claims

Getting your adjuster license is one thing. Knowing where it might take you is another.

At AdjusterPro, we’ve helped more than 100,000 people get licensed over the past two decades, and we’ve heard a lot of career stories. Jerry Gardner’s stands out. He started doing insurance inspections on the side and built a career that now takes him across the country to handle complex claims.

We’re proud to have played a part in Jerry’s licensing: Jerry used AdjusterPro when he first earned his California adjuster license and again for his renewal. He later used AdjusterPro to prepare for Hawaii’s licensing exam. But there’s much more to his success than training. His career grew from taking small assignments seriously, learning as he went, and saying yes to work other adjusters turned down.

Here’s how Jerry built his career, where it took him, and the advice he gives new adjusters, including his own son, James Gardner.

Table of Contents

• Who Is Jerry Gardner?
• How Jerry Got Started in Adjusting
• Why Jerry Recommends Underwriting Inspections
• How Jerry Built His Reputation
• What Jerry Loves About Adjusting
• Jerry’s Advice for New Adjusters
• How to Start Your Own Adjusting Career

Who Is Jerry Gardner?

Jerry Gardner is an independent adjuster, investigator, and certified insurance appraiser with 10+ years of experience. He handles property claims, liability investigations, and large, complex losses. Over his career, he has held adjuster licenses across the country, including California, Texas, Hawaii, Nevada, and Arkansas.

Jerry came to insurance adjusting through an unusual path. He spent about three years working with the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a federal bank regulator). He also worked as a mortgage executive and commercial subcontractor.

Before moving into insurance inspections, Jerry worked as a project manager for a capital group, overseeing contractors on renovation projects across several states, sometimes as many as 100 projects at a time.

That construction and claims background proved a great asset as his adjusting career grew.

How Did Jerry Get Started as an Independent Adjuster?

Jerry got his foot in the door by working underwriting inspections on the side. He first applied for staff insurance adjuster jobs at several companies. No one hired him, and he believes his age played a big role.

So he built his own path. He bought an industry list, prepared a resume, and took free construction and safety-related courses. He later turned his resume into a curriculum vitae (CV), a more detailed record of his professional experience and qualifications.

To find work, he “started flooding a bunch of people” with one message: *I’m available to do inspections.* A few companies took a chance on him.

He started his project management job as early as 5:00 a.m., then ran inspections in the afternoons and on weekends. By the time that job ended, he was doing 70 to 80 inspections a month, working seven days a week.

“There’s got to be something more to this,” he remembers thinking. 

Along the way, Jerry had started building relationships with third-party administrators (TPAs), the companies that assign claims to independent adjusters. Those connections eventually helped him move into adjusting.

California’s licensing requirements presented another hurdle. To qualify for an independent adjuster license, applicants need two years of certified adjusting experience (equal to 4,000 hours of paid work). Jerry says his previous claims experience with the FDIC counted toward that requirement.

Note: Licensing requirements vary by state, and not all previous experience qualifies. Check your state’s requirements before planning your own path.

The early independent adjusting years were demanding. Jerry worked up to 12-hour days and traveled “all over creation.”

“The money was good, but [the lifestyle] got old,” he recalls.

Jerry wanted to spend less time on the road, so he began specializing. Over time, that shift allowed him to work largely from home, traveling mainly for bigger assignments.

Why Does Jerry Recommend Underwriting Inspections to New Adjusters?

Underwriting inspections can help new adjusters earn money while building a claims business and learning how insurance companies evaluate risk.

The catch: inspections pay less than adjusting. Jerry puts a typical inspection in his area at about $75, although some of the specialized inspections he still handles pay around $125 to $250.

But inspections are worth far more than a paycheck when you are pursuing an adjuster career.

Jerry remembers inspecting warehouses where a fire extinguisher sign was posted high above stacked boxes. Follow the sign, and the fire extinguisher wasn’t there.

“What you’re doing in an inspection is you’re identifying potential claims exposure,” he explains.

