Talented Workers Comp Adjuster – Do They Have IT?

The Talented Workers Comp Adjuster – What is IT?

IT Applies To Any Line of Adjusters – Not Just WC

Many discussions on a talented workers comp adjuster (or any insurance line) begin something similar to this.  Wow, we are searching everywhere for talented adjusters.

I have attended many conferences where the presenters were worried about “brain and experience drain” not being replaced in the areas of safety, risk management, and especially claims.

One presentation that stayed with me over the year came from the NWCDC Annual Conference session. The session consisted of one presenter with a moderator.  The presenter worked in HR for a midwestern regional carrier.   She delved into millennials and their psychological wants and needs.  The presentation was interesting.  The one-hour speech left out one thing – IT.

IT is not information technology.

IT and the Talented Workers Comp Adjuster

What does this talent consist of and how do you know if the adjuster is going to make it in a very challenging field?

Many years ago, when I worked with Lumbermen’s Underwriting Alliance (now defunct) in Boca Raton, FL, a sage experienced claims person (Irv Wicknick) presented three one-half day seminars on claims adjusting tips and traps.

The Claims VP and Mr. Wicknick both said that IT was what made an adjuster stand out in a somewhat crowded field.

Thirty attendees brought up such attributes such as:

• Timeliness
• Attention to detail
• Empathy
• Follow-through
• Investigative ability
• Willing to work long hours and possibly weekends
• And many others

IT = The Talent to Adjust

Strikingly and memorably – Mr. Wicknick wrote IT on the presentation chalkboard.  He wrote nothing under it or beside the acronym just IT as representing the talented workers comp adjuster.

Irv wrote IT is IT.  For an intense half-hour, all the attendees (adjuster trainees up to Claims Managers) asked what is IT?  We were told you will know IT when you see IT.   No definitions or attributes were given to the group on what was IT other than without IT, most adjusters will struggle with the normal heavy workload.

You can see here the most common duties of an adjuster.

Undefined IT

Over the last 30 years since I heard that term, I always tried to look for IT when I moved up through the ranks and now as a consultant.

You cannot:

• Train IT
• Work longer hours to get IT
• Memorize your claims manual to have IT
• Further your education to acquire IT – this one possibly moves you closer to IT
• Attain it through experience – you can hone IT with experience.

IT vs. Talented Workers Comp Adjuster

I have reviewed policies, claims, and the adjuster’s handy work on over 10,000 files, closer to 20,000.   I see IT in some files – usually the same adjusters.

IT to me means “the ability to adjust and expeditiously close out files to the satisfaction of all parties involved in a claim.”  The term “all parties” covers many people and organizations in every claim – not a simple task.

One Little Secret

The one attribute to all adjusters in all lines of insurance is file documentation.  Being able to pick up a file and understand where it has been; where it is now; and where it is headed in a short amount of time remains the best way to give off “a good first impression.”   IT starts with a good first impression.  Two to three-line statutes look great in a file.

Caveat – over-documentation can cause the time management abilities of an adjuster to suffer greatly.  If one piles on the documentation, when can anything else be accomplished on the file?

Always consult your claims manual – one of those IT things with a talented workers comp adjuster.

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