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Posted By bdwood on 17 Apr 2010 04:51 PM
I guess my long rant can be summed up in one word. RESPECT. Very few companies have it for the field adjuster. Working as a team has become a thing of the past. It all upsets me because I love working claims, dealing with people, even the difficult ones. I refuse to be used and disrespected. Yes indeed, a spot has just opened up for someone. I wish them all the luck in the world.

Actually, I've rarely ever had a problem closing an average file within 30 days, if everybody in the chain does their job.  My last assignment in New Orleans was with an independant who kept loosing files, didn't know who he originally made the assignments to and was never available to assist with questions or issues.  60 days after I closed my last file, I was still getting calls from insureds about their payments. 

If you've been in the business for anytime at all, you've seen management decisions made that you knew was going to cause problems.  The last major company I worked for was so poorly managed that employees were talking about the end a couple of years before it finally happened.  Watching the train wreck became an often repeated comment.  In today's environment, more and more companies are making claims requirement decisions that destroy customer service and increase the cost of claim settlement.  Amazing!  Common sense would say that everything has a cost, either in dollars and cents or in customer service.  Any company that looses site of customer service is doomed!  Good customer service requires more than lip service. 

Posted By bdwood on 20 Apr 2010 09:44 AM

 In today's environment, more and more companies are making claims requirement decisions that destroy customer service and increase the cost of claim settlement. 

Unfortunately that is a fact in the insurance business. I have been fortunate enough (maybe) to have been on different sides of the fence in the business. From owning an agency, to working staff auto, and now independent. I have seen companies go from all about customer service to all about the the bottom line numbers and cutting costs. It is a pendulum that swings, and eventually swings back again. I have seen independents called the saviours when companies had more claims than could be handled, and then pegged as the major cause of the underwriting losses posted the next year. Hopefully you have more of the good times than bad, but one thing is for sure, you will have both, and the pendulum will swing back.

JWG

I'm not a PA.  I've been a field adjuster, supervisor, manager, auditor, etc. but never a PA.  I'm not sure I'd be very good at that.  The very best PA's can work for they clients without laughing.