Four consecutive NatCat events across Canada this summer have severely tested the stress limits for teams at adjusting and home restoration firms.
Indeed, the volume of claims from floods, fires and hailstorms in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta have slowed some claims closures, highlighting the need for adjusting and restoration firms to boost hiring.
So far this year, Canadian property and casualty insurers have paid out $7.7 billion in insured damage, $7.1 billion of which was from four large Cats this summer — the Calgary hailstorm ($2.8 billion), flooding in Quebec ($2.5 billion), Toronto flooding ($940 million) and the Jasper, Alta. wildfire ($880 million). And the most recent forecast show this number has climbed to $8.3 billion, driven by heavy rainfall and flooding in British Columbia in October.
Workforce strains from that upward shift have independent adjuster (IA) firms widening their recruiting lenses to source candidates from professions with skillsets complimentary to insurance claims work.
One Canadian IA looking to fast track candidates has developed a specialized program to enhance recruitment, say Crawford & Company (Canada) president Greg Smith and Cortney Young, vice president for Platforms Solutions & Contractor Connection Canada.
“It draws adjusters with diverse experience from outside of Canada, as well as new graduates who have an interest in insurance,” the two executives tell Canadian Underwriter. “Core skills around customer service and problem-solving are easily found across a variety of fields and create great candidates for loss adjusting.”
Related: Yes, adjusters are ‘adjusting’ to fast-paced Nat Cats
They note their firm also offers development roles to help candidates garner needed skills to work in adjusting jobs, such as contents evaluators and customer service agents.
There also are roles in the firm’s inspection services branch that help train people to work as inspectors to “lessen the burden on contractors and field resources when it comes to gathering site damage information and delivering it back to a desk to write an estimate,” Smith and Young say.
New fields
As for jobs with transferable skills, both executives note people in the construction sector have essential knowledge about building systems, and the repair and restoration process. Likewise, those working in retail frequently bring people skills, customer service techniques and aptitude for problem-solving to the adjusting field.
“Folks in the legal field have a deep understanding of contracts and liability and those in the hospitality industry often have great experience working in fast-paced environments with many customer-centric interactions,” the two executives say.
And while those skill are generally transferable to adjusting, the two explain the specialized nature of insurance means niche business skill sets also are in demand at IAs.
“Claims are as diverse as the broader economy; we find that many of our adjusters’ specializations are linked to prior experience,” Smith and Young tell CU.
“For example, adjusters handling cyber claims can leverage a technology background, while those handling business interruption claims can leverage a finance or accounting background. Additionally, adjusters handling marine claims can leverage a background in recreational boating or any commercial marine experience.”
Feature image by iStock/Gwengoat
