Overworked, Underpaid, and Underappreciated?

This issue marks the 16th year Claims has been polling its readers in order to gain a better understanding of salaries and working conditions for the insurance claim industry. The survey also is meant to convey opinions of carrier adjusters, managers, and independents. Of course, salary history is important and there is no shortage of those ready to give their honest opinions on which direction they believed the profession is headed. A few respondents even questioned if adjusting was even a profession anymore. Given that this year’s headline came directly from the comments we received, that should not come as a surprise to those in the know.

Demographics for this year’s survey remained in line with previous years’ surveys. A majority of respondents — almost 40 percent — listed themselves as claim managers or supervisors. Those who listed themselves as owners, presidents/CEOs, and vice presidents made up 30 percent of the responses. Twenty-two percent listed themselves as claim adjusters. In terms of division between independent and insurer claim staffs, 68 percent of respondents listed themselves as employed by insurers versus 32 percent for independent survey takers.