Career Path Chart

The focus is typically on being a ‘sponge’ to begin learning the craft of the insurance business and exposing yourself to as many different facets of the industry and your role as a loss adjuster as possible.

Curiosity

Focus on the Customer

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Detail Oriented

Both Formal and Informal mentorship can prove valuable – visit the Mentoring Advantage website for tools and tips on maximizing the mentoring relationship. Your company may also have resources and opportunities available.

These relationships may be most beneficial in the areas of solidifying foundational insurance knowledge and drawing on the mentor’s insurance experience and subject matter expertise.

You may have completed or are working towards your first course C11 – Principles and Practices of the Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation or the Insurance or General Insurance Essentials (GIE) Certificate (giving you credit towards your C11) through the Insurance Institute of Canada.

If you are a pursuing a career as an independent adjuster – you will have already completed or are working towards your Level 1 Licence.

You will likely be able to leverage your learning from your studies, internal training programs/seminars offered through your company, or other work experiences (particularly in health care, legal, automotive, construction or customer service) to help you get started in your insurance career

Focus on building your knowledge of Insurance Fundamentals, the ins and outs of the claims management process, policy wordings for the products you will be working with and planning for additional courses towards your CIP Designation.

In your early adjusting career, you are focused on learning the fundamentals of insurance and the ins and outs of the claims management process.

The claims you are handling are not overly complex but often represent the core of the personal and commercial insurance risks held by the insurance organization you work for.

Your focus will be on developing skills in the following areas:

• Taking detailed information from clients concerning the nature of their claim; and, applying the wordings, endorsements, and limits outlined in their insurance policy to begin processing the claim

• Using tools and resources available to help you examine and evaluate the claim

• Providing solutions or referrals within the parameters established within the insurance policy

• Developing a solid understanding of the products and lines of business available within your organization

• Ensuring completion of required forms and documentation in accordance with regulatory and company standards

• Building a vast network of professionals (ie legal, healthcare, restoration services, construction, etc.)

• Demonstrating capacity in managing multiple client needs and priorities, working to tight timelines, and being proactive in responding to emerging issues

• Focusing on developing solid business communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills; rapport building strategies and empathizing with clients will be particular useful

• Developing understanding of the legal and regulatory framework governing the insurance sector

Subscribe to on-line newsletters and industry publications (ie. Thompsons, Claims Canada), visit industry websites, and monitor social media channels (ie. Insurance Institute’s LinkedIN Group, Twitter) to broaden your global industry awareness

Consider joining professional associations (ie.your Provincial Adjusters Association, Canadian Independent Adjusters Association ), attending Claims Conferences through your Provincial Adjusters Association or becoming involved at your local Institute/Chapter.

Demonstrating leadership as you begin your career as a claims professional can come in many forms. Likely though, it begins with listening and curiosity. Some of the industry’s most respected leaders are known for hearing what others are saying, synthesizing information, asking the right questions, and recommending a course of action based on what they have heard.

At this stage, you will be in a prime position to ask questions, make connections, and establish your capacity to actively listen to colleagues, managers, clients/brokers, and the industry’s emerging trends and issues. In this process, you will be establishing other solid foundations for leadership competencies including respect, reliability, and engagement in the business.

Continue to focus on growing your knowledge and experience in order to increase your capacity to manage your claims with more independence.

This is also a time where you may become more aware of other specialties and options available to you– personal or commercial lines of business, automobile claims, bodily injury/accident benefits, liability, property, or casualty claims are examples of areas of specialization.

It is important to try to understand the options available and learn as much as you can about them – whether through exposure on the job, learning in the classroom, mentorship, or simply doing some research on line.

From here, you can decide which ones fit with who you are, what you are good at, and offers possibilities that are in line with what you would like in the next step in your career.

Preparing for multiple possibilities at this point in your career can help keep your options open.

