NU Online News Service, Oct. 9, 10:00 a.m. EDT

Stunted wages, heftier workloads and shriveling benefits are just a few of the challenges that continue to plague claim professionals, according to the 2009 Salary Survey conducted by Claims magazine.

The 19th iteration of the annual survey by Claims--which, along with National Underwriter, is part of Summit Business Media's P&C Magazine Group--depicted a landscape of frustrated skeleton crews making do with less.

Both independent and insurance company claim staffers cited inadequate compensation for an ever-expanding workload of claims that are increasingly complex and/or large in severity.

Moreover, a significant portion of the 328 survey respondents lamented that there are fewer vital resources (such as company cars and laptops) with which to meet the demands of their jobs.

The survey results showed about a one percent increase in average salaries for claim professionals across the board, including owners, officers and managers/supervisors.

Insurer claim staff seemed to fare slightly better than independents, both in terms of average salary increases and availability of benefits. For instance, the compensation for insurer staff officers climbed from $156,735 in the 2008 survey to $161,442.50 in 2009.

Only 88 percent of insurer and 32 percent of independent staff are now extended medical insurance benefits--a noticeable decrease from just one year ago. In 2008, Claims reported that 98 percent of insurer staff and 59 percent of independents were able to secure such coverage.

Aside from medical coverage, all types of benefits seemed less attainable for claim professionals. Dental insurance, which was formerly available to 93 percent of the insurer staff and 49 percent of independent staff surveyed in 2008, is now obtained by 84 percent of insurer staff and 32 percent of independents. Profit sharing and 401K match options sharply fell, as well.

Other concerns ranged from the aging work force and replenishing the resultant void, to job burnout and a deepening disconnect between managers and those working in the trenches.

Claims deployed the survey to a random sampling to 1,949 subscribers in August. A more detailed explanation of the results can be found in the article, "Salary Survey 2009: Claim Professionals Forge Ahead Despite Staff Cuts, Slashed Benefits," which appeared in the October 2009 issue.

You may access the article here.

(Christina Bramlet is Senior Editor at Claims, part of Summit Business Media's P&C Magazine Group, of which National Underwriter is a member. She may be reached at cbramlet@sbmedia.com.)

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