One of the most significant changes over the last several years involves the percentage of companies that provide benefits. As costs increased, technology evolved and the pandemic affected how and where folks worked, one of the areas that has seen a consistent drop surrounds the benefits that companies provide. (Photo: kentoh/Adobe Stock)
Those who have worked for any time in the insurance industry understand the integral role they play in helping businesses, property owners, workers and others recover from a significant, covered event. Basically, nothing happens without some sort of insurance component and when a claim is filed, many still require the involvement of an adjuster, a claims manager or someone to help steer a claim of any complexity through the process from assessment to payment.
Yes, technology has certainly made it easier for policyholders to file their first notice of loss online and then follow their claim through a company's investigation, assessment of coverage and final determination of what will be paid. A wide variety of technology is available to verify coverage, help set reserves, identify problem areas, assess the cost of repairs or rebuilding, provide ownership information and other details, and even provide payments to the insured. Each of these advancements makes the process easier for all involved, but adjusters are still the heart and soul of claims because insurance is a relationship business.
As we ease out of the pandemic, some of the changes implemented like remote work options and an increased reliance on technology will likely remain standard practice. We asked claims professionals how their workloads have changed, what benefits are still provided, what lines of insurance they cover, their views on the claims industry, their retirement plans and more.
ALM Intelligence, a division of Claims' parent company, ALM Global, LLC, conducted the 2022 Salary Survey, which asked both captive and independent adjusters for their feedback. Sixty-two percent of the respondents worked for an insurance company and 38% were independent adjusters. This split has remained consistent over the last several years.
It takes a team
Managing claims is very much a team process with the adjuster taking the role of the quarterback and driving a claim to its final conclusion. As one would expect, 74% of the respondents were directly involved in some aspect of the claims process, while the remaining 26% held senior leadership and claims-adjacent positions. Similar to last year's survey, 37% of the respondents were female, 60% were male, and 3% chose not to say or preferred to self-describe. The lion's share of the respondents were based in the South – namely, Florida (25%), Texas (11%) and Georgia (10%) with the remainder of the respondents scattered evenly across the country.
For the last five years, the majority of the respondents fell into the 50-59 years old age range, and that split continued into 2022. However, we saw a slight increase (about .5%) in the number of younger professionals who responded as compared to 2021 in the 20-29 and 30-39 age ranges, but there was a significant increase in the 40-49 age range, which increased from 13% in 2021 to 23% in 2022. Hopefully, this shift shows that the industry is attracting more individuals to the claims space.
Varied lines of experience
We added a new question to this year's survey to determine what lines of insurance our respondents handle. Since it isn't unusual for an adjuster to handle multiple lines of insurance (e.g., personal, commercial, specialty and the like) this question provides some insights into the types of claims most likely to be handled by Claims' readers.
Personal and commercial property were the top lines adjusted at 55% and 51% respectively. A significant number of adjusters, (47%) indicated that they handle complex claims, which tracks with what our editors have been seeing in the industry as a whole. As insurance technology advances, especially in terms of auto and simple property claims, adjusters are using their expertise to handle more significant losses. The number of adjusters handling commercial and personal auto claims was almost evenly split at 30% and 29% respectively.
Benefits on the decline
One of the most significant changes over the last several years involves the percentage of companies that provide benefits. As costs increased, technology evolved and the pandemic affected how and where folks worked, one of the areas that has seen a consistent drop surrounds the benefits that companies provide. In 2019, 96% of staff adjusters received medical benefits and in 2022, that number dropped to 80%. The numbers for dental insurance are even more startling, with 96% having dental coverage in 2019 and only 74% having coverage in 2022. While more adjusters and other claims-related professionals worked remotely in 2022 (93% were able to work from home), only 36% received any type of cell phone allowance, down from 48% just two years earlier.
Adjusters spend a lot of time on the road, but only 17% had a company car and only 32% received any sort of mileage reimbursement – another drop from 2020, where 26% had a company car and 44% were reimbursed for their mileage.
Salaries on the rise
While the benefits offered have changed some over the years, salaries are increasing. In 2021, the minimum response for insurance company adjusters was $12,100 but it jumped to $42,000 in 2022. The median salary for company adjusters in 2021 was $98,250 and increased slightly in 2022 to $102,000. The most significant change though came in the maximum response, which increased from $320,000 in 2021 to $801,000 in 2022, and is most likely attributable to the level of the individuals responding to the survey.
Independent adjusters had a slightly different outcome as 41% said their income had decreased due to limited claim assignments. The median salary for independent adjusters dropped significantly from $163,000 in 2021 to $80,000 in 2022. However, this drop is offset by the maximum response, which went from $575,000 in 2021 to $900,000 in 2022.
Ninety-three percent of the respondents said they worked full-time at an average of 45 hours a week. Fifty-eight percent said their hours had remained basically the same throughout 2022, while 17% saw an increase. Overtime is still permitted with 27% working five hours or less a week and 21% working 6-10 additional hours. Forty-four percent said that overtime was not permitted.
Professionals working in claims feel either very secure (41%) or somewhat secure (33%) about their job security. They are also either very optimistic (41%) or somewhat optimistic (32%) about their company's financial performance in the coming year.
The individuals who participated in the survey have a substantial amount of experience in the industry ranging from 32% who had 20 years or less to 54% who had up to 30 years of experience, while the remaining 14% had more than 35 years of practice in the field.
The number of years in which professionals expect to retire has shifted somewhat with the largest number (28%) anticipating retirement in 6-10 years and only 23% planning to retire in the next five years, a slight drop from the 28% who expected to retire within that timeframe in 2021. Another 28% don't expect to stop working for 15 years or more. Imagine the changes that will take place in the industry during this time.
The role of insurance and those who work in the industry will continue to evolve, but what many realized during the pandemic is that it is far more flexible in adapting than perhaps many inside and outside of the business realize.
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