Analytical

Team Player

Influencer without Authority

Conflict Manager

Relationship Builder

Ethical Decision Making

Formal and informal mentorship can prove valuable – visit the Mentoring Advantage website for tools and tips on maximizing the mentoring relationship. Your company may also have resources and opportunities available.

These relationships may be most beneficial in the areas of understanding how to adapt general knowledge to fit the needs of more specialized claims, ethical decision making, understanding different facets/roles of the insurance business, drivers of policy making (both internal and external) and leveraging the mentor’s insurance experience and subject matter expertise for a particular problem or need on the job.

As you build your knowledge through the Mandatory (C12 – Insurance on Property, C13 – Insurance Agent Liability - Part 1, and C14 Automobile Insurance – Part 1) and Applied Professional Stream courses (ie. C110 Essentials of Loss Adjusting), as part of your Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation, you will find that you are prepared to address increasingly complex claims, involve multiple tertiary providers (ie. restoration services, health care, legal, counselling services, assessment, etc.) and operate with a broader scope of settlement authority.

Depending on the size and scope of the risks the insurance organization you are working for, you may also specialize in the types of claims you are managing. Elective Courses such as C32 – Bodily Injury Claims, C36 – Building Construction, Fire Hazards, and Basic Hazards, C37 – Special Hazards and Processes, or C39 – Fraud Awareness and Prevention are helpful to address these particular business needs.

Continue to build your insurance knowledge by completing your CIP designation, through specialized seminars (ie. Understanding Bodily Injury, Fraud, Flood/Fire claims, Legal Processes) and e-learning/webinars.

If you are working as an independent adjuster, on-going learning will be key to completing the Continuing Education Credits required to maintain your licence.

The focus at this stage in your claims career is building on the insurance fundamentals and experiences you have had to date.

As your experience builds, the nature of the claims you are working with will become increasingly complex and you will be able to operate with a greater scope of authority to manage and settle claims on behalf of your organization.

Often, your focus will be on growing your confidence and experience in the following areas:

• Building more specialized product knowledge and expertise

• Growing your comfort in managing the claims process and settling claims within the parameters outlined in the insurance policy as required with minimal supervision; fostering your negotiation and influencing skills will be essential

• Increasing level of ‘uniqueness’ and nuance applied to the claims management process; eg. catastrophic or total loss

• Applying and adapting general insurance principles to specialized claims or situations

• Increasing capacity to engage in qualitative policy contract analysis; this contributes to supporting the mediation and settlement process

• Developing and maintaining strong working relationships internally with industry professionals (loss control, risk management specialists, underwriters etc.) and externally with the legal, healthcare, restoration services, and construction services that support the claims process

• Building understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that governs the insurance industry

• Demonstrating capacity to take initiative, multitask, manage an increased number of ‘active’ claims, and deliver on promises

• Depending on the size and scope of your organization you may be engaged in supporting the claims audit process

• Leveraging strong business communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills to support success in engaging clients, stakeholders, etc.

Attend industry conventions and special events

Connect and network with other adjusters, vendors/tertiary providers, and insurers (eg. Claims Seminars, Golf Tournaments)

Volunteer at an organization that resonates with you or at an industry function (ie Institute Convocation, Awards Luncheon, Trends Breakfast, etc.)

At this point in your career, you are starting to better understand the nature of the claims process and the business of insurance. Your knowledge, operational capacity, and experience are all in growth mode. From a leadership perspective, this is an opportunity to continue to hone your business acumen and focus on your skills in building strong working relationships both within your organization and externally (ie Underwriters/Wordings Consultants, regulators, tertiary vendors – restoration companies, lawyers, mediators, healthcare professionals, etc.). These skills combined with a strong sense of ethics and teamwork will go a long way in demonstrating your capacity for leadership.

This time in your career may involve a period or periods of questioning what is next – continuing to specialize in a particular claims area, looking at diversifying your claims experience, considering whether to look at becoming engaged with Business Development or Account Management (if you are working independently), looking at Claims Investigation/Special Investigation as a next step, or even considering people leadership as a team lead or frontline manager.

