Claims adjuster
Investigate accidents and damage to people's property or businesses. Decide how much money the insurance company should pay in compensation.
About the job
Salary
Source: National Careers Service
Weekly
£385
Entry level
£1,250
Experienced
Monthly
£1,667
Entry level
£5,417
Experienced
Yearly
£20,000
Entry level
£65,000
Experienced
5,900
people are currently employed
High growth
300 more jobs in 5 years
These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics
What it's like
You would investigate damage to people’s property or to businesses. You’d decide how much money the insurance company should pay in compensation.
You’d look into large or complicated claims on behalf of an insurance company.
You would usually specialise in either domestic household claims from individuals or commercial claims by businesses.
They could be claiming compensation for anything from damage due to a fire or a flood, to loss because of theft or fraud.
You would:
visit sites to see the damage
interview customers about the claim
gather evidence, such as security camera footage and police reports
request detailed reports from specialists, like building surveyors
check that the policy will cover the loss and that the customer is claiming a reasonable amount
organise clean-up or salvage operations, or arrange large-scale building repairs
make further investigations if you suspect fraud
give evidence in court in fraud cases
complete relevant paperwork
present a report to the insurers, with recommendations on how much should be paid out
advise claimants on how to avoid further losses
You might carry out several inspections a day. With more complicated claims, it could take you several days to process one claim.
Hours
Travel
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Financial services
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:
- negotiating
- taking initiative
- managing resources
- developing a plan
- empathising
- researching
- questioning
- working with numbers
- evaluating
- verbal communication
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.
You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.
Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Accounting
Business
Mathematics
Statistics
Foundation Apprenticeship: Financial Services
Applications of Mathematics
You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.
You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.
Discover what's on offer at your school on Apprenticeships.scot.
You would need an honours degree (SCQF level 10) at 2:2 or above to enter graduate training or you can work towards relevant Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) qualifications while in a claims or management job.
Larger insurance broking companies increasingly offer graduate training programmes,
Degrees in accountancy, business, engineering, insurance, law or surveying and relevant work experience are helpful prior to training in loss adjusting.
To qualify as a loss adjuster while in a relevant job you will need to complete the Diploma of the Chartered Institute of Insurance (CII) with claims management.
To become a CILA Associate and get Chartered Loss Adjuster status you must pass three CILA exams and have five years' experience as an independent loss adjuster.
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