It was in 1959 that I first worked for an insurance company, as a title insurance abstractor. A few other careers intervened (journalism, the Army, social work) before adjusting became my profession in 1967, but with other family members in the insurance industry I had learned a bit about this wonderful vocation. It has seen changes over my half century in it, but not all of them have been for the better.

The public's view of our business of adjusting claims ranges from our being a bunch of scoundrels (just tune in the latest lawyer television ads and you'll get that message) to super heroes on the spot of any and all disasters. Historically that has been the case. One hears tales of adjusters in the 1920s who met with the claimants and insureds and gave some low-ball offer on a claim on a “take it or leave it” no-questions-asked basis. Picture a short, stubby guy in a black suit and derby hat with a cane and a cigar in his jaw, threatening to beat the poor insured if the offer wasn't accepted.

The late Pat Magarick, who was a columnist for Claims and its predecessor, Insurance Adjuster Magazine, whose textbooks I now edit and rewrite, told of how his career as an adjuster began right after he left law school. Each morning the manager would give him $100 and a handful of claims and send him out to meet with the insureds. He was to return with signed releases. In those days of the Depression, cash was hard to come by, and bargaining was rough. People knew how to negotiate in those days, and every dollar was a big deal. Sometimes the adjusters would plead or intimidate or even threaten. No claim ever got over-paid, but quite a few were underpaid. Perhaps some insurers still operate on that basis.