When most people think of catastrophe adjusters,they probably envision claimsprofessionals dealing with fallout from weather-relatedevents. But the universe of potential catastrophic claims is farbroader than that and is growing—especially in regard tothird-party and man-made catastrophes. These can range fromenvironmental disasters and massive transportation snafus totechnology crises. 

Sean Upton, Senior Vice President of Environmental Claims atAspen Insurance, speaks with NU about the core competencies of thecat adjuster and the skills required to excel.

What are the essential skills a catastrophe adjustermust possess?

Any competent catastrophe adjuster must have strong organizationskills, be able to process large amounts of information quickly,possess technical understanding of the subject of the claim, beable to prioritize issues, and be confident in his or her abilityto make good decisions. To break it down:

• Organization: This is especially true as itrelates to resources, whether it's people, technology or data. Theadjuster needs to know where to find it and how to use it.
• information-processing skills: All catastropheevents generate enormous amounts of information. Adjusters need tobe able to process the information quickly and efficiently andtarget the appropriate information to assist in makingdecisions.
• Technical knowledge: The adjuster must havesufficient technical knowledge of both the risk and the losscomponents, be they structural or financial, to be able to identifywhich information is accurate and/or relevant as it comes to him orher.
• Ability to prioritize: This goes hand-in-handwith the volume of data being processed. Adjusters have to be ableto understand the big picture as well as the individual claims andexecute accordingly.
• Confidence: Catastrophe events are stressfulon everyone involved, and adjusters need to project confidence intheir ability to get the job done and communicate precisely howthey will do it. 

How can adjusters strike the right balance betweenformal education and on-the-job experience?

While formal education is the foundation for handling claims,and specifically catastrophe situations, there is no better“instructor” than actually going out and doing [the job]. It iscritical that investments be made in both theoretical and practicaltraining for adjusters and that new adjusters get the opportunityto go out and experience real situations as part of theirtraining.

Additionally, never underestimate the value of interaction andcamaraderie among adjusters. This is where you truly learn thenuances of adjusting. You learn more about real-life claimsadjusting by listening to war stories from more seasoned adjustersand watching seasoned adjusters practicing their craft than fromany classroom or book. Listen, watch and learn.

What are the most vexing challenges of thejob?

Knowing that regardless of how involved they become in theclaims process or how much energy they devote, adjusters can't fixeverything. Also, knowing that every decision will be subject topost-game analysis, often in a completely different environment andcontext, can be a very difficult [fact] for adjusters to adaptto.

Aside from tenacity and expert knowledge ofmultiple lines of coverage and regulations, what does a person needto excel in the profession?

All of the above and more. I would add that [it takes] someonewho is inherently inquisitive and needs to know more; someone whowants to dig deeper and truly understand how things work—why roofsfail, how chemicals react, how the accident occurred, etc. Someonewho is always looking to learn from past experiences and isflexible enough to change their way of doing things.