It is important to consider your skills, values, education, and experiences. From here you can take stock about what you are proficient in, what you would like to learn or grow your capacity in next, and make decisions about what your next steps might look like.

You may find it helpful to talk to your manager or HR department about these options in more detail and the tools that are available to support your continued development.

Critical Thinker

Problem Solver

Negotiator

Trends Seeker

Technical Specialist

Formal and informal mentorship can prove valuable – visit the Mentoring Advantage website for tools and tips on maximizing the mentoring relationship. Your company may also have resources and opportunities available.

These relationships may prove to be most valuable in the areas of seeking advice around a tough business question or decision, next steps in your career path, and to validate a course of action in managing a particular account relationship or product need.

If you are pursuing a career as an independent adjuster, you will already have completed or are working towards your Level 2 Licence.

It is likely that you are deepening your experience and expertise within a specialty within the claims area of your organization – Bodily Injury, Liability, Accident Benefits, Property, Commercial, Investigations, etc. are all examples of potential areas for specialization. You may also decide to explore other specialties to broaden your scope/understanding of the claims space.

As such, you may find that additional learning through the Advanced Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP Adv) Certificate is helpful in supporting your work in the claims space.

There are suggested pathways for claims professionals which include completion of additional courses in the Claims Applied Professionals Stream ( C111 - Advanced Loss Adjusting), looking at increasing your specialization in areas like C32 - Bodily Injury Claims or C39 - Fraud Awareness and Prevention, and a capstone focused on advanced issues impacting the business of insurance within the claims area.

You may also find the advanced seminar series with topics focused on legislative changes, critical coverages, or emerging trends, events/webinars offered through the CIP Society, the Management Development Series, Claims focused seminars, legal workshops and e-learning offerings helpful in continuing to enhance your insurance knowledge and stay current with emerging trends across the industry.

You are managing claims with high degrees of nuance and complexity. At this stage in your career, you are also operating with a higher degree of independence, are representing the company you work for in mediation and have a growing scope of authority.

Often, the focus in your career will evolve to enhancing your knowledge and expertise as it pertains to a particular specialty within the claims area.

More often than not, at this point in your career you may be enhancing your skills in the following areas:

• Applying specialized insurance knowledge and expertise to an array of claims within a particular niche or product area

• Growing your capacity to manage claims, mediations, external contracting, etc. independently

• Supporting underwriting and actuarial teams in new product development and/or revision to wordings based on outcomes from the claims management process

• If working independently, you will leverage strong working relationships internally with industry professionals (loss control, claims, legal, etc.) and externally to support account management and business development

• Advancing your understanding of the legal and regulatory considerations and drivers within the insurance sector; includes understanding of conducting claims audit

• Demonstrating capacity to generate solutions, recommendations, and approaches to emerging issues with minimal input/supervision; may involve providing support to other adjusters/professionals within your department

Increase your engagement with your local Institute/Chapter. You may be interested in joining a committee or working group.

There are also several boards, Associations and working groups within the Claims area of the business that you might consider becoming involved with depending on your interests and area of specialization, i.e. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Canadian Independent Adjusters Association, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, etc.

Continue to think about expanding your insurance network – eg. connecting with other professionals working in your area of specialty – building your tertiary/vendor network, and attending events focused on your emerging areas of interest.

Consider becoming an industry Ambassador through the Insurance Institute’s Career Connections Program

At this stage, you are likely to be comfortable in your role and demonstrate a high degree of business acumen as your scope of authority and influence over the claims management process continues to increase.

In looking at leadership, you may be thinking about your future roles and whether you would like to be a technical consultant or manager of people. Either require the capacity to work more autonomously, sound problem solving and decision making skills, and an ability to think critically about a situation and its potential impact on your area/organization.

