Simon Jones, Regional Operations Manager, Teceris

Loss Adjusting is rarely a first choice of career, what led you into the profession?

SJ - I am now 34 and joined the profession as a trainee adjuster at the Brighton office of Mclarens Toplis in 1996, aged 23.

I left Law School in 1995, having completed a law degree and the professional examinations of the Law Society. I was due to take articles with a small law firm in Brighton, but the minor recession at that time combined with an overhaul of the legal aid system put paid to this arrangement. I become somewhat disillusioned with the legal profession and decided to explore other career possibilities.

In 1996 I applied for a post as a trainee adjuster with Mclarens having seen an advert in the job supplement of a local paper. I was aware of the work of loss adjusters from my legal studies and the initial appeal, (other than the benefit of a company car!), was the practical nature of the work and the general career opportunities the profession offered at that time. Various aspects of the work seemed suited to the skills I had acquired at University and Law School.

How has your career progressed to-date?

SJ - The working environment in the Brighton office was excellent. My new colleagues were supportive; I was impressed by the general high level of professionalism, and was attracted to the level of responsibility I was given at an early stage. This may perhaps have been influenced by the fact that nobody else wanted to deal with liability claims!

Within two years I had achieved promotion and had been given far more responsibility than I would have had in the legal profession. At this time I decided to study for the professional examinations of CILA which I successfully completed in 2001. In July of that year I was promoted to branch manager of the Brighton office. Following reorganisation in 2003 I moved to a larger office at Redhill to pursue a general and increasing regional management role.

I am currently continuing to develop my management experience as a Regional Operations Manager at Teceris. I have avoided specialising exclusively in the area of management. I have continued to deal with new loss instructions and in particular have actively sought to remain involved in major loss / complex cases.

Which claims you are most proud of handling?

SJ - The professional response I am most proud of does not relate to a single claim, but rather the way my colleagues and I dealt with the major flooding incidents in Lewes and Uckfield in October 2000. The extent of flooding to domestic and commercial premises in both towns was severe and widely reported in the media.

The initial challenge was to meet the sudden influx of new instructions and to establish procedures by which loss mitigation specialists could be coordinated and managed. There was then the operational challenge of managing the increased case loads and to ensure a pro-active approach to claims settlement.

Despite the heavy workload which meant working every weekend for the eight weeks that followed, this was a highly enjoyable experience. I consider that we met the challenges with distinction and were able to make a positive difference to the lives of many people.

Are there any aspects of the profession you don’t like?

SJ – Loss Adjusting has gone through something of a transition since I stared my career in 1996. There has been increasing competition between loss adjusting firms, which has lead to ever decreasing fee scales. Many of the larger domestic insurers have reviewed their approach to claims handling and the use of nominated suppliers has become more common. These changes have resulted in loss adjusting services becoming more process driven. This has inevitably restricted the freedom of the adjuster to settle claims and in many cases the role has become an administrative one.

This is not to say that there are not good reasons for the introduction of such an approach to domestic claims handling and certainly economics alone would prevent the provision of a professional loss adjusting service on the basis of current fee scale agreements.

How do you see the future of the profession?

SJ - In my view we have now reached something of a turning point. There is a growing recognition amongst insurer clients and intermediaries of the importance of a professional loss adjusting service.

This is not to say that there will be a return to the days where all but the smallest domestic claims would be referred to loss adjusters. In many respect the process, supply chain solutions that are now prevalent offer a better and cost effective way of dealing with the volume domestic market. This solution does not however suit larger domestic claims and high net worth or commercial claims where there are demonstrable benefits in referral to loss adjusters. It is my hope that the profession continues to demonstrate and promote these benefits and there is a recognition by all parties in the market that in order to receive a professional service there should be a commensurate fee.

It seems few young people are joining the profession, what do you think can be done to change this situation?

SJ - With the changes over the last ten years it is not surprising that there are less young people joining the profession. Loss adjusting firms have not been recruiting widely and where they have; they have generally sought to recruit claims handlers to deal with `volume` domestic claims rather than loss adjusters.

In order to recruit young people the profession should market itself to graduates and emphasise the important contribution that the profession makes in dealing with major incidents on a global scale. In addition we should actively promote the profession and in particular use incidents such as Buncefield to demonstrate the added value of our work.