Are insurance adjusters happy? It's a question that many people have asked, and the answer is that it depends on the individual. However, for the right person, being a claims adjuster can be a very rewarding role. According to Payscale, insurance claim adjusters enjoy their work and report high levels of job satisfaction. Take my own experience as an example.
I was working as a police officer in New Jersey when I fractured my back in an off-duty accident. During my recovery, I began looking at what I could do in the private sector and accepted a job at Allstate, which dealt with auto claims. It was a good mental adjustment because I like to work things out and I work better with a lot of stress. A mundane and sedentary job would drive me crazy. Believe it or not, many insurance claim adjusters have a degree in criminal justice; they may not like to work shifts or carry a gun.
Some people say that being a claims adjuster is the hardest job in the insurance industry. Dealing with people who have suffered losses isn't easy. The work often attracts a lot of anger and animosity from people who, expecting to receive huge payments, realize that they are being offered less than they expected. Then there's the large number of cases, the time it sometimes takes to complete an insurance claim, and general occupational stress.
All of this together helps explain why this work is a challenge. So why does the insurance industry offer one of the highest paying jobs without a degree? Claims adjustment is a lucrative money-making industry and gives you the freedom to control your work schedule and income. That's why people love to choose it as a profession. Public appraisers are not affiliated with a company, but are licensed to work independently on behalf of a policyholder. While larger insurance companies usually have claims adjusters on staff, insurers or smaller companies often rely on independent adjusters. Having experienced claim adjusters is important for your business to run smoothly, as well as to train the next generation of claims adjusters.
As such, it can help retain adjusters in the workforce, as well as attract new adjusters to the workforce. Creating more meaningful or strategic functions for claims adjusters does not necessarily require increasing administrative staff to support adjusters in such a new role. For example, if a catastrophic storm occurs and an insurance company needs more adjusters than it has employed, it could hire independent appraisers to cover the need. If claims adjusters don't have a work-life balance or if they have to deal with administrative work that doesn't make sense, they may not have much time left for the world to adjust a major problem in claims organizations, where those functions must be performed. Claims organizations that want to retain customers for the long term because of strong relationships and optimal service, and not just because of prices, must place greater value on the role of the claims adjuster, as well as prioritize the job satisfaction levels of their claims adjusters and avoid claims adjustment exhaustion.
