Working in claims isn’t an easy task. Dealing with distressed clients, complex claims, and determining the appropriate benefits are just a few responsibilities that come with the job. A career in the field can focus on multiple areas like personal injury, automobile, and property claims. As just a piece of the insurance industry, claims requires strong communication skills, investigative work, and decision-making abilities.
That’s where the role of a claims adjuster comes into play.
“What I enjoy the most is that my role varies so much from day to day that there is no typical day,” says Adam Tuori, claims representative 2, bodily injury at RSA Canada. “Some days I will spend in the office reviewing medical records and surveillance, calling police officers and witnesses to get a better sense of how an accident occurred. Other days, I could be in court or attending a mediation.”
In addition to the investigative aspect of the role, claims adjusters also work closely with their clients. “I’ll get a new claim in my computer system and call the client to determine what happened,” says Eugene Rau, accident benefits adjuster 4 with TD Insurance. “Most people haven’t gone through an experience like this, so we want to be able to make the process as easy as possible,” adding that part of his job is to ask tough questions and learn about the client’s current personal and career statuses to best determine the benefits they are eligible for.
As an adjuster, dealing with complex and sensitive claims can be challenging. Tuori lists one of the biggest challenges as “figuring out what really happened in an accident. Of course, the different parties involved remember different snippets of the events that took place, and part of my job is to piece those different recollections together.”
But as challenging claims are overcome, the end result is rewarding. “The reward, on the flip side, is directly having an impact on helping our clients get back to their pre-accident state,” says Rau. Explaining the progress of one of his clients, he says through progress reports he’s able to see the impact of the funded treatments. “The client is able to converse with her family a little bit better, so seeing the improvement as a direct result of my involvement gives me a lot of personal achievement.”
As a client-focused career with a challenging job description, entry-level adjusters can make $50,803 annually, with senior-level salaries averaging $71,432. “To be the ideal candidate for this role, you need to possess intellectual curiosity, drive, a strong attention to detail, a willingness to think outside of the box,” says Tuori.
A client-dedicated individual with a passion to bring an individual back to their pre-accident state is what Rau lists as an important quality. “I get quite a lot of personal gain in this position. Like every job, there are its own challenges, but the pros outweigh it. I go home and feel like I’ve done quite a lot to help my clients.”
Photos: Hemera Technologies, Jirsak/THINKSTOCK