Traditional loss adjusting work is decreasing and may eventually disappear, the president of the Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters (AICLA) has warned.
President Michael Collins said colleagues in Australia, with the implementation of builders’ models and ‘off shoring’ already having an impact, loss adjusters were now experiencing a decrease in some lines of work, and in New Zealand, they had noticed a decrease in the smaller value and higher volume lines of loss adjusting work.
The warning, which came in the AICLA’s latest monthly newsletter LA News, was sparked by Collins’ meeting with his UK counterpart Benedict Burke, president of the CILA.
Burke said loss adjusters in the UK had experienced a 30% decrease in ‘business as usual’ work over the past three years.
“They face similar issues as we do whereby insurers are implementing different types of claims assessing models that either remove or limit the use of loss adjusters,” Collins said.
“Naturally this is of great concern to our UK colleagues and it is anticipated that some lines of work will continue to decrease and eventually disappear altogether.
“It would be unrealistic for us to sit back and think that won’t happen in our patch,” he added.
Collins said disappearing loss adjusting work posed a two-fold problem: “Not only is it a reduction of work for those who are still practicing, but it is also a reduction and/or depletion of the traditional ‘bread and butter’ work that newcomers to our profession ‘cut their teeth on’ just like we did.”
“With the probability of that work diminishing altogether, it will be difficult for a newcomer to enter our profession and be expected to understand and take on a major loss or a complicated claim on day one,” Colin said.
“Whilst some of us continue to assess only these types of claims, for many they have been the foundation upon which they have built their careers,” Collins added.
He suggested colleagues stay aware of change, keep themselves up to date and remain informed in order to minimise as much surprise or impact as possible.
