Veterans Looking for Work

Two months ago, Zach Mason was one of 211,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who were jobless. Zach was nine months removed from a two-year stint in Afghanistan, where he served as a military combat engineer. He possessed excellent technical skills, was physically fit, had a great attitude, and wasn't afraid of hard work. He bounced around between some college classes, bartending and selling cars but quickly realized these were short-term solutions with a young family to support.

Then in August of this year, someone introduced Zach to the world of independent claims adjusting. He felt the work was a perfect fit, given his military experience and the fact that he could be up and running quickly. Within a few short months, Zach was assisting with Superstorm Sandy reinspections for a major independent adjusting firm in New York. Zach describes his new line of work as “a job he can be proud of.”

Zach was fortunate to have a cousin who initially turned him on to a little known opportunity in insurance claims adjusting. But many veterans—more than 1 million according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—haven't yet found a full-time fit in the civilian world and remain unemployed.

Meanwhile, the claims industry soldiers on, grappling with the challenge of attracting young, competent talent to join its own ranks. Numerous articles appearing on PropertyCasualty360.com lament the shortage of industry entrants. In one of those articles, Laura Mazzuca Toops ­portrays the grim realities:

The report found three primary reasons why insurance can't attract talent: poor reputation, limited understanding among high school and college students of the industry's career opportunities, and a limited pool of trained talent.

Moreover, while organizations like the Griffith Foundation and The Institutes have made excellent strides since then to address these issues, the fact remains that insurance carriers, third-party administrators (TPAs) and independent adjusting firms finding it quite difficult to find skilled workers who are ready to fill the void left by an increasingly aging workforce.

A Viable Solution?

Could young veterans be the future superstars of claims? An article published last year by The Institute for Veterans and Military Families and the University of Syracuse made a compelling, data-driven case for hiring military personnel. The commentary went beyond mere sentiments of patriotism, concluding:

Academic research from the fields of business, psychology, sociology, and decision-making strongly links characteristic that are generally representative of military veterans to enhanced performance and organizational advantage in the context of a competitive and dynamic business environment. In other words, the academic research supports a robust, specific, and compelling business case for hiring individuals with military background and experience.

That particular article goes on to list ten specific areas in which veterans show heightened aptitudes that translate into effectiveness in the workplace. These include a high need for achievement, a high level of comfort with autonomy and uncertainty, and the ability to make good decisions in the face of dynamic and discontinuous environments. Further, the organization suggests that veterans are far more disposed to assume high levels of trust in coworkers and superiors, which “has been consistently highlighted in organizational behavior literature as a significant predictor of high-performing teams, organizational cohesion and morale, and effective governance systems.”

The Claims Connection

How might this translate specifically to the claims industry?

One area that would appear to be a very natural fit is that of independent adjusting, specifically catastrophe loss adjusting. This is because many vets are accustomed to the rigors of a deployment and the challenges and inconveniences accompanying a prolonged and often indefinite assignment. Stress, and particularly the capability to cope with it, is often cited as the top predictor of success among new independent adjusters. Technical aptitude, policy knowledge, and interpersonal skills are all important, but when the claims files start piling up and the pressure is on, it's about managing time and managing stress. Veterans have thousands of hours of training in this critical aptitude under their belts.

Moreover, veterans are accustomed to working independently and acting decisively on their own yet within a predetermined protocol. This is precisely the kind of balance required to be successful in the field as a cat adjuster. The rules of engagement for handling claims often changes by carrier for each storm. This translates to a unique set of marching orders for each event. Being able to adapt to those rules of engagement while being confident enough to execute without excessive handholding is critical to success.

By contrast, the maverick and excessively timid are both problematic personality profiles in an adjuster. Instilled in veterans, however, is the right balance of “can-do” and “will-do” from years of discipline and adherence to the principles, such as the Marine Corps' motto of “improvise, adapt, and overcome.”

Some adjusting firms are already attuned to this. Worley Catastrophe Response, for example, has been recruiting veterans for several years. Beyond the opportunity to help those who have honorably served our country, Worley views vets as ideal candidates to meet the challenges of independent adjusting. So far, the results have been exceedingly positive. Herb Carver, director of corporate development at Worley, notes that vets “understand real stress and come with a built-in empathy in helping one another.”

“They value leadership and the chain of command,” he says. “They [can also]improvise while maintaining a clear sense of mission. That's a unique and highly valuable set of core characteristics they bring from day one.”

Those core characteristics would find a happy home in nearly any position within the claims industry, not just independent adjusting. But how can we bridge the gap? While companies like Worley Cat are quietly making it happen already, advocacy groups, such as the Disabled Veterans Insurance Careers (DVIC) are making tremendous progress in connecting our troops with positions in the insurance industry. In addition, several schools have begun making it easier for veterans to train. AdjusterPro, for example, has developed the Insurance Claims Adjuster Professional (ICAP) designation. This 38-day intensive training program is ideally suited for veterans and has just been approved under the GI Bill.

Along these lines, an obvious way to help facilitate the transition of vets to the claims industry is to develop additional training programs that are approved for financial assistance by the Department of Veterans Affairs under the GI Bill. The Post-9/11 GI Bill, for example, allots up to 36 months of education benefits to those eligible, paying for upwards of $20,000 in tuition per year. Meanwhile, out-processing centers on various bases throughout the U.S. are filled with VA Transition Officers who are scouring the employment landscape for legitimate career-path opportunities in stable industries. They stand ready to help newly discharged vets apply these benefits.

In short, the Veterans Affairs Department is looking for careers such as those offered in the claims industry. They have the resources and motivation to help veterans make the transition. The fit is right. The only question that remains is how can p&c insurers prudently leverage their own resources as an industry to enlist them? Adapt. Improve. Overcome. It seems a little military influence could be a great thing.