Insurance provides financial support, safety, and security against sudden unanticipated events. Once insured, you don’t have to live in fear of contingent losses. Insurance adjuster jobs entail one to:
- Interview
- Examine records
- Review policies
- Negotiate settlements
- Travel
- Maintain knowledge of specialized areas
As a result of this, insurance adjusters come and inspect property damage and/or personal injury claims to calculate how much the insurer should pay for the loss if the insured is at fault.
It’s the adjuster’s job to make evaluations based upon the merits of each claim and to negotiate settlements or to properly deny claims.
This article will discuss insurance adjuster jobs, the job description, types of adjusters, qualifications required, and what the future holds.
Who is an insurance adjuster?
The job description of an insurance adjuster is to assess damaged property or personal injury claims. This will help the insurance company know the amount of money they should compensate in case of a loss.
Before an insurance company can pay out a claim, they have to do preliminary checks. If they don’t, they will find themselves losing money by paying claims that are not included in the said policy cover or claims that are false.
To prevent this, insurance adjusters are employed by insurance companies to examine the claims. They will help both the insurer and the insured to reach a favorable settlement.
A good insurance adjuster can settle claims quickly and not spend a lot of the company’s money in settlements. They are also rated by the number of claims they can settle without involving supervisors or company lawyers.
So you have done your research, and you have decided that you would like to start this exciting career. What next?
- Establish that the insurance adjuster job is right for you.
- Pick the kind of insurance adjuster you want to become.
- Get your license.
- Study the most important skills.
- Get your first insurance adjusting job.
Before looking for insurance adjuster jobs, read through the job description below to know exactly what is required of you.
Job Description of an insurance adjuster
- Examine, evaluate and establish the extensiveness of the insurance company’s responsibility relating to individual, victim, or loss of assets or damage to the property. The adjuster will try to get a resolution with the applicants.
- Communicate with or question healthcare professions, representatives, eyewitnesses, or applicants to collect evidence. They are also responsible for going through the claims forms and additional documents to ascertain the insurance cover.
Insurance Adjuster Jobs: What are the qualifications?
If you decide to pursue a career as an insurance adjuster, ensure that:
- You have the minimum training requirements. This could be an undergraduate degree or GED equivalent. You can register for the GED course and pass the exam if you do not have the above qualification. It is not a must that you have a bachelor’s degree or higher, but if you do, it places you in a better place compared to one who doesn’t.
- Choose the type of adjuster you want to be. There are three types of adjusters (that will be discussed in the next section); staff, independent, or public adjusters. Research and know which one you would like to be.
- Take the insurance licensing assessment. Before becoming an insurance adjuster, some states will require you to get an insurance adjusting license. To sit for the licensing examination, you must first do a pre-licensing course which can be done virtually or in a classroom setup.
- Keeping your license. After getting your license, you will be required to renew it periodically and also continue education credits. These are the requirements for keeping your license. Each state has its requirements, so you need to check for the requirements needed for your state.
Competencies Needed For Insurance Adjusters
To do well in an insurance adjuster job, there are some competencies that you will require. They include:
- Interpersonal skills
Insurance adjuster jobs require that a person frequently communicates with different people such as medical staff, insurance companies, policyholders who may be included in an insurance case. Having excellent interpersonal skills is an essential part of being an insurance adjuster. This ensures all the parties involved in the case receive appropriate and the latest information in connection with the case. The insurance adjuster must be able to communicate effectively both verbally and on paper.
- Computer literate
To do their work efficiently, insurance adjusters depend on computers and software to help them do their work. Most insurance companies do it electronically when it comes to sending claims assessments and other info relating to the case. This means that the insurance adjuster should know how to use the computer well.
- Management of time
If you are working as an independent adjuster, you may be handing in several claims simultaneously. This will require you to know how to manage time well to deal with all your assignments efficiently.
- Analytical skills
It is vital for an adjuster to be meticulous and possess good analytical skills as they are required to evaluate the entire surrounding.
- Math skills
An adjuster is responsible for determining the sum based on all aspects. Adjusters have to understand the worth of certain destruction or losses.
Types of Adjusters
There are a couple of insurance adjusters within the profession. The three most common ones are:
Independent Adjuster
An independent adjuster works on contracts for different insurance companies or other people. Most of the time, their primary focus is on disaster-related claims. This includes tornadoes, fires, or other natural calamities that affect many people. They are employed directly by the insurance company to do case analysis and make decisions related to the case. For the independent adjuster to perform a thorough investigation, it may require them to go to the affected places.
