Staff Adjuster

What Does Staff Adjuster Mean?

A staff adjuster is an insurance company employee responsible for investigating, evaluating, and settling claims. In some cases, a staff adjuster may directly issue payment to the insured on behalf of the company. Typically, staff adjusters are licensed in the state where they reside.

Insuranceopedia Explains Staff Adjuster

When an individual files an insurance claim, they typically contact their agent, who then refers them to a staff adjuster. Once the insured connects with the adjuster, claim negotiations commence. How quickly and fairly staff adjusters handle these negotiations is one of the biggest differences between the best car insurance companies and everyone else, which is why claim satisfaction scores are worth checking before you buy a policy.

Staff adjusters are often evaluated based on the number of claims they settle within a specific timeframe, usually monthly. Therefore, it benefits the adjuster to resolve claims promptly. Adjusters are also assigned a financial limit, often undisclosed, on the amount they can award the insured. This limit tends to increase with the adjuster’s experience. That limit is one reason disputes tend to come up over expensive losses, like what happens when your car is totaled and the adjuster’s valuation comes in below what you think the vehicle is worth.

If the adjuster and the insured cannot agree on the claim’s value, the case is escalated to a claims manager or claims lawyer to continue negotiations. This same process applies on the property side, and reviewing the best homeowners insurance companies and their claims reputations before you need to file can save you a lot of frustration later.