How To Become An Insurance Adjuster

If you’re interested in becoming an insurance adjuster, you could have a long and profitable career ahead of you. The insurance market is always in demand, regardless of the state of the economy. Therefore, this is one of the jobs that gives you excellent job security. It’s also one of the industries with a shortage of skilled workers. Learn more about the career and what you need to do to get on this career path.

The Basics of Being an Insurance Adjuster

Before you learn more about the steps you need to take to be an adjuster, you should understand what they do. Insurance adjusters, also known as claims adjusters, take a close look at insurance claims. If you’re in a car accident or a hurricane destroys your home, the adjuster is the person who comes out and inspects the property after you file the claim.

The adjuster verifies the damages or injuries so the claim can move forward. As an adjuster, you can work for a company or as a public adjuster. While adjusters for companies work exclusively for the company, a public adjuster works for the policyholder.

Depending on the role and type of insurance company, an insurance adjuster may do the following:

Manage claims by collecting information

Determining the liability and assigning values to claims

Making claims payments to policyholders

Sending claims to the right place

Resolve claims

Approve and process claims

Working with policyholders to create action plans

Negotiating settlements

Communicate with all involved parties

Check for proper coding

Act as a representative

The Pay

At this point, you might be wondering about the salary of an insurance adjuster. Although the salary varies significantly by area, the range is usually between $35,910 and $69,006. The more experience you have, the better the pay.

What You Need to Be a Claims Adjuster

If you’re ready to be on this new career path, there are a few things you need to do. Fortunately, most adjuster jobs don’t require an advanced degree. Most jobs require a high school diploma or a GED. With that said, people with advanced degrees often find it easier to get work and could receive better pay.

In certain states, insurance adjusters need to have a license. They also may need to participate in continuing education courses to maintain their licenses. If you live in a state that has such requirements, you can enroll in an insurance adjuster school. The program prepares you for the exam.

Soft Skills

Because there aren’t many education requirements to becoming an insurance adjuster, employers in the industry often focus heavily on soft skills. Adjusters should be able to communicate well with policyholders and insurance companies. Typically, adjusters need to build rapport quickly.

Problem-solving skills are also a must. Because no claim is identical, adjusters need to be ready for anything. They also need to show compassion, because policyholders usually have experienced some type of traumatic experience. If you can’t be empathetic, you won’t be a good adjuster. You should also be willing to deal with conflict and have hard conversations without losing control of your emotions.

Here are a few other useful skills to have:

Organization

Common sense

Analytical

If you don’t have any of these skills, you can easily improve on them. You can take on a job as a customer service or retail worker. Every day, you’ll receive practice dealing with challenging situations and communicating with others.

Finding Your First Job

If you’re ready to become an insurance adjuster, you should have a plan. First, consider whether you want to move somewhere else or stay in your current town. The pay varies by location, and you could make more somewhere else. If you’re open to moving, you should consider going to one of the states with the highest amount of adjuster jobs. Florida, Georgia, and Arizona are known for having a high demand.

Once you target an area, you can start working on your resume. If you’ve had a previous job, think about the soft skills that would translate well to this industry. Did you have to communicate regularly or deal with any challenges? If you haven’t had a job, think about the soft skills you obtained in college or through volunteer opportunities.

Know Where to Look

Once your resume is ready, you can start applying for jobs. First, think about your network. Do you have any friends or family members in the insurance industry? They might be able to help you find a position. Then, you should use your favorite job platform to search for opportunities.

Every time you apply, check your resume and change your cover letter. You should tailor your resume for every job listing. Be particularly careful to make sure the documents relate to the specific industry. If you write, “I’m hoping to work in the home insurance industry,” but send that to a company that does home insurance, you won’t get the job.

Research the Company

There are quite a few insurance scams and poorly rated companies. When you apply for jobs, take the time to research the company. Every insurance company has some bad reviews, but a reputable company has a mix of positive and negative reviews. If you think the company isn’t legitimate, you should reconsider applying.

There’s another benefit to researching the company. If you receive an interview offer, your research could impress the hiring manager. It shows that you’re serious about the job.

Prepare for the Interview

A good resume will help you get an interview offer. And if you want to ace the interview, you should take measures to prepare for the interview. Be ready to explain how you would diffuse a situation with an angry policyholder. If you find a list of common interview questions, print them out and prepare your answers.

Another way to prepare for the interview is to familiarize yourself with the language. In the insurance world, there are some industry-specific terms. Learn some of those common terms, and you’ll sound more prepared during the interview. After all your work, you could have your first job as an adjuster.