So, you want to become an insurance claims adjuster?

While many consider it just a job, it truly is a noble calling that comes with great responsibility. This post will explore who an adjuster is, and our next post will cover what exactly it is an adjuster does. Before you embark on this career, are you prepared to commit yourself to the responsibilities? Are you ready to become an adjuster?

Who is an insurance claims adjuster?

By definition an adjuster is “an individual who for compensation, fee or commission investigates and settles claims arising under property, casualty or surety contracts on behalf of either the insurer or the insured.”

The essence of who an adjuster is goes much deeper than that. Edward G. Robinson put it best in the 1944 insurance drama, Double Indemnity.

Video Link https://youtu.be/0KSB_sTPlSs

“To me a claims man is a surgeon; that desk is an operating table and those pencils are scalpels and bone chisels. And those papers are not just forms and statistics and claims for compensation, they’re alive! They are packed with drama, with twisted hopes and crooked dreams. A claims man, Walter, is a doctor and a bloodhound and a cop and the judge and the jury and the father confessor all in one.”

The world of the insurance adjuster has changed in many ways since that film, but at its core so much is the same. While the term “claims man” may be obsolete, its meaning and the purpose behind the job endures. The profession now provides countless opportunities for men and women alike. The variety of interest and intrigue of the job remain. The job still requires a broad range of knowledge, skills and talent. A claims adjuster is not just someone who wears many hats but one who intuitively knows which hat to wear at which time.

Depending on the type of insurance field you work in, an adjuster may need to be knowledgeable in areas of law, medicine, construction, math, mechanics, safety, communication, persuasion, negotiation, and more! The successful claims professional is actually a highly skilled jack-of-all-trades. If you feel you already know a bit about everything or you want to know a lot more about everything, you will likely thrive in the role of adjuster.

A claims adjuster is also someone who answers the call to be an integral and critical part of American culture and society and the claims profession. Adjusters shoulder an enormous responsibility in the maintenance of our nation’s health and economic prosperity.

As far back as the day that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow started that great Chicago fire, or the city of San Francisco was ravaged by earthquake and fire, the adjusting profession has served an active, honorable role in helping those who have suffered injury or damage because of an unfortunate twist of fate. When the winds of hurricane Andrew, Charlie, or Katrina devastated entire regions, who was first on the scene? Who do victims look to when a fire guts their home? Who handles the replacement of damaged equipment or treatment of injured workers when explosions rock our nation’s power plants or office buildings? To whom does the duty fall to minimize loss and protect the financial assets of our nation’s businesses and consumers?

It falls to the claims adjusters, CAT troopers, field investigators, automobile and property appraisers and the front-line supervisors who guide their efforts. Without the dedicated and committed professionals of the adjusting community, consumers and corporate America would face alone the uncertainty of recovery necessary to put lives and businesses back in order.

Insurance claims adjusters are charged with the highest obligation and duty to respond to the needs of their clients, customers and beneficiaries with the utmost consideration, good faith and ethical behavior. Adjusters are people of integrity with high ethical standards who have hearts of compassion while remaining fair.

At one time the insurance industry believed it served a higher purpose in society and that it had a moral and ethical obligation to the public to provide a sense of protection. Some people believe that the insurance industry is moving away from such a belief and that insurance is now a cold, faceless financial transaction without moral or ethical obligation. However, as a claims professional, it will be your job to see that it does not move away from that higher purpose. Foremost, an adjuster’s job is to help those injured or who have suffered a loss covered by the insurance contract while minimizing loss for the insured party or carrier. Adjusters are those who know how to walk this line with integrity.

An insurance adjuster is a noble profession for one who is flexible, a jack of all trades, full of integrity and willing to shoulder the responsibility with honor.

In our next post, we will dive into specifically what a claims adjuster does.