Insurance Claims Adjuster Jobs

What's involved with working in claims?

Some of the best insurance jobs are in the claims department. Insurance claims examiner jobs, fraud investigator jobs and insurance adjuster jobs all relate to investigating and paying customers for claims submitted to an insurance company. Depending upon the specific job, a claims associate may be called upon to provide appraisals, investigate people or events related to a claim or to negotiate a settlement.

Insurance Claims Adjusters and Investigator Jobs

Some of the most common insurance claims careers are adjusters, examiners and investigators:

·       Claims adjuster jobs involve evaluating, investigating and settling claims. There’s a great deal of training involved in this insurance claims career. Claims adjusters have to learn the policy backwards and forwards and they must also learn a great deal about the items insured.

·       Claims examiners review the work of people who work in the claims adjuster jobs, making sure all policy guidelines have been followed throughout the claims process. People who work in claims examiners jobs provide a helpful bird’s eye view of average costs for hospitals, doctors and repair work that helps keep reported claims manageable and reasonable.

·       Folks who have decided upon a claims investigator career usually only step in when fraud is suspected or something seems unusual about a claim. Claims investigators often work closely with law enforcement officials and private investigators, and do a lot of the investigative legwork themselves.

Insurance Claims Job Description         

It takes a unique, strong-willed individual to work in one of the best insurance claims careers. Some things to expect from a career in insurance claims:

·       A lot of paperwork passes over a desk in a claims adjuster or claims examiner job. Fraud investigators spend many hours completing claims reports. Some occasional weekend or evening work playing catch-up is not uncommon.

·       A claims examiner job requires some restraint and thoughtfulness. As hard as it seems to do, claims adjusters can't sympathize - or empathize - with everyone who calls into the company with a claim. Representatives can apologize for the policyholder's loss and tell them they hope everyone gets through it ok. That’s allowed. But claims associates have to be wary of policy language and the legal department’s concerns regarding language that can be used on the phone with a claimant. In other words, promises can't be made before the claim has been investigated.

·       All states require some kind of licensing for insurance claims jobs. No matter what the state requirements are, applicants can plan on spending time getting a license and completing annual continuing education for a career in insurance claims.

·       Quickly advance a career by working in the insurance claims department. Choose insurance claims careers for ample opportunity to move into a supervisor or manager role. Many claims professionals choose to move from one specialty to another specialty (property to casualty, for example), thereby increasing their knowledge and their overall value to the company, too.

Insurance Claims Salary ExpectationsDepending upon which insurance claims career path is chosen, claims professionals might start earning around $28,000 - $32,000 and over time, advance to the $70,000 range or higher, if they choose to move into management. In addition, bonuses, expense accounts and company cars are not uncommon for these insurance claims careers.