Career prospects

Turn the page of your daily newspaper and you find stories about losses: the bridge which partially collapsed during construction; the disastrous explosion in the chemical plant; the housewife who forgot to turn off the gas beneath the chip pan; the lorry carrying tomatoes from Guernsey to Glasgow overturned on the motorway near Gloucester.

All physical property is exposed to hazard, possible damage and loss. The property is repaired or replaced but is that the end of the story? What about the income which could have been earned had the damage not occurred – the wages, profits and rent? What about the house occupier who has to find alternative accommodation whilst his house is being repaired? Could it be that the loss has been caused by someone other than the sufferer? Is there a legal liability upon this person to pay compensation? If so, who pays?

In the first instance it is the person who suffers the loss. Fortunately, however, insurance is available and is a means by which the losses suffered by the few can be shared by the many. It could be that insurers finally meet the loss.

Insurance can take many forms but its basic purpose is to establish a fund from which losses can be paid. Insurers have a duty to all contributors to this fund to ensure that claims are correct and reasonable before making payments.

Insurers usually employ staff to deal with claims. They need clerical, statistical and administrative personnel in claims departments and there are some aspects of claims investigation settlement which insurers prefer to deal with themselves. However, over a period of some two hundred years insurers have employed independent professional claims specialists.

With the growth of insurance business to meet the needs of advancing technology and rising living standards, the volume of claims work passed to independent specialists has increased. Further, the categories of risk which insurers are prepared to underwrite have widened considerably. In earlier days the main function of adjusters was to handle claims for fire and explosion losses but they are now called upon to deal with claims for storm and flood damage, theft, transit losses, failures on construction sites or in factories, loss of profits, public liability, products liability, employer’s liability, fidelity guarantee, personal accident and other classes of insurance.

Chartered Loss Adjusters are independent claims specialists who usually take instructions from insurers. Adjusting a claim is the work of ascertaining the proper liability of an insurer for a loss within the terms and conditions of the policy of insurance involved.

It is the Chartered Loss Adjuster’s duty to investigate the cause of a loss, confirm that the policy conditions and warranties have been observed and make preliminary enquiries into the nature and probable extent of the claim which the policyholder will be submitting. The adjuster will advise the claimant on measures which will help to mitigate the loss and on procedures. During the early investigations the adjuster will consider whether someone else may have been responsible for the loss and, if so, will obtain statements and physical evidence to use later in negotiations when recovery of insurers’ outlay from a third party or his insurers will be sought.

When the claim is presented, the adjuster will check it for quantity, description and pricing and, agreeing any necessary adjustments with the insured will present a final report to the insurers with recommendations for settlement.

Needless to say, this is a simple outline of the adjuster’s function and there are many other facets to his or her duties; although generally directed towards the agreement of claims under insurance policies. Chartered Loss Adjusters may also act for the policyholder in a claims advisory capacity assisting with preparation and negotiation of the claim.

To become an Associate member of the institute it is necessary to pass examinations and to obtain five years’ (three years’ in certain cases) experience working for an independent loss adjusting firm as an ordinary member.

Further experience leads to the qualification Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters.

The fundamental quality required in any member of the profession is integrity. The relationship with his or her Principal must be one of complete trust and confidence.

The adjuster should possess good powers of observation and the ability to assimilate knowledge quickly in situations which are often not conducive to constructive investigation, like the aftermath of a serious fire in a warehouse during a spell of severe winter weather.

The adjuster should be able to communicate well with people of widely differing backgrounds with whom he or she will come into contact during the course of their work and they must possess the ability to express the results of their enquiries concisely and grammatically in a written report.

The adjuster must have the temperament which will allow him or her to set aside a pre-planned work schedule in order to deal with an urgent new case and they must be willing to deal with situations outside normal business hours.

It would be unusual, but certainly not unknown, for a school, college or higher education student to enter a career in loss adjusting immediately after completing their course of study. A more typical route is via some other work experience. Qualified surveyors, engineers, accountants, solicitors and insurance claims officials will find opportunities available to them to use their professional expertise.

For those who are not deterred by the prospect of hard work, loss adjusting can be a rewarding and satisfying profession. The rewards must, however, be earned by gaining experience within the profession coupled with private study. Nevertheless, those who now hold the highest positions in loss adjusting are, almost without exception, persons who have entered the profession as trainees and have progressed within the profession.

Many of the UK adjusting firms have international organisations and there are ample opportunities for those wishing to work overseas on temporary or permanent engagements.

Advertisements appear in local and regional newspapers and the best advice that can be given is to respond to any advertisements if you have the qualifications or experience that is being sought.