- The insurance industry plays a critical and commonly underestimated role in the US economy, including being one of the largest investors financing large-scale public and private investments in the country.
- Insurance agents and claims adjusters are important players in the industry, and thus by extension, in the US economy, being positioned at the strategically crucial interface between clients and insurance companies.
- In the context of the increased risks associated for instance with the Covid pandemic and greater prevalence of severe weather events, the role of agents and adjusters in facilitating the continuation of economic activity has become increasingly significant one.
According to the U.S. Chamber, the insurance industry plays an increasingly important role in the US economy. This is done by paying claims and receiving premiums, as well as by acting as one of the biggest sources of financing in the country, supporting over $5 trillion in public and private sector investments.
Insurance companies are also having to meet the growing need for financial risk mitigation in an era of unprecedented national and global insecurity. Due to this, the role of insurance agents and adjusters have increased in importance.
Insurance agents: vital intermediaries
As the complexity and scope of insurance has vastly increased, the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be an additional challenge for insurance agents. Insurance agents have seen a dramatic drop in demand as unemployment rates increased due to lockdown-related economic restrictions and regulations. Due to social distancing, many prospective and existing clients have been reluctant to meet with agents in person. This has removed the direct interpersonal interaction that is so crucial for serving and building relationships with clients.
Nevertheless, as the principal intermediaries between clients and insurance companies, insurance agents have an increasingly valuable contribution to the contemporary US economy. Agents fulfill a vital function of supporting clients to manage and mitigate their financial risks in the face of the rising economic, social, political, and environmental instability. In this context, agents licensed to assist with property and casualty insurance have a particularly important contribution to make and are highly sought after by clients seeking greater risk protection. Insurance agents also have a critical contribution to make in assisting clients to navigate the increasingly complex, differentiated nature of insurance.
Claims adjusters: ensuring fairness and efficiency in insurance
The services of skilled claims adjusters has also become increasingly important in the contemporary US economy. This is due to the growing complexity and differentiation of insurance offerings, as well as the increasing number of claims being filed over the last decade. The increase in the number of claims can be attributed to global warming, with catastrophic weather events being the result. More recently, there has been an increase in health-related claims due to the COVID-19 claims.
Claims adjusters have a pivotal role to play by facilitating the fair, effective and efficient evaluation and processing of insurance claims. This is vital for giving both private and public sector clients the financial protection and confidence necessary to engage in meaningful commercial activity. During the current period of heightened economic uncertainty and risk, the importance of bolstering the confidence of both small and large actors in the US economy cannot be overstated. Along with agents, claims adjusters are positioned to make the most direct and substantive impact on client experiences. As such adjusters can make a crucial contribution, not only to clients but also to insurers trying to boost revenues and remain profitable in a highly competitive and uncertain business environment.
While the ability of adjusters to fulfill this pivotal function in the US economy has been constrained by the growing number and diversity of claims, the advent of new technology, such as artificial intelligence, is dramatically expanding the capacity of adjusters to process claims in a fair, effective and efficient manner that ultimately benefits, clients, insurance companies, and, ultimately, the US economy.
The bottom line
The need to manage risk is greater than ever, so insurance agents and adjusters will continue to play a pivotal role in the US economy. Though some aspects of their role have changed, they continue to have an important contribution to make by helping clients and insurance providers to manage risk together in a manner that is mutually beneficial, and that yields synergistic benefits for the broader economy. For aspiring insurance professionals who would like to become an insurance or claims adjuster, The Really Useful Information Company (TRUiC) is able to offer a licensing resource.
