Do Ethics Courses Waste Time?
The Ethics courses for adjusters or other insurance personnel may seem really worth the time and expense.
I recently received a newsletter from the AICPCU-IIA informing all new students that Ethics will be a required course on a large number of designations. The Institute’s heart is in the right place requiring exposure to ethics in their curricula. I am wondering if one course would have much of an impact on someone. I would say that a person basically brings their level of ethical behavior to the table from the start. An unethical person is not going to change in a few weeks.
I have also noticed ethics in almost all state CEU requirements over the last few years. I am not sure if one course every two years will really make an unethical licensee suddenly ethical. I have to take a flood course every two years to keep my adjuster’s license. The closest I ever come to a flood is watching one on the Internet or TV. In other words, I am not going to use the flood course in my profession.
Workers Compensation has so many areas where ethics do come into play. Basically, an adjuster is making decisions on someone’s livelihood if the injured employee files for weekly benefits (TTD). Quite a few adjusters handle benefit checks, reimbursement checks, and other benefits where an unethical adjuster could easily get themselves into trouble
I am sure that you have seen the headline “Workers Compensation Adjuster Arrested By The State Insurance Department For Embezzling Funds” a few times a year. I actually worked in a claims department where a fellow adjuster was submitting fake medical bills as a fictitious provider and then making payments to a PO Box, and then cashing the checks. It came as a shock to the whole claims department as the perpetrator seemed to be a person of very high ethics. I have many more such stories, but I do not want to bore you.
Bottom Line – Any insurance personnel brings their level of Ethics upfront to the table. I can see where unintended unethical actions could be a concern. Ethics should be a requirement of any insurance license or designation. It is at least a start.
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