To be Insured or not to be Insured

[treshasouza]

I am a Trainee and have my first Appraisal Order. I am doing it under the supervision of a Certified Appraiser. She has gone on the inspection with me and drove around to all the comps she has walked me through this and is signing the report as my Supervisor. My question is do I need to have my own insurance as a Trainee or can we use her Insurance with the lender? Please somebody help me out.

signed costing me $900.00 to make $125.00 m2:

 

[William K]

I am a Trainee and have my first Appraisal Order. I am doing it under the supervision of a Certified Appraiser. She has gone on the inspection with me and drove around to all the comps she has walked me through this and is signing the report as my Supervisor. My question is do I need to have my own insurance as a Trainee or can we use her Insurance with the lender? Please somebody help me out.

signed costing me $900.00 to make $125.00 m2:

Did you also get a KISS?

WOW and I thought Landsafe, LSI etc. were bad?

E & O insurance could cost you between $500-$1000 if you can even get it by yourself. Normally you need to get it under your supervisors policy, which by the looks of your agreement should only cost you another $900.

1 more piece of advice, FIND A NEW MENTOR!

 

[George Hatch]

There are a lot of appraisers who don't carry E&O, and probably even more appraisers who only carry it because they have clients who demand it.

Suffice it to say that some types of appraisal work involve a lot more exposure to claims and complaints than others. If you're appraising houses and you're working for a good appraiser and you're working with good clients then you don't have much exposure. If you're doing complicated properties and working for lawyers or mortgage brokers then you'll have a lot more exposure.

As a trainee, you have very little exposure unless your supervisor is doing stupid stuff. After all, they're the responsible party.

 

[JTip]

That would be your mentor's insurance carrier's decision. A call to the agent/underwriter will determine if a trainee is automatically covered or able to be endorsed on the policy for possibly an additional fee. Since you are technically an employee, this will probably be your only option as independent contractors are required to have their own coverage and we all know the rules about that....

 

[Lawrence R.]

I would probably get it if they will issue it.

If anything did go wrong, what is to stop your mentor from firing you and leaving you out in the cold? I am not sure about all the ins and outs of the E&O world are, but my guess is that they woudn't want to cover you on your old employer's policy suddenly if you found yourself unemployed.

It would be better safe than sorry, I would think.

Now, as for me personally--I think it is like paying tribute in the old country. A big racket. But I have it, as many of my clients have demanded I have it. I did appraise for several years without it, and no body parts fell off or anything. Though sometimes I did wake up in the middle of the night worried about a threat from the occasional homeowner.

 

[hastalavista]

A client (lender) can always require the appraiser to have insurance- I suppose it is possible that a client could request proof of your insurance, and if you didn't have any, would reject the appraisal. You could still get credit for an assigned report as long as your participation is noted in the report (I recommend the report listing what you did).

I think if you own a house (or have a lot of assets) I would recommend E&O insurance for peace of mind.

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

As a licensed appraiser I recently was told by my E&O carrier:

--I must name each trainee in my policy, and pay an annual stipend for each.

--The maximun number of trainees that can be included in the policy is three, and this was prior to the current 3-trainee limit.

--A trainee can purchase his or her own policy, which would theoretically entitle them to work for multiple licensed supervisors, although that type of policy often is prohibitively expensive, and not offered by my carrier.

--The entity that sues can sue the supervisor or the trainee, or both, depending on the strategy that they wish to follow.

 

[William Rightsell]

1 more piece of advice, FIND A NEW MENTOR!

Not to be mean, but what's up with this statement?? I fail to see why the OP needs a new mentor because he/she asked a question about E&O insurance...can you enlighten me?

todd

 

[William K]

Not to be mean, but what's up with this statement?? I fail to see why the OP needs a new mentor because he/she asked a question about E&O insurance...can you enlighten me?

todd

A trainee has come to this forum to ask a basic question which should have been discussed with their MENTOR even prior to the MENTOR (Supervisor) inspecting the subject and comps and agreeing to a fee.

It appears the mentor is nothing more than an appraiser who wants to collect an extremely high split fee (almost 90%) without actually MENTORING a new trainee!
If the Trainee has such a basic question that has not even been addressed prior to the first appraisal inspection what other things have not been addressed by the MENTOR? :icon_question:

I know one thing that was addressed and that was the fee for signing as supervisor!:Eyecrazy:

The problem is that so many SUPERVISOR / MENTORS really aren't supervising or mentoring ,they are collecting a fee for their signatures, and in this instance almost a 90% split fee!

I would hope if your collecting a split fee of 90% as a mentor you could provide alot more to a trainee than just inspecting the subject and comps and signing your name!