“Continuing education, what a nightmare!” was what one claim manager said when he learned for the first time that adjusters in his newly formed national claim operation had to be licensed in 16 states (soon to be 17) and comply with continuing-education requirements in seven.

“Different states, different credit requirements, different CE compliance periods, different administration requirements! How much is this going to cost? What will be the impact on my budget? This is just another headache to worry about in the claim service delivery process!”

Four other issues were wrapped up in his statement:

1. The trend to centralize claim operations. Adjusters routinely handle claims in numerous states. The days of having part of a state as an adjuster's territory are gone and will not be returning anytime soon.
2. Licensing issues. Licensing becomes extremely difficult when your centralized claim operation is located in a non-licensing state. Telling adjusters that they must be licensed and meet CE requirements in numerous states as part of their job requirement is a hard sell at best. Why stay with an employer who makes you handle licensing on your own? Affected adjusters tend to seek employment elsewhere, adding themselves to the industry's 20-25 percent annual turnover rate.
3. Outsourcing to avoid adding to headcount. Claim managers not only have to worry about their direct reporting staffs being compliant with licensing laws, but also the firms that handle the claims they outsouce. Independent adjusters have to be licensed in more states and have more CE requirements than staff adjusters.
4. Penalties if you don't comply. The fines are really big — in many cases hundreds of thousands of dollars. State insurance departments are cracking down, and licensing issues are a routine part of market conduct examinations.

This article examines states' requirements for staff adjusters' continuing education and current compliance issues. Information contained is the result of a survey of 28 property and casualty insurance companies throughout the U.S. Some of the findings are unexpected and surprising.