Automobile Claims Adjuster

After an automobile accident and the phone call to the insurance company to report the incident, the next person an insured deals with is the auto insurance claims adjuster. Automobile claims adjusters are the eyes and ears of the automobile insurance industry. The claims adjusters investigate the claim, determine the extent of the injuries and property damage and report back to the company. Often the information provided by the claims adjuster will effect the way the company handles the claim from that time forward.

A claims adjuster is part detective, part evaluator, part appraiser, part arbitrator and part negotiator. Upon being informed of an accident involving injuries, the claims adjuster puts on a detective hat, reviews accident reports, interviews the victims and takes statements where appropriate. If the accident involves injuries, the claims person will get permission to access medical records.

In property damage claims, the adjuster will arrange to see the vehicles, take photographs of the cars and the accident site and try to get to the heart of what took place. Based upon the insurance company guidelines, the data collected by the adjuster and the adjuster's experience, the insurance company will make a determination about the nature and extent of the loss and the potential exposure to the company. Often, the automobile claims adjuster will have the authority to propose a settlement of the claim and negotiate on behalf of the insurance company.

Many claims adjusters are independent and work for several insurance companies while others are employed by and work only for one company.

Without the auto claims adjuster, insurance industry would come to a standstill. The adjusters are the field personnel that provide the independent information an insurer requires in order to evaluate the claim. Many insured's measure their insurance company by the way in which it processes claims. Competent and efficient claims adjusters portray the insurance company in the best possible light and are a better source of positive feedback to the company than advertising could ever be. Likewise, a company that neglects the claims process does so at the risk of negative feelings from its insureds and poor word of mouth referrals.

Depending on the company and the nature of the incident, claims adjusters can go to the insureds or the insureds can come to the claims adjusters. While certainly, having a claims facility that an insured can get to on his schedule, and where a claim may be adjusted on the spot, the flexibility of having claims adjusters in the field, provides an important alternative when car or driver is not ambulatory. One way or another, the auto insurance claims adjuster is an indispensible part of the insurance industry.

Author: A. Keith, Auto Insurance Service Reviews