The foundation on which insurance is based is referred to as the law of large numbers, but it's not really a law. No one pays a fine or goes to a gulag if it's violated. The law of large numbers is the mathematical principle that says the more exposure units in the mix, the easier it becomes to predict a group's losses. As the saying goes, flip a coin three times and it might come up heads all three instances. Flip it a million more, however, and the odds of an even heads-to-tails ratio becomes more likely. Poof! Insurance was born.
So says the first training module in National Underwriter's Personal Lines Coverage Specialist designation program. It's the first step in a continuing education initiative we're undertaking at the magazine to keep us at the top of our game. The PLCS program employs interactive, self-paced studying and technology to help keep us educated on the issues you face so that we can, in turn, work to keep you at the front of the knowledge pack.
This isn't a commercial for National Underwriter products (in the interest of full disclosure, National Underwriter is the parent company to Claims). But it is an endorsement for continuing education programs and conferences as boomers retire and new adjusters slowly trickle into a profession whose job description has gone through the shredder in the last several decades.
We should know. As you may have noticed, there's a new photo on this page because Claims recently experienced its own personal "loss." This issue marks the first in eight years without our vaunted former editor Phil Schreiner at the helm. A boomer himself, Phil took with him an immense amount of knowledge and industry experience. He saw the magazine through several redesigns and showed the ability to evolve the content of the magazine with determination.
That's not something that can be replaced overnight. Luckily — or more aptly, with great professional vision — Phil took measures to ensure the magazine was left in capable hands (at least I would like to think so). Parting can be sweet sorrow, but it doesn't have to leave the rest of the staff in the lurch. Phil was keenly aware of this and our close working relationship over the past three years underscored it. He understood the importance of having someone knowledgeable and genuinely interested in the claim profession ready to take over once the greener pastures of retirement beckoned. He and I both understood that to do otherwise would be a great disservice to our loyal readers and advertisers. Looking back, I wonder what it was like for him to decide to groom his own replacement. Other companies should be so lucky to have employees of this caliber.
In every insurance loss scenario, it's the claim professional's job to pick up the policyholders, dust them off, and put them on the road to indemnification as quickly as possible. That's much more approachable than some law about large numbers. So the magazine's editorial staff will take our cues from you this month. We're grabbing ourselves by our own shirt collars, pressing the wrinkles out, and standing up taller than ever. We're indemnifying ourselves, and then some.
The chance to make everything exactly as it was before a loss is rare, but with change comes new beginnings. It's about bringing forth new outlooks and optimism for a future that seems full of opportunities. Profound leadership and foresight can bridge the gap, all the while fostering the old campsite rule: Leave it in the same or better condition than when you found it. Isn't that what it's all about?
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