Claims Analytics Help Plug Adjuster Talent Gap

Sophisticated analytics are making up for some of the talent drain in the claims management profession.

Experienced adjusters were leaving their positions even before the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend that has accelerated as claims professionals -- like many in other occupations -- have decided to make career changes, said Adam Wesson, Reading, Massachusetts-based director of claims solutions at Verisk Analytics Inc.’s ISO Claims Partners.

‘One of the ways to overcome that is by leveraging data,’ Mr. Wesson said. Predictive analytics are more important than ever in managing claims when experienced handlers are scarce and claims costs are rising, he said.

‘Using objective data helps prevent claims from falling through the cracks,’ he said. Inexperienced adjusters might not identify the potential severity of a claim that a model would alert them to address, Mr. Wesson said.

Skip Brechtel, executive vice president and chief information officer at Cannon Cochran Management Services Inc. in Metairie, Louisiana, said its analytics tool helps train new hires.