Posted On: June 27, 2008, 10:55 am CDT

Posted By: demos

Love all the comments from the "agents" on this "Claims Journal" website. As with anything - you get what you pay for. Most insurance companies that I have had experience with (including my own) have the mindset that claims adjusters are at best a necessary evil and are treated as such. Most of us are extremely overworked, little appreciated and have few opportunities for advancement either professionally or financially. Underwriters take on questionable risks, Agents write everything and anything with the hope that something will be accepted so they can collect more commission, but when the loss ratio's go south, where does the axe fall the hardest - the claims dept.

Tell me Mr Agent - is it true that the harder you work the more you can expect to be rewarded (commissions)? Do you understand the reality of claims adjusting is the harder you work the more work you get - with little to no reward for doing an excellent job except the rare condecending pat on the back from some agent for saving his renewal commission, and if you are lucky a yearly "raise" that is typically less then the cost of inflation.

Bonus', incentive programs/rewards for "quality claims handling" simply do not exist anymore except at the very top which is usually staffed by marketers who do not like to share wealth or power. Despite all that, the vast majority of adjusters take great pride in doing a thankless job well, and look forward to the day when we no longer have to put up with arrogant agents, hostile plaintiff atty's and threats on our lives by claimants.

Mercury Insurance may be a excellent or they may be bad - I don't know anything about them. But to sit back and comment about how well adjusters are or are not doing a good job without walking a mile in their shoes is simply another example of Marketing's arrogance and greed.