Changing roles of adjusters in
the challenging contemporary
environment
Presented T. D. Cusack
 Technology, professional requirements,
regulatory compliance, social, cultural and
other issues
 When did it all start?
 Was it 20years ago with the introduction of
the internet?
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
General Issues
 Customer service vs customer relationships
 Is there a difference?
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
 Oh no, another appraisal
 More and more, better results? Coverage
determinations? Increased costs?
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
 Lack of regular formal training programs
 Estimating, coverage, people skills, opponent
skills
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 Consolidation in the industry
 Watch out for the big guys they may trample
us all
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
 Adjusting claims vs processing claims
 State regulatory and compliance issues
 Do these take less time? Does compliance
require better trained educated staff?
 How much time does it take?
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
Technology
 When did it all start? Or are has there been
multiple incremental changes the have brought
us here?
 Are we slaves to technology or are they helping
us?
 Depends, some yeah some nay
 Time saved vs greater accuracy, expectations,
response time and workflow interruptions
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
 Costs and obsolescence
 Hardware / software compatibility issues
 Get ready, set, e-mail
 Need to reply? When? How? Always?
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
 Voice mail who loves it who hates it?
 Facebook, tweets, other social media.
 24/7 availability is it good for any of us?
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Cultural / Societal
 9/11
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 English as a 2nd or 3rd language
 More diversity, less homogeneous; largest
cultural influence Spanish followed by Asian
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
 You’re available when?
 More 2 income families, blended families and more
organized activities
 More lawyers lead to more litigation?
 Quote from Justice Burger 1977 – “litigation has come
to be seen as the cure all for every problem that besets
or annoys us” 1982 “ the courts have been expected to
fill the void created by the decline of church, family
and neighborhood unity”
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 More Public Adjusters lead to more claims?
 Quote from Public Adjuster “It’s a battleground out
there due to the sheer volume of competition”
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
 Do we have experienced staff to deal with lawyers
and PA’s?
 What is the average experience level here today?
 Baby boomers are leaving an experience void.
 How does your staff or strategy stack up?
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015
Conclusions
NEEDS:
 Better educated adjusters
 Better trained adjusters
 Adjusters with good interpersonal and multi
lingual skills
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 Predications
 We will have to consider and recognize the
demands on staff and establish realistic work
case loads
 Changes in our roles may likely increase
budgets in the claims department
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A Closing Thought
PAMIC Spring Meeting 2015