If you're looking for a new income stream to add to your current job or as replacement income, becoming an insurance claims adjuster can prove to be quite lucrative. This is especially true for CAT adjusters. CAT stands for Catastrophe and refers to insurance adjusters who work the claims from tornadoes and hurricanes.

Most states require a license, but about 15 states such as Colorado have no licensing requirements for adjusters. If you live in a state that doesn't require a license, working in your home state is not an issue. However, when you want to work in other states that require licensing, such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida, it is important to lay the proper foundation. You want to be ready to accept assignments without last minute delays.

First get a Non-Resident license from another state such as Texas. Then you can simply get most other states' licenses through reciprocity. Reciprocity means that the states which require a license will recognize your home or designated home state testing, and issue you a license for their state with only a simple application and small fee. They won't require you to go through their testing requirements to get licensed.

Here's an example:

John lives in Colorado, which has no license requirements. He takes a Texas All-Lines Pre-Licensing course approved by the Texas Department of Insurance. He then applies for his Texas Adjuster License and states on his application that Texas is his 'Designated Home State'. This can only be done if you live in a state that has no licensing requirements for insurance adjusters.

Once he receives his Texas Adjuster License, he can immediately apply for his license in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida using reciprocity. He only needs to fill out the application and pay the application fee to receive licenses in each of those states.

Texas is by far the most popular place to get a non-resident license. It's also the easiest place to get Continuing Education credits to maintain your license. Keep in mind that even if you hold 5 different state licenses, you are only required to meet the continuing education requirements for your 'Designated Home State' license, such as Texas.

Other states such as Indiana allow you to get a non-resident license, but unfortunately it's harder to find Indiana CE classes to fulfill license renewal requirements.

Remember, though, if your state has a licensing process for insurance adjusters, you almost always must get your home license first. There are also a small handful of states that do not allow reciprocity and require everyone to go through their licensing process to work as an adjuster in their state.

Here's the simple guideline:

If your state has a licensing requirement for adjusters, get your home state license first.
If your state does NOT have a licensing requirement, get a Texas Non-Resident license with Texas being your 'Designated Home State'.
This will save you time, money and keep things simple. Becoming a claims adjuster can be a great part-time or full-time career. Now is a good time to take your licensing training and get ready for income generating assignments.