Inspections teach you to spot hazards and understand how properties are used, maintained, and insured. Inspecting and adjusting are different jobs, but inspection knowledge can become valuable when you’re investigating property claims.

Jerry initially worked with seven or eight inspection referral sources. However, as his adjusting workload expanded, he pared that list down to just one company, which he stayed with largely because he enjoyed the assignments. That relationship has led to unusual jobs, such as inspecting the Catalina Airport and multimillion-dollar car collections.

How Did Jerry Become the Adjuster Who Companies Want to Hire?

Jerry earned more complex assignments by doing excellent work on the claims he was given, building relationships, and taking on new challenges. As companies learned they could count on him, they began offering him more specialized work.

One Fire Loss Opened the Door to Liability Work

By this point in his career, Jerry was already handling claims for several companies. He had completed a large fire loss for one company, and the assignment had gone well for both sides.

So when the company’s liability team needed help with a different kind of claim, they called Jerry.

A delivery worker had been bringing equipment into a hotel in Northern California when he backed into an open section of floor and fell about eight feet onto concrete. The company’s usual adjuster wasn’t willing to search for witnesses, so the team asked Jerry to investigate.

He didn’t even need to travel. They told him he could handle the interviews by phone from home.

Jerry accepted the assignment and found 7 “audio witnesses.” None had seen the fall itself, but they heard it happen or arrived immediately afterward.

That work earned Jerry more liability investigations, including another large claim that needed additional witness interviews.

Eventually, the same company called him about a complex claim in Arkansas. The local adjuster had left the assignment unfinished, but the photos and Xactimate estimate were already complete. The company needed someone to review the file, conduct additional interviews, and finish the work.

They asked Jerry if he’d be willing to get an Arkansas license and take over.

He said yes.

Similar opportunities led him to obtain licenses in Texas and Hawaii. A large insurance carrier later called him about a desk review for a claim in Tennessee.

Across those four assignments, Jerry estimates he earned a little over $10,000 without leaving his desk, while also adding three state licenses.

Jerry didn’t start his adjusting career with these kinds of opportunities. He earned them by building relationships and proving he could be trusted with the work. And that’s something new adjusters can start doing with their very first assignments.

Asking for Help Built More Trust, Not Less

Jerry was visiting his son at an Army base out of state when a company called about a big-rig assignment. He was getting ready to drive back to California and realized he’d be passing right through the area.

There was just one problem: Jerry didn’t have much experience with big rigs (large commercial trucks).

Rather than pretend otherwise, he told the company the truth. He knew his way around cars, but he’d need some guidance to handle this assignment.

The company paired him with an experienced colleague who walked him through the work while Jerry served as the “eyes in the field.”

The assignment paid for his entire weekend trip and then some. More work followed, and Jerry went on to pursue big-rig appraisal certification.

Jerry says the company originally found him through an AdjusterPro directory. But it was his honesty, willingness to learn, and good work that turned one opportunity into more assignments.

“Never try and disguise what your experience levels are,” he says.

You don’t have to know everything to earn someone’s trust. Be honest about your experience, recognize when you need guidance, and do excellent work within your qualifications. That’s something new adjusters can start practicing from their very first assignment.

Following the Evidence Became His Reputation

As Jerry’s career grew, he began handling serious liability investigations, including cases connected to two murders. In these cases, his job is to gather evidence and help determine whether the person or business insured by the carrier bears responsibility.

Jerry makes it clear to the companies and professionals who hire him that he will follow the evidence, even if his findings don’t favor the insured or the insurance company.

“I go wherever the evidence is going to lead me, regardless of who it impacts and why,” he explains.

That approach has helped Jerry build relationships with companies that value his professional judgment and trust him to report what he finds, even when the conclusions are difficult.

In one murder-related investigation, Jerry returned to the scene at different times of day to understand the conditions surrounding the incident. His findings pointed to the insured’s responsibility, and he reported what he found.

About a month later, the person who had referred that assignment contacted him about another murder-related case. She told Jerry she didn’t want to accept it unless he was available to handle the investigation.

