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Job description: Personal Claims Advisor
As a personal claims advisor, you will deal with claims made on insurance policies. You could also be known as claims administrator, settler, technician or assessor.
You would usually specialise in one type of insurance, such as motor, household or life insurance, and tend to deal with straightforward claims that fall within an agreed payout limit. Your work would involve:
- Taking details when a customer reports a claim
- Issuing claim forms and advising customers
- Checking claims
- Making sure that that premiums have been paid and that the policy covers the claim
- Gathering information such as receipts, photographs or valuations
- Telling customers how their claim might affect their policy premiums in the future
- Arranging payments on straightforward claims
- Referring doubtful, complex or high-value claims to a claims manager.
With experience, you could work as a claims negotiator, investigating more complex claims and negotiating with solicitors, insurers and clients before agreeing to pay out.
Hours and Environment
In a full-time job you'll work 35 to 40 hours a week, in an insurance office or contact centre. The normal hours in insurance offices are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. In contact centres, shift work is common and may include evenings and weekends.
You would be office-based, and spend most of your time on the phone and using a computer.
Skills and Interests
To be a personal claims advisor you'll need:
- Good spoken and written communication skills
- Excellent customer service skills
- Accuracy and attention to detail
- Tact and assertiveness when dealing with customers who may be distressed or angry
- The ability to work well under pressure
- Good administrative and computer keyboard skills
- Respect for confidential information.
Entry
Entry requirements vary between employers in the insurance industry. Some companies may prefer you to have GCSEs (A-C) including English and maths, others may value your customer service and administrative skills more than qualifications. You may need A levels or similar qualifications to get onto management training schemes.
You will find it useful to have experience in office work or customer service, whatever qualifications you have.
If you have a degree, you may be able to join a large insurance firm's graduate training scheme. Most degree subjects are accepted, but you may have an advantage with a good degree (class 2:2 or above) in a business or maths-related subject.
You may be able to get into the insurance industry through an Apprenticeship scheme. The range of Apprenticeships available in your area will depend on the local jobs market and the types of skills employers need from their workers. For more information on Apprenticeships, visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk.
Training
This will be a mixture of on-the-job learning and study for insurance industry qualifications, possibly through your company's structured training scheme.
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) provides a clear career structure from trainee to professional level, with qualifications as follows:
- CII Certificate in Insurance
- CII Diploma in Insurance
- CII Advanced Diploma in Insurance, leading to Associate membership of the CII (ACII status).
See the CII's website for more details about their qualifications.
Many employers expect you to have or be working towards full ACII status as your career progresses (see the Insurance Claims Manager profile for more details).
Some employers offer other entry-level insurance qualifications, such as the ifs School of Finance Certificate of Regulated General Insurance (CeRGI).
You should continue to develop your insurance knowledge and skills throughout your career. The CII and ifs School of Finance both run a range of short courses at training centres throughout the UK - see their websites for more information.
Opportunities
You could work for insurance companies or brokers all over the UK. Jobs may be advertised in the local press, in industry magazines, and by financial services recruitment agencies.
With experience, you could be promoted to claims manager. You could also move into other areas of insurance like loss adjusting, broking, account management or compliance.
Annual Income
Figures are a guide only.
- Starting salaries can be around £11,000 to £16,000 a year.
- Graduate trainees or experienced personal claims advisors may earn up to £20,000 a year.
- Claims negotiators can earn £18,000 to £30,000 a year.
Salary packages may also include insurance, pension benefits and bonuses based on personal or company performance.
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