What is the Meaning of an Insurance Adjuster and What does it do?

An Insurance Adjuster or a Claim Adjuster is a person that is responsible for checking and investigating the facts related to the claims made. An adjuster works on behalf of the insurance company and helps in determining the amount they have to pay.

Why does Insurance Companies have an Adjuster?

Insurance companies before providing you with the claim have to make sure that the claim is legitimate. There can be many causes such as the party claiming more than the loss, or claims being made even without a loss.

To remove the possibility of fraudulent claims, insurance companies do their share of due diligence, just to make sure they do not pay more than they need to. To do this, insurance providers have an adjuster.

This can be outsourced or in-house depending on the firm.

What does an Insurance Adjuster do?

An insurance adjuster is responsible for determining the amount that the insurance company will ultimately pay towards the claim made by you.

Here are the activities an Adjuster performs:

1. Visits the site of the claim and does a full inspection of the property and reported loss

2. Determines which part of the claim are covered in the policy

3. Contacts the insured along with the other parties involved

4. Gathers information from police/doctors or any other authority involved

5. Develops a detailed report for the insurance company

For example, if you got involved in a road accident and your car is damaged, then the insurance company will not give the claim as it is. An insurance adjuster will assess the damage and submit a report to the insurer first. The insurer will pay or reject claims based on the adjuster’s report.