What a field inspector does on a survey
A survey is an order, a site visit, photos, and a report the carrier can use. You collect the facts on the form. You do not sell insurance.
A survey starts as an order in the hiring firm’s system. The order names the insured, the address, the product, and the due date. You call or email the contact, set a time, and drive to the site.
That is the whole loop: order, appointment, visit, photos, report. If you drop any piece, the carrier does not have a file it can use. The visit is the part people picture. The report is the part the firm pays for.
Before you leave the house
Read the order before you dial. The product tells you what to look at. A residential exterior-only stop is not a commercial package survey. A workers compensation visit is not a roof-and-hydrant job. If the order lists a contact, start there. If it does not, use the firm’s rules for finding someone who can let you in.
Set a time the contact can keep and that still leaves you room to write. Most contractor loss control postings say you schedule the visit yourself. Some employee roles route appointments through a desk. Read the listing.
Pack what the firm named. Camera or tablet, extra battery, measuring tool, ID, and the order. If the listing wants a ladder, bring a ladder you can use safely. If you cannot get on a roof, do not invent a roof condition from the driveway.
On site
You walk the property the order covers. For a home that may be the exterior only, or the interior and exterior. That is personal lines work. Personal Lines is the matching course. For a commercial account you look at the building, occupancy, protection, and the operations the carrier asked about. Commercial Risk Control covers that visit. You take the photos the scope list names. You measure when the form asks for area, distances, or hydrant layout. You talk to the owner or manager about construction, updates, and how the place runs.
Arrive as a visitor, not as an auditor looking for a fight. Introduce yourself, name the firm on the order, and say you are there to record the property for insurance underwriting. Ask who can walk with you. A manager who knows the building will save you a second trip.
Work the form, not a memory of the last stop. Photograph the elevations the scope wants, the roof if you can see it, the utilities, the protection, and the operations or housekeeping the product cares about. On a commercial site that often includes the occupancy, the sprinkler or hydrant picture, and the way people actually use the building. On a home that often includes construction, roof, nearby brush or attachments, and, on interior orders, kitchens, utilities, and rooms.
Measure when the form asks. Area, distances to hydrants, and story height are common commercial asks. Room counts and updates show up on residential forms. If you cannot measure something, say so in the report. Do not guess a square footage to make the form look finished.
Talk to the contact about the things you cannot see. Year built, updates, hours, contractors on site, and how the place runs all come from that conversation. Write what they said and what you saw. If those two stories disagree, write both.
You do not sell insurance. You collect facts the underwriter asked for and you write what you saw.
After the visit
You write the report in the firm’s app or template. You upload photos. You flag hazards the form asks you to flag. You submit before the due date. Late or thin reports get you fewer orders.
Do the write-up while the stop is still in your head. A commercial package report will take longer than a short residential exterior. Workers compensation reports stay on operations, housekeeping, machine guards, driving, and contractor labor. Premium audit write-ups stay on payroll, sales, and class codes. Use the form for that product. Do not paste a property narrative into a workers compensation order.
Photos have to match the notes. If you wrote that a hydrant sits at the curb, the photo should show it. If you wrote that the kitchen had a commercial hood, the photo should show it. Underwriters notice when the pictures and the words diverge.
If you need a second visit, say so and schedule it. A locked mechanical room or a missing contact is a reason to go back. A report that pretends you saw a space you did not see is a reason to lose the account.
What the day is not
This is not a home-inspection business that writes a buyer a punch list. It is not claims adjusting. It is not a sales call. If a site is unsafe or the contact will not let you in, you follow the firm’s refusal and reschedule rules.
You are not the underwriter. You do not bind coverage and you do not tell the insured the policy will be cancelled. You record the conditions the form named. The carrier decides what to do with them.
You are not a consultant on retainer. The contact may ask you how to “pass.” Point them at the conditions you were asked to record. Do not invent a score, a grade, or a promise.
Time on site varies with the product and the building. Residential stops are often shorter than commercial package visits. A small store is not a plant. Use the order and the hiring firm’s instructions, not a generic clock.
Who you work for on that visit
The person who let you in is not your client. The hiring firm is. The carrier paid for a report, not for a tour. Be polite, stay in the areas the order covers, and leave when the scope is done.
The firm that sent the order is usually an inspection company. Carriers and managing general agents buy those surveys. Your name on the report is the firm’s name to the carrier. That is why late, thin, or invented work dries up orders.
How training and the talent pool fit
Commercial Risk Control is the course for commercial building and operations surveys. Personal Lines is the course for homeowners and dwelling work. Workers’ Comp is the course for workplace injury surveys. Take the one that matches the orders you can get. The Complete program bundles the current survey courses if you want all of them.
A course teaches the product. The first live orders teach the firm’s portal and the local radius. After you can finish a survey, join the inspector talent pool so firms can find you when a territory opens.
See How to become an insurance field inspector for the entry path. See Residential and high-value surveys and Commercial loss control surveys for the two products you will meet most often on USA.