Insurance Adjuster On-Site Safety
The Katie Froeschle Story: A Safety Message for All On-Site Professionals!
Gene G. Veno
June 25, 2012
Whether you're an insurance adjuster, appraiser, real estate professional or governmental agent, there is documented risk in entering other people's homes ... especially when they are under duress.
The "Safety in The Field for Adjusters, and All-Onsite Professionals" was written to honor the beautiful life of an insurance adjuster who so tragically at the very young age of 25 years old lost her life while working on-site adjusting a home claim. I was so moved upon hearing this sad story that I asked a simple question, "Is there a safety manual for adjusters?" I would learn after months of research that there was not a manual that would educate and inform adjusters like Katie of the dangers they face when entering remote and unknown areas. Excerpts of [the] safety manual can be found at www.aapia.org
What follows is a rendering of the tragic loss of life that occurred on November 12, 2004 by Katie's father Jeffery Froeschle who has been so helpful in assisting us in getting this story out to the public.
In November 2004, Katie Froeschle was 25 years old. She was a 2002 graduate of Florida State University's College of Business, Department of Risk Management Insurance, working as a property claims adjuster for a Florida insurance company. In the summer and fall of 2004,
Florida was struck by four hurricanes. Catastrophe claims adjusters were brought in by property insurance companies to adjust the massive number of hurricane claims. The catastrophe claims adjusters were overwhelmed, so property claims adjusters from local offices were sent to adjust claims.
On November 12, 2004, Katie was sent by her employer to a property in North Tampa, Florida, to adjust a claim for damage to the roof of a house. Katie contacted the owners of the property and they told her no one would be at the property. Katie told them she could adjust the claim anyway, because the claim was on the outside of the house.
Katie had no training in how to recognize dangerous situations at the properties to which she was sent to adjust claims. She had no training in how to defend herself if threatened or attacked, or how to escape a dangerous situation. No one was sent with her to the property. She had no self defense weapons such as mace or pepper spray.
When Katie arrived at the property, unexpectedly a person came out of the house to meet her. We know now he was a new tenant at the house. Katie went into the house with the person. We don't know to this day why, but he bludgeoned her to death with a motorcycle muffler pipe.
I thought a great deal afterwards about how Katie had no training on the risks in the field, how she was young, without protection, and sent to the property alone. I thought about how many other persons, men and women, face the same danger every day. And I thought that maybe, by getting Katie's story out to people who do this type of work, someone would be able to avoid the same fate.
We, at the American Association of Public Insurance Adjusters, ask that you send this story to as many individuals as you possibly can so that family, friends, who work at times away from an office or work environment will know of the dangers working on-site performing their daily responsibilities.
All profits from the sale of this Safety Manual will go directly to the Katie Froeschle Foundation.