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Last Post 07/08/2008 12:34 AM by HuskerCat

Insurance Coverage, requires lots of reading & discussion

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Ray Hall

Senior Member
Posts:2443

07/06/2008 4:24 PM
Many of the company trained adjusters, began a class in coverage during their first weeks of employment. The first policy was the family automobile coverage for casualty adjusters. I was fortunate enough to work for a large company with all the underwriters under one roof and the underwriters taught the coverage. I loved contract law and insurance policys are the contract to the policyholder of what is covered, what is not covered, limitations on amounts of insurance, and extensions of insurance. Another trainee and I studied the Tex. St. Fire Policy with our claim manager who had 30 years experience for 3 hrs. per day for one week. We read ever line and word and then our manager explained what it said, and most important why it was in the contract. I also remember the Commercial General Liability Policy. The exclusion; care, custody and control was discussed for hours. Keep reading keep asking questions. I have most of these policies in PDF if someone wants to learn.

okclarryd

Veteran Member
Posts:954

07/06/2008 7:19 PM
Nothin' like a little light reading just before bedtime. Seriously, I, too, have had to read and explain policies/coverages to the manager in my formative years. I don't think the newer adjusters are given these opportunities. What a shame. Larry D Hardin

HuskerCat

Veteran Member
Posts:762

07/06/2008 11:36 PM
An old mentor of mine (and many before & after) always liked to say "We're gonna read these coverage forms over and over, and I'm gonna explain each and every part of them to you over and over, and what each part means or doesn't mean. And then we're gonna do it again and again. But that doesn't guarantee that you will ever begin to understand it or apply it correctly". He was right about many.

Medulus
Moderator

Veteran Member
Posts:786

07/07/2008 2:03 PM
I think of myself as a quick learner. I have also never had a job (before becoming an adjuster) in which I continue to encounter something new or unexpected at least once every month or two. I've been doing this for 18 years now and continue to find situations which require me to return and read the policy again. In a recent job interview, I was asked how well I knew a particular type of policy. My answer was that I would never rely on what I "knew" a policy said, but that I would take it out and read it to make sure of what it said. That was, in fact, the answer for which the interviewer was looking. Now that I am dealing exclusively with commercial policies and the thousands of potential forms and combinations of forms that are used for commercial policies, it is even more important that I know how to read and understand a policy. My boss and I have coverage conferences almost weekly where I have to present my position and convince him that I have the correct reading of the policy. Steve Ebner CPCU AIC AMIM "With great power comes great responsibility." (Stanley Martin Lieber, Amazing Fantasy # 15 August 1962)

HuskerCat

Veteran Member
Posts:762

07/08/2008 12:34 AM
Good addition, Steve.....in my beginnings the carrier was about 75% commercial (all ISO) and them's a lot of forms. So, yeah, we didn't really memorize them all but came pretty darn close. But the main point was, when something strange came up, you knew where to look and you knew about potential other forms that might exist to address coverage (even when the agent didn't). It was funny how often a loss would come up and the agent would report it "for record only", and only thru our own inquiry find coverage for some losses. Then again, this company I started my career with was a stickler with the agencies for writing complete coverages even though some of the younger producers didn't initially realize what a good job they were really doing for their customers. For a young starter-outer, looking for a staff job, check out The Cincinnati Insurance Companies. They will train you well, treat you more than well, and pay you....well....I don't know, it's been along time ago. I doubt many on this site are familiar with The Cincinnati Cos, as they rarely used IA's, relying on staff to travel & gang tackle losses. For many years they led the Consumer Reports surveys with the #1 claims service for Indep Agency carriers in the nation, but I have not kept track of that now since about 2000. Any old CinFin guys from '92 to '98 reading out here?

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