This stage in your career may also provide opportunities for ‘stretch’ assignments, serving as part of project teams/internal committees, or engaging in process improvements within your functional area.

At this stage in your career it is often fair to state that you have deep knowledge and expertise of the claims areas you have worked in.

There may be mechanisms for you to share your expertise with those with less industry knowledge and experience within your organization either as a senior adjuster or operational leader.

There might also be opportunity for you to move into Loss Control, consulting on policy wordings, fraud investigations, or even risk management for a particular product line or specialty.

You will want to evaluate which ‘track’ feels more in keeping with who you are, what you want to do, and what you can offer your organization.

You may find it helpful to talk to your manager or HR department about these options in more detail and the tools that are available to support your continued development.

Consultant

Technical Expert

Operational Leader

Conflict Manager

Given the level of knowledge and experience you likely have amassed at this point in your career, you may be thinking about becoming a mentor yourself. There are lots of great tools on the Mentoring Advantage website that can assist you in your transition from mentee to mentor.

Keep in mind, even senior leaders talk about the importance and value they place on being mentored throughout their career.

Your time with a mentor may be most beneficial if the discussion has a focus on best practices in decision making, business planning, and/or growing your capacity as a leader.

Loss adjusters at this stage in their career are functioning virtually independently and require high degrees of subject matter expertise to manage and advise other adjusters with less experience on the claims process.

If you are pursuing a career as independent adjuster, you will already have completed or are working towards your Level 3 Licence.

Knowledge required at this stage in your career can be further developed by pursuing the Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) designation and supported through advanced level seminars, CIP Society offerings, Management Development Series, and/or workshops/special events targeted to your area of focus within the industry.

Often at this stage in your claims career you are managing claims independently and may be called upon to supervise the work of claims adjusters with less industry experience.

The decisions you are making at this stage in your claims career can often impact the overall financial health of the organizations you represent and influence the procedures, policy, and approach to business at a macro level.

Typically at this stage in your career your skills and experiences will be focused on:

• Transitioning to and serving as a consultant to less experienced adjusters

• Providing expert knowledge and direction to consumers, internal customers, and a vast network of tertiary support (ie. healthcare, legal, assessment, restoration services, etc.)

• Contributing to project teams leading new product development or revising product offerings based on outcomes and recommendations from the claims area of the business

• Supporting the development of policies and procedures related to reserving practices, claims auditing, and complex legal processes (ie. class action, binding arbitration, etc.)

• Effective management of key policies and accounts

• Developing capacity to transfer knowledge, provide counsel, and/or lead teams effectively

• Ensuring internal and external risks are mitigated or controlled appropriately through both insurance coverages and continuity planning

• Leveraging strong working relationships internally with industry professionals (loss control, risk management, actuarial, claims, legal, etc.) and externally to support operations and development

• Supporting projects implementing new/revised claims management systems

You may also be growing your capacity and comfort level in leading and managing teams.

You may be interested in volunteering as a member of a local council, becoming an Institute Instructor, or working on a national task force.

Value may also be found in increasing your involvement with industry associations or organizations related to claims at the provincial or national level.

There may also be opportunities to participate in research being conducted within the industry, roundtable/panel discussions, or to present on a topic at an industry conference or event.

Continue to engage your insurance network through participation in industry events, conferences, and functions

This stage of your career allows for you to offer your deep knowledge of the claims function to the benefit of others. This can come in the form of being a technical expert of moving into a capacity where you are managing people.

Both facets will require you to ensure you have capacity or experience in building cross functional relationships, managing conflict effectively, and have a high degree of comfort in taking complex principles and communicating them in an accessible way (both verbally and written) to colleagues, clients, senior management, and external stakeholders.

If you are on a people management track, you may be looking to expand your experience in building effective teams, fostering a climate of engagement, and building your management skills.

This stage may also provide an opportunity for ‘stretch’ assignments with a leadership focus, leading project teams/internal committees, or managing day-to-day functions within your department.