LA Claims Adjuster study plan
LA Claims Adjuster · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Insurance Principles and Concepts
Define the core risk-management terms (risk, peril, hazard, loss, exposure) and classify hazards as physical, moral, or morale
Explain indemnity, insurable interest, utmost good faith, subrogation, and contribution, and predict how each principle shapes a real claim decision
Differentiate the major policy structures (occurrence vs. claims-made, monoline vs. package, named-peril vs. all-risk) by sorting ten described policies into the correct category
Distinguish the roles of agent, broker, underwriter, third-party administrator, and adjuster within the insurance transaction
Your checkpoint
A one-page glossary of 25 principles terms, each with an original example of how it surfaces in a claim file, plus a 10-policy sorting exercise scored at 90% or better
Insurance Principles and Concepts & Policy Provisions and Coverage Analysis
Map the anatomy of an insurance policy in order: declarations, insuring agreement, conditions, exclusions, definitions, and endorsements
Read a declarations page and extract named insureds, policy period, limits, deductibles, and forms-by-edition
Explain how endorsement order of precedence changes coverage when forms conflict
Distinguish the insured, additional insured, and loss payee and describe each party's rights under the policy
Your checkpoint
A labeled anatomy diagram of a policy plus a written coverage opinion on a 1-page sample declarations page identifying every limit, deductible, and endorsement that affects the loss
Policy Provisions and Coverage Analysis
Analyze coverage by applying a four-step method: insuring agreement, exclusions, exceptions to exclusions, then conditions
Apply the standard property exclusions (ordinance or law, earth movement, water damage, neglect, intentional loss) to four fact patterns and justify each determination
Compare replacement cost, actual cash value, and functional replacement cost and compute a depreciation-adjusted settlement for a described loss
Identify liability coverage triggers, occurrences, and the limits structure (per occurrence, aggregate, split limits) in a personal or commercial form
Your checkpoint
A coverage-analysis worksheet for four fact patterns, each with a written determination citing the specific form section that grants or removes coverage
Policy Provisions and Coverage Analysis & Claims Handling and Adjusting Practices
Interpret common policy conditions: duties after loss, proof of loss, appraisal, salvage, and no-voluntary-payments
Sequence the claims-handling lifecycle from first notice of loss through investigation, evaluation, negotiation, and settlement or denial
Draft open-ended and recorded-statement questions that establish the who, what, when, where, and how of a loss without leading the insured
Identify red flags of potential fraud during first contact and describe the documentation each flag requires
Your checkpoint
A complete mock claim file on a described loss: FNOL summary, investigation plan, 15-question interview outline, and a coverage determination with cited form language
Claims Handling and Adjusting Practices
Estimate damages for property and bodily injury claims using the appropriate valuation method and document the calculation
Differentiate subrogation, salvage, and recovery opportunities and describe the steps that preserve each
Prepare a negotiation strategy that sets a reservation range, documents authority limits, and anticipates a claimant's counterpoints
Compose a professional reservation-of-rights letter and a denial letter that state the basis without admitting or waiving coverage
Your checkpoint
A settlement package for one property and one liability scenario: damage estimate, valuation rationale, negotiation plan, and both a reservation-of-rights and denial letter template
Louisiana Insurance Law and Regulations
Outline the Louisiana adjuster licensing framework, including license types, appointment, continuing education, and the emergency or catastrophe adjuster provisions
Locate and summarize the Louisiana Insurance Code provisions governing unfair trade practices and claims-handling conduct
Describe the statutory and regulatory claim-acknowledgment and settlement timeframes and explain the consequences of missing them
Explain Louisiana's bad-faith and penalty exposure concepts and identify which claim-file behaviors create that exposure
Your checkpoint
A compliance cheat sheet listing each regulator expectation with the file action that satisfies it, cross-referenced to the code section, verified against the official statute text
Louisiana Insurance Law and Regulations & Claims Handling and Adjusting Practices
Explain Louisiana-specific property issues such as hurricane or named-storm deductibles, valued policy treatment, and proof-of-loss requirements after a catastrophe
Describe the appraisal, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution options available to Louisiana policyholders and when each is triggered
Apply the state's producer and adjuster conduct rules to three ethical dilemmas drawn from adjusting practice
Adjust a claim file to bring it into compliance with Louisiana notice, documentation, and recordkeeping expectations
Your checkpoint
A Louisiana-specific adjustments memo on one catastrophe claim file identifying every state-law touchpoint and the corrective action taken at each
Insurance Principles and Concepts & Claims Handling and Adjusting Practices & Policy Provisions and Coverage Analysis & Louisiana Insurance Law and Regulations
Synthesize all four domains by working timed mixed-topic question sets and reviewing every miss to its underlying concept
Re-derive the coverage-analysis method, valuation formulas, and Louisiana compliance deadlines from memory without notes
Diagnose personal weak areas from practice-test score reports and re-study the two lowest-scoring domains
Rehearse exam-day pacing and question-decoding strategy on a full-length timed simulation
Your checkpoint
Two full-length timed practice exams with a written error log; retake any domain scoring below 80% until it clears that threshold
Milestones
Week 2: Score 90% or better on a 25-question quiz covering Domain 1 principles and policy anatomy, and correctly label every component of a declarations page
Week 4: Produce a coverage determination on four fact patterns that cites the correct form section for each outcome; pass a self-graded rubric at 80% or better
Week 5: Complete the full mock claim file end-to-end, including valuation math and both letters, with no missing lifecycle step
Week 6: Recite Louisiana licensing, unfair-trade-practice, and claim-timeline requirements from memory and match each to a compliance action at 85% or better
Week 7: Score 80% or better on a 30-question Domain 4-only practice set covering statute and regulation items
Week 8: Average 85% or higher across two full-length timed practice exams, with no single domain below 80%