Career summary

Details for Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators


Description

Review settled claims to determine that payments and settlements have been made in accordance with company practices and procedures, ensuring that proper methods have been followed. Report overpayments, underpayments, and other irregularities. Confer with legal counsel on claims requiring litigation.

Tasks

  • Examine claims forms and other records to determine insurance coverage.
  • Analyze information gathered by investigation and report findings and recommendations.
  • Review police reports, medical treatment records, medical bills, or physical property damage to determine the extent of liability.
  • Investigate and assess damage to property and create or review property damage estimates.
  • Interview or correspond with agents and claimants to correct errors or omissions and to investigate questionable claims.
  • Interview or correspond with claimants, witnesses, police, physicians, or other relevant parties to determine claim settlement, denial, or review.
  • Investigate, evaluate, and settle claims, applying technical knowledge and human relations skills to effect fair and prompt disposal of cases and to contribute to a reduced loss ratio.
  • Adjust reserves or provide reserve recommendations to ensure that reserve activities are consistent with corporate policies.
  • Resolve complex, severe exposure claims, using high service oriented file handling.
  • Pay and process claims within designated authority level.
  • Examine claims investigated by insurance adjusters, further investigating questionable claims to determine whether to authorize payments.
  • Verify and analyze data used in settling claims to ensure that claims are valid and that settlements are made according to company practices and procedures.
  • Enter claim payments, reserves and new claims on computer system, inputting concise yet sufficient file documentation.
  • Refer questionable claims to investigator or claims adjuster for investigation or settlement.
  • Collect evidence to support contested claims in court.
  • Confer with legal counsel on claims requiring litigation.
  • Contact or interview claimants, doctors, medical specialists, or employers to get additional information.
  • Maintain claim files, such as records of settled claims and an inventory of claims requiring detailed analysis.
  • Present cases and participate in their discussion at claim committee meetings.
  • Supervise claims adjusters to ensure that adjusters have followed proper methods.
  • Conduct detailed bill reviews to implement sound litigation management and expense control.
  • Examine titles to property to determine validity and act as company agent in transactions with property owners.
  • Report overpayments, underpayments, and other irregularities.
  • Communicate with reinsurance brokers to obtain information necessary for processing claims.
  • Prepare reports to be submitted to company's data processing department.
  • Obtain credit information from banks and other credit services.
  • Attend mediations or trials.
  • Communicate with former associates to verify employment record or to obtain background information regarding persons or businesses applying for credit.
  • Negotiate claim settlements or recommend litigation when settlement cannot be negotiated.

Interests

  • Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
  • Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Education, training, experience

  • Education - Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
  • Training - Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
  • Experience - A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Knowledge

  • Education and Training -Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Computers and Electronics -Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Mathematics -Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Law and Government -Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • Administration and Management -Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Clerical -Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
  • English Language -Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service -Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills

None found.

Related careers

None found.