Carrier Assignment Workflow
How carrier and independent adjusting firm assignments move through a claim operation, what each stage owes the client, and where service expectations are usually missed.
Carrier work has a clock on it
Carrier and IA assignments differ from other claim work in one decisive way: the client is measuring you. Contact timelines, inspection timelines, and report timelines are usually stated in the assignment or in a service agreement, and performance against them determines whether more work arrives.
That makes the workflow question narrow and practical: at every moment, what is the next commitment, and when is it due?
Stage 1 — Assignment received
- Acknowledge receipt to the client
- Confirm the assignment is within your licensing and capacity before accepting
- Capture claim number, insured, date of loss, peril, and the client's reference
- Record every stated deadline as a dated task, not as a note
- File the assignment documents against the claim
Stage 2 — Contact
First contact with the insured is usually the tightest deadline in the assignment and the one most often missed.
- Attempt contact within the stated window, and record the attempt whether or not it connects
- Document unsuccessful attempts with date, time, and method — unanswered attempts are performance, but only if recorded
- Confirm the property is accessible and identify who will provide access
- Note any special circumstances: occupancy, ongoing mitigation, safety concerns
Stage 3 — Inspection scheduled
- Book the appointment and confirm it in writing to the insured
- Place the appointment where the rest of the day's route can see it
- Notify any party entitled to attend
- Re-confirm shortly before the visit — a missed appointment costs a full day
Stage 4 — Inspection and documentation
- Document systematically: overview, elevations, roof sections, interior by room
- Photograph the undamaged as well as the damaged, to establish the baseline
- Capture measurements and diagrams sufficient to rebuild the scope later
- Record field notes on site
- Flag anything that will need a specialist or a re-inspection before you leave
Stage 5 — Estimate and position
- Build the estimate against observed conditions
- State the price list and date
- Identify anything outside your assignment rather than silently omitting it
- Deliver the position or report in the client's required format
- Record the delivery date against the deadline it satisfied
Stage 6 — Supplements, re-inspections, and close
Carrier assignments frequently reopen. Treat a supplement as a stage of the same file rather than a new one, so the history stays continuous.
- Log the supplement request and what triggered it
- Document the re-inspection to the same standard as the original
- Show what changed and why
- Invoice per the fee schedule and reconcile against what was actually authorized
- Close with the full activity history intact
The metrics carriers actually watch
- Time from assignment to first contact
- Time from assignment to inspection
- Time from inspection to report
- Supplement and re-inspection rate
- Report rejection or revision rate