Dustin first became exposed to the construction industry via his parents house flipping and their ownership of several rental properties. As a result, in the summers and on the weekends, he and his brothers were always helping work on a variety of properties and projects. This is where he found his passion for construction and remodeling work.
During college, Dustin worked for ServPro, during which he became well-versed in the construction and insurance industry. He started out on their in-house construction team working on various repairs or remodeling jobs. Dustin gained experience in working fire, water, and mold mitigation jobs, as well as passing certification courses from the IICRC at ServPro Corporate, receiving two IICRC certifications related to water damage (WRT and ASD). This was crucial to Dustin’s career development as he learned how to mitigate various kinds of damages (fire, water, and mold), as well as how to repair the structure once the mitigation process had been completed.
After college ServPro promoted Dustin to a position in marketing, where he was able to learn more about how mitigation companies work with insurance adjusters/companies to mitigate the loss and restore the property to a pre-loss condition. During this time, Dustin excelled at growing existing relationships with agents and adjusters, as well as establishing new relationships with agents, adjusters, businesses, and retail and residential properties. Dustin spearheaded continuing education trainings, various internal and external marketing events, and lunch and learns for various businesses, agents, and adjusters.
Seeking a new career challenge, Dustin accepted a position from a commercial construction company that focused on new commercial construction. During this time he was an integral part of a crew that completed various projects such as fast food restaurants, medicial facilities, manufacturing plants, etc.
Dustin then began work as a CAT adjuster at Auto-Owners Insurance, where he was on the South Regional Catastrophe Team, focusing on handling claims in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. During his tenure with Auto-Owners he worked claims in over eight states, including claims from tornados, floods, frozen pipes, ice dams, water back-up, wind, hail, etc. Based on his extensive background and superior job performance, Dustin was quickly promoted from CAT Rep 1 to a CAT Rep 2. He also acquired his remote pilot license and HAAG certified residential roof inspector certifications during this time. As a CAT adjuster Dusin appreciated being able to put all the pieces of the construction/ mitigation/ and insurance puzzle together by using the knowledge, judgement, communication, and documentation techniques he had learned throughout his career.
