Hitting the Road

Insurers looking to develop or augment their catastrophe response plan need look no further than the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association (CIAA).

Given the increased frequency of catastrophic events in Canada, planning has become a key issue within the industry. The CIAA has created a Catastrophic Response Resource as an answer to this industry issue. In the event of a catastrophe, insurers faced with an adjuster shortage will now have access to 28 CIAA member firms – and countless independent adjusters within those firms – across the country.

The catastrophe response plan is only one of many ways the CIAA is working to bolster its position in the industry as a go-to association for insurers. This continues to be an ongoing process, which began with a creative strategic plan during Patti Kernaghan’s tenure as national president in 2009. The new direction and focus of the association began with an in-depth survey to determine the industry’s opinions on independent adjusters and the CIAA. From there, the results of the survey were presented at an industry stakeholder meeting where the stakeholders made suggestions on where the CIAA should focus its energies. The key strategic priority was to differentiate CIAA members from other independent adjusters.

“The goal is for CIAA members to be recognized as the elite group of adjusters in the country because they adhere to stringent educational and ethical standards,” says Pat Battle, CIAA’s executive director. “The profile, as well as the recognition of the value and professionalism CIAA members provide their clients, will be elevated with increased marketing opportunities, using a variety of resources and forums.”

To achieve this goal, CIAA needed to determine which avenues to pursue first. At that time, Kernaghan, president of Kernaghan Adjusters, realized an advisory board was essential to ensure the association continued on the right path going forward. Thus the National Insurance Industry Advisory Board (NIIAB) was created.   

Joining the board

The board is comprised of eight industry stakeholders, including claims managers and brokers. Eight independent adjusters, including the CIAA’s national executive, represent both small and large member firms. “We needed a fair and very diverse group of people,” says Mary Charman, president of the CIAA and branch manager with Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.

A key objective was to get industry leaders in the independent adjusting world, the brokerage community and at the company level to be a sounding board to the CIAA membership. They would provide counsel, direction and input into the initiatives of the CIAA, says John Sharoun, CEO of Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.

“I’m very pleased to be a part of (the board),” says David Porter, president of Advance Claims Service Ltd. and the national executive director representing small member firms. “The challenge with CIAA is that, for too many years, we haven’t been providing enough value to our members. That’s why our membership started to decline. The advisory board is a great idea, as was the strategic planning. It started to develop a framework to move forward. What do we need to do? What are we not doing?”

When Kernaghan set out to create the industry stakeholder side of the board, she and the CIAA executive created a list of industry representatives from eight companies to sit on the committee. A second and third back-up list were also created, just in case. But “all eight [of the] companies [on the first list] agreed to come on to the board,” Kernaghan said. “It was a real testament to what we were trying to do – to bring together a group of claims professionals to address issues in the industry that affected independent adjusters and companies.”

Many industry representatives on the board joined without hesitation. “We have a vested interest in having a good relationship and a good forum to working with the CIAA to find solutions to common problems or issues,” says board member Larry Lythgoe, Ontario regional claims director with RSA.

“I joined because I believe strongly in the CIAA,” adds Bob Grouchy, assistant vice president and head of claims Canada at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Americas. “It is – or should be – the voice providing leadership for all independent adjusters in Canada. I believe it had lost its focus, so when Patti Kernaghan approached me to provide some ideas on how CIAA might re-tool and question its focus and become more important to its members, I was more than happy.”

For Justin MacGregor, past president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada, having a strong and healthy adjusting community, and a strong association, is beneficial to the broker community. “I think there’s a much stronger realization that they are part of a strong community, that they don’t stand on their own,” says MacGregor, executive vice president with Martin Merry & Reid Ltd. “First of all, they should be proud of what they do. Secondly, they’ve got strengths nobody really knows about. In many cases, even their own members don’t know about them.”  

Prior to attending the first meeting in December 2010, board members were asked to submit three burning issues that would be used as a launch pad to determine the CIAA’s first priorities. The list of 21 issues was narrowed down to two issues in the board’s first meeting: catastrophe preparedness and education.

After discussing strategic direction around these issues over the course of the next three meetings, a CIAA working committee took those ideas and began to work on making them a reality. The objective was to arrive at solutions. The catastrophe response plan is hailed as a testament to the commitment of the independent adjusters – both member firms and those who sit on the board – and the industry representatives on the board.

Catastrophe preparedness

The catastrophic response plan the CIAA established is two-fold. The first part, the Catastrophe Response Resource (CRR), was launched in May 2011. The second part, the mobility of labour in the event of a catastrophe, is currently in the works.

The CRR is a way for the CIAA to become a part of the insurer’s strategy for catastrophe preparedness, Kernaghan says. If an insurer does not have a plan in place – or the existing plan is not meeting the insurer’s needs during a catastrophe – they can count on the CIAA to send a call to its members for catastrophe adjusters. Insurers are able to visit the CIAA’s CRR site (www.ciaa-adjusters.ca/CIAACATResponse.aspx) and connect with a participating CIAA member firm. By contacting one of the participating firms, the insurer is guaranteed the member firm has at least five years of field experience handling property claims. Furthermore all member firms have either completed a scoping course, or have the required scoping expertise necessary to work in the field. Scoping is the creation of a document that highlights what needs to be repaired or replaced due to a loss.