You don’t need to handle cases like these to build the same kind of trust. Whether you’re investigating a small bathroom leak or a major liability claim, the principle is the same: document the facts, follow the evidence, and report your findings honestly, even when the results aren’t what someone hoped to hear.

What Does Jerry Love About Being an Insurance Adjuster?

“Nothing is ever the same,” Jerry says. That’s what he loves most about adjusting. Every assignment brings a different problem to solve, an interesting place to visit, or something unexpected along the way.

“One day I’m doing a highly complicated claim in Hawaii, the next day I’m doing a major dog-bite injury in Texas,” he says.

Some assignments take him into extraordinary places. On one claim, he investigated damage to a newly built luxury home after a pipe broke just one week before the owners planned to move in. The home had unusual, high-end finishes that made assessing the damage especially interesting.

And sometimes the most memorable moments are the unexpected ones. While measuring a room in another home, Jerry learned that the owners bred cats. He quickly discovered just how many were around when he pulled out his laser measure and cats started chasing the red dot.

What Advice Does Jerry Give New Independent Adjusters?

Jerry’s biggest advice for new independent adjusters is to take every assignment seriously, no matter how small. “Any newbie coming in, they’re never going to get to those points unless they take every single little job seriously,” he says.

Jerry is sharing these same lessons with his son, James, who, like his father, started with insurance inspections and has now completed over 3,000. He recently obtained his Kentucky adjuster license through AdjusterPro, and is now building his own independent adjusting business in Missouri with his father’s guidance.

Jerry’s advice:

1. Do signature work. Treat every assignment like your reputation depends on it, even a simple bathroom leak. Document your findings carefully, follow the carrier’s instructions, and make requested corrections promptly without complaining.
2. Review assignments right away. Check the requirements and your availability as soon as a claim comes in. If you can’t take it, tell the company immediately so it can find someone else. Don’t wait a day or two; communicate as soon as possible. 
3. Finish what you accept. Once you commit to a claim, follow through, even if it turns out to be more difficult than expected. If you run into problems, communicate with the company rather than abandoning the assignment.
4. Do your homework. Don’t guess when you encounter an unfamiliar material, construction method, or technical term. Research it and understand how it affects your estimate. As Jerry puts it, “Just learn.”
5. Read every carrier’s instructions. Even when assignments look similar, carrier requirements and policy terms can differ. Read the instructions for every claim instead of assuming you already know what to do.
6. Explain your role upfront. Make sure the policyholder or claimant understands what you’re responsible for and who makes the final claim decisions. In Jerry’s field assignments, settlement authority rests with the carrier’s desk adjuster. Don’t speculate about final payments or promise outcomes you can’t approve.
7. Never criticize the previous adjuster. When you take over someone else’s file, focus on doing your own work accurately rather than criticizing the previous adjuster.
8. Prepare for TPA interviews. Know your skills, understand the work you’re applying for, and be ready to explain how you handle difficult customers. Jerry says to do your homework and “come out sharp and shiny.”

Small assignments turned into repeat referrals, complex investigations, and eventually the freedom to focus on work he enjoys. Even when a company acquisition disrupted one of his regular sources of claims, Jerry rebuilt the relationship over several months. Take it from Jerry, each assignment is a chance to earn trust, and those relationships can become the foundation of a lasting independent adjusting career.

Next Steps for Building Your Own Independent Adjusting Career

Jerry’s story shows what’s possible when you work hard, keep learning, and build a reputation people can trust. His career didn’t happen overnight, but each opportunity helped him build toward the work he enjoys today.

If you’re ready to explore your own path, start by understanding your state’s licensing requirements and looking for ways to gain experience. That might mean underwriting inspections, a staff adjusting position, or pursuing independent assignments as you build your skills and connections.

Wondering where your own adjusting career could take you? Use AdjusterPro’s free, personalized Career Path Builder to explore your options, see which paths fit your experience, and identify your next step.