Staff Adjuster
A staff adjuster works for the insurance company and does claims management for the company’s clientele. These are the most common adjusters. They are hired on a full-time basis and are salaried. They also get benefits from the insurance companies. An example of a staff adjuster is working for a car insurance company. They manage claims made in connection with car accidents and other car-associated occurrences.
Public Adjuster
Public adjusters work directly with policyholders or clients. If a person or a company feels that their insurance payment is not fair or does not meet their needs, they can hire a public adjuster to take over the case. For instance, if you get compensation from your insurance company but the company does not give you sufficient settlement, you can get a public adjuster to examine the case and fight in your favor.
Merits and demerits of choosing a career as an insurance adjuster
Insurance adjuster jobs can be viewed by many as one of the most challenging jobs to do. This is because it is not easy to deal with someone who has incurred a loss. Most of the time, the insurance adjuster jobs draw out emotions such as fury and bitterness from people who were waiting for huge payments and realize the payment is going to be less than they had anticipated.
The time it takes from when the case commences to the final payout is usually long. This can cause a lot of stress. These are the reasons why insurance adjuster jobs are considered hard. But with putting in the time and the work, the benefits outweigh the stresses that come with the job.
Demerits
The assignments issued when you are starting are usually a lot. You will find that you have over 200 cases on top of your desk to handle during the busy season. You will need to take all these cases in the same manner. It can be very stressful, and people in critical situations are not the most enjoyable people to be around. It is very easy to give up.
It would be best if you had a positive attitude and committed to your job, and you will start to see some results. Within six months to a year, people who are not committed will be phased out quickly, or they will quit. If you are patient and learn the ropes of the job, the load is doable.
This is where the skills you learned like time management, organization, and prioritizing will come in handy. You will learn how to communicate terrible news, how to assess a matter fast and effectively, and how to say no firmly.
Staff v. Independent Adjusting
Big insurance companies usually have adjusters as members of the staff. Small companies, on the other hand, depend on independent adjusters. Let us look at the advantages and disadvantages of each so you can make a decision that best fits you.
Advantages of a staff insurance adjuster
- The pay is standard every month since the company employs them.
- They enjoy other benefits the company offers, such as health insurance, contribution to retirement, dental cover, paid holidays, etc.
- The working hours are fixed.
- The company pays for career advancement training.
- The company provides computers or laptops and even a company vehicle.
Disadvantages
- Eventually, an independent adjuster earns more money than a staff adjuster.
- A staff insurance adjuster cannot choose the type of task to do and does not have flexibility in times of time.
- The workload can be heavy, meaning that the staff adjuster will sometimes work overtime, and the paid holiday allotted is usually short.
- A staff insurance adjuster is required to have a degree.
Advantages of an independent insurance adjuster
- There is flexibility in choosing the type of task, where to work, and whom to work for.
- They earn more than staff adjusters.
- They can work from home or at any location.
- An independent adjuster has the freedom to take holidays between tasks.
- They do not require a college degree, and most of the time, they are contracted because of their experience and training.
Disadvantages
Working hours do not follow a schedule. At times, the workload can be heavy and other times, very slow.
There are no additional benefits offered, and one has to take care of their health insurance and contributions towards retirement.
An independent adjuster is responsible for purchasing their own computer/laptop and all the necessary equipment. If one uses their vehicle, the maintenance costs are upon them, or they may need to pay for transport costs if the assignment requires them to go to a distant location.
What The Future Holds In The Insurance Adjuster Jobs
Technology has always been seen to ease and lessen the workload for most people. There is fear that technology will take over insurance adjuster jobs. Part of the job description of an insurance adjuster is to assess the claims physically through inspections.
In this ever-changing world where technology advances very fast, the need to physically inspect claims has been overtaken by the use of drones and CCTV. This in itself causes a lot of fear among insurance adjusters as it is seen that it is taking over their job by working remotely.
Contrary to what many insurance adjusters fear, technology is here to improve the process of claims inspection and shortens the time taken to examine the claim and write a report.
These advancements take away the human experience, which is very important for fulfilling the customer’s needs by identifying with their situation. Interaction between the policyholders and insurance carriers is what makes or breaks the net promoter score. Each claimant has their unique claim, which, if handled with something like a chatbot, won’t offer the mutual satisfaction that carriers are known for.
Simply put, there will always be a need for insurance adjuster jobs. All that needs to be done is for the adjusters to embrace technology in their daily tasks. Technology will help reduce the turnaround time that previously took weeks on end. This will also help to create a work-life balance. Insurance adjuster jobs will always be in demand as long as claims are there.