All member firms have committed to being available at the drop of a hat in the event of a catastrophe. “Most independent adjusters are prepared to – or independent adjusting firms are geared to – do catastrophe claims,” Kernaghan says. “We act quickly to get to the site of the claim whether it’s in a catastrophe or not.”

The ability to call on a pool of independent adjusters during a catastrophe benefits insurers because they know they are getting knowledgeable, expert adjusters who are able to understand the loss, the needs of the insurer and go to a scene and handle the claim in a prompt and effective way, Grouchy says.

When it comes to catastrophes, the CIAA has a role to play in helping insurers and brokers identify and get in contact with resources as quickly and as effectively as possible, MacGregor says. “The same resources won’t be able to r
espond every time, so I think it’s important to have that availability to communicate quickly and effectively with the resources that are available,” he adds.

Currently independent adjusters must be licensed within the province in which they handle claims. There has been slow, steady work towards the possibility of eventually harmonizing licensing. A more pressing issue at this time is the ability for adjusters to move among provinces in the event of a catastrophe.

Mobility is not just an adjuster issue. This is not a matter of independents wanting to obtain business in other provinces, says Carol Jardine, senior vice president claims and administration services with TD Insurance. Insurers need adjusters during a catastrophe. “When there is a need, we need to be able to provide them with the regulatory access they require,” she says.

Insurance adjusters in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan fall under the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (formerly the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement which included B.C. and Alberta). Under the NWPTA, all three provinces have agreed to mutually recognize occupational standards so that insurance adjusters, among other professionals, can work in their field in all three provinces, according to Canada’s New West Partnership website. “Professionals and skilled tradespersons certified in one province will be recognized as qualified in all three provinces,” the site says. “The benefit of the NWPTA is that workers will not need to go through material examinations or training to practice their chosen occupation.”

Quebec and France have reached a similar agreement. The Autorité des marches financiers (AMF) in Quebec and the Organisme pour le registre des intermédiaires en assurances in France have reached an agreement to facilitate the mobility of insurance professionals between Quebec and France.

The CIAA will soon be sending a letter to the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) explaining the need for increased resources from across the country in the event of a catastrophe. Deploying adjusters quickly into a disaster area is critical for both the insurance industry and the public, the CIAA will argue. To help facilitate this process, the CIAA has designed a uniform licensing application procedure to accommodate the temporary influx of adjusters into a given province. This would streamline the procedure for both the regulator and the adjuster and allow the industry to immediately respond to the needs of the policyholder. “[Independent adjusters] want the ability, and the industry supports it, to move a number of adjusters from one jurisdiction to another in an efficient manner,” Lythgoe says.

The CIAA is seeking the CCIR’s support in working towards a licensing process that will allow for the seamless mobility of adjusters during a catastrophic event.

The recent devastating fires in Slave Lake, Alta are a prime example of the benefit of allowing the seamless transition of adjusters from one jurisdiction to another. “I was planning . . . to send some of our people in to Slave Lake and (was preparing to deal) with the council and the licensing, and they actually loosened their restrictions,” says Delores Thorbourne, Edmonton branch manager with McLarens Canada and CIAA’s second vice president. The Alberta government, instead of worrying about who was licensed where, simply requested a list of adjusters who would be working in the area and welcomed the assistance. “It’s the first time that they have ever done that in my career, and I am 30 years in August,” Thorbourne says.

The board felt the CIAA would be able to help convince the superintendents of insurance in the different provinces of the need to allow adjusters from across the country to go into other provinces during a catastrophe to provide assistance, Grouchy says. “We need a streamlined approach to allow insurers and brokers an opportunity to call on an adjuster who could go in to any place during a catastrophe and get expert service in a prompt, effective and knowledgeable way,” Grouchy says.

As it stands now, the CIAA has the support of a number of insurers and is working to garner more backing from the industry before heading to the CCIR over the next few weeks.

Education

The advisory board found education was another high-priority issue. “The whole premise is to try to put [adjusters] a step ahead because education is so important,” Thorbourne says. “Education is going to take you up a level.”

The Insurance Institute offers excellent educational programs for adjusters. But a void still exists when it comes to practical education. “CIAA’s objective in terms of education is not to be the educator in the industry,” Kernaghan says, noting the association does not want to – and frankly cannot – take the place of the Insurance Institute. “What we are doing is looking at the gap between what the Institute provides and technical requirements in the field. That is our educational focus.”

The ticket is to find a professional development program that not only educates current adjusters, but will attract future talent and allow for better succession planning.

“[The CIAA’s] mandate on this one is a great one,” Lythgoe says. “Everyone has read the information on the demographics: we are losing people over time. We’ve got to find a way to attract new entrants to our profession and make sure they are trained well and perform at a really high standard.”

