Earlier this year, independentadjusting firm IAS Claim Services hired Paul Kottler as itspresident, who previously served as vice president of Crawford& Company's U.S. property and casualty western division. He satdown with Editor in Chief Eric Gilkey to discuss questions aboutthe current role of independents, essential technologies for theindustry, and how to attract new talent.

What challenges do independent adjusters face in today'smarketplace?

Let's start with claim management systems. Independent adjustersmust integrate their systems with the legacy systems of theirclients. Every client has a different system, yet independents mustfind a way to interface with that system in order to provide properservice to that client.

Developing those systems allows us to understand the true issuesfaced by our carrier clients. We have to be flexible, wearingdifferent hats for each client. One company may want files closedin five days; another may want more customer service. Others may befocused on price.

It is all about relationships. Carriers once were able to manageworking with 100 vendors; now they want to work with ten. Claimhandling has become more complex, yet the clients still requiregood service and they want to control costs. That could bedifficult for independent adjusters, who cope with a varying claimvolume.

Customer service and speed are the two main things at which boththe insurer and policyholder look. Policyholders demand moreservice and our clients require us to be efficient, lean, andcost-effective. Those forces are often in opposition.

We could improve the quality of service by improving the pool oftalent. Unfortunately, many adjusters moved to other sectors withinthe insurance field or are completely out of insurance. Theuncertainty of the business and our dependence on major weatherevents make claim adjusting feel too unpredictable. There is littleto make fresh college graduates view this as a potential career.Additionally, the move to cut costs and become leaner forced mostcompanies to put training on the back burner.

Managing new software, coping with different client needs, notto mention navigating the ever-changing regulatory climate, allplay a role in the difficulties we are facing in the industry.

You stated that IAS is ahead of the game as compared tocompetitors when it comes to technology implementation andintegration. What do you mean?

At IAS, we can integrate systems from first notice of loss(FNOL) to analytics and outcomes from the claim process.Policyholders rarely use the phone to make claims. They get on theInternet. We can take claims that way.

We work from the ground floor with a carrier. We work with themfrom the inception when they are looking at ratings all the waythrough the claim handling portion. We consult with them and handlethe claim side of the house.

Our expertise is not only responding to the claim quickly, butalso gathering the results and the end data. That's valuable forour clients. It allows them to price the product in a more accuratemanner. It is more efficient and cost-effective.

Carriers are experts at underwriting, pricing, and sellinginsurance. We're the experts at getting to the claim, customerservice, and providing analytics back to the carrier. It isexpensive for carriers to be experts in handling claims.

What technologies do you see becoming essential for theindependent adjuster of today? How about tomorrow?

Cloud computing is today's tool. It replaces the multi-milliondollar cost of maintaining a legacy system. It allows clients toleverage our flexible technology into new markets at a reducedcost. Our predictive analytics helps the claim side of the clients'business while giving the underwriting side tools to make real-timedecisions. It also allows agents on the front lines to give realcustomer service to their clients.

How does the retirement of older adjusters/Baby Boomersfactor into your plans? How do you hope to attract newtalent?

We plan to create an employee-centric culture to demonstratethat independent claim adjusting is a profession and it willcontinue to remain a profession. The industry has processes andprocedures, yet professionals want to be allowed to think on theirown and not have a canned approach to how each claim is handled.They want to be recognized for doing a good job by having theopportunity for more training and the ability to earn professionaldesignations. It has always been pushed on the underwriting sidebut it has fallen off on the claims side, and that is because ofcost.