The key is to offer education programs that address specific claims-related issues facing adjusters, but issues that are not necessarily addressed by existing formal education, Porter says.

In the past, two-week intensive courses for adjusters or mentors were available within an office, Sharoun says. But these types of opportunities have eroded over time; they need to be replaced with new skills-based training, he says.

This might include areas such as:

• proper investigation techniques;
• proper scoping;
• measuring a room;
• replacing materials in a home;
• training for property claims negotiations;
• proper statement taking;
• rules of evidence;
• privacy;
• ethics;
• customer service;
• dealing with difficult clients; and
• workplace safety.

“I would like to see a really robust talent pool of independent adjusters,” Lythgoe says. “I believe the steps they are taking, particularly around this professional development, is really key.”

The gap analysis has been completed. The education committee is now looking into the best and most professional way to provide the product, Charman says.

All of the education must be easily accessible to all members across the country. This is a challenge, given Canada’s vast geography. Technology, of course, will make this easier. Attendees no longer have to be at a seminar in person. Education can now be done through distance learning, by means of webinars or live video feeds. This can be combined with local classes to round out the information. The CIAA is currently investigating all of these methods to determine its most appropriate course of action.

The education issue, like the catastrophe planning issue, is two-fold. The CIAA currently has a number of designations, including the Chartered Loss Adjuster (CLA) designation. However, during the CSP process, it became evident the CLA designation is not well-known and under-appreciated. It wasn’t clear to people surveyed just how difficult it was to obtain.

The CIAA will eventually look into potentially tying in a new designation. “We need the education program finalized and then we are going to work on whether it’s a designation program or not,” Charman says.

Porter, who is spearheading the educational component, says his vision is to put together a 10-course offeri
ng. Perhaps six courses would lead to a designation for CIAA members. However, a lot of things still need to be worked out before a formalized education program, and subsequent designation program, is launched.

Health and safety

While catastrophe preparedness and education were at the forefront for the CIAA and the advisory board, a new issue has developed: workplace health and safety. This is a huge issue that few of the stakeholders at the table were aware of, Charman says.

Most occupational health and safety legislation in Canada requires that someone be in charge at the site, says Greg Merrithew, president of Arctic West Adjusters and CIAA’s first vice president. Typically it is the owner of the building, but in most legislation it also falls to the agent of the owner. A number of jurisdictions have identified the adjuster as the de facto agent of the owner, because they are on site controlling the actions after the loss occurs. “The challenge for that is if something goes wrong . . . and they want to find somebody or put somebody on notice, it is turning out to be the adjuster. And not just the independent adjuster, but a staff adjuster,” Merrithew says.

Merrithew will conduct further research with respect to an adjuster’s role in the Health and Safety Act. “One of the keys to measuring value is that I have actually learned things at the meetings,” MacGregor says. The issue surrounding the responsibility of the adjuster out on the field with respect to health and safety was a new one for him – and one that can affect the broker community, as well. If, at some point down the road, these regulations have an impact on the cost of service delivered, it will have an impact on the cost of insurance policies, which is extremely relevant to an insurance broker. “It’s important to brokers that they understand the varying influencing factors in our communities on insurers and pricing of product,” MacGregor says. If an adjuster has to suddenly be kitted out with even more safety equipment that could not only affect the cost, but could slow down the response process – all of which brokers need to be aware of. “That, in itself, indicates the synergies between different associations and the need to actually be able to talk to each other.”

Future of the board

The ultimate goal of the board is to better the industry. This board has taken advantage of the opportunity to bring together members within the industry who might not have otherwise connected at the round table, Charman says. “Every time I leave the room, I feel something has been accomplished,” Charman says. “The relationship, the rapport that we are building with these insurers is priceless.”

The advisory board has given the CIAA a much more confident voice as an association, MacGregor says. “It’s helped them strengthen their beliefs and core mission and how they structure themselves to deliver services to their members and what their members are likely to be interested in and react to,” he says. “Certainly looking from the outside in, I’ve seen a change and it’s been very positive.”

It is important that as an association, the CIAA has the opportunity to discuss with stakeholders what it is doing and where it is going. For the advisory board, it is equally important for the CIAA to know where the industry sees the association going and what role independent adjusters will continue to play. “They are the ones that can see the broad picture out there,” says Merrithew. “Sometimes we [as adjusters] lose focus as a group of individuals in one profession. We get so bogged down with the day-to-day operations of our business and our association that we forget to step back, as we did with the strategic plan, and have a look at the big picture across the nation and identify those areas in which we should be providing additional services to our members.”

Independent adjusters are an integral part of the business, Lythgoe says. “Having a board such as this to shape how things work in the future is very beneficial. …Through this process, the CIAA can differentiate itself. You will know that if you are dealing with a CIAA member, you will get a high level of expertise, ethics and efficiency. That’s a good thing for them to be working towards.”