reader submissions. It is an attempt to allow people to tell their
personal stories, in the hopes of bringing greater compassion to the
unique issues each of us face. If you would like to submit a story to
this series, click here. Today’s guest posts is by Chariot.
My
husband works as a claims adjuster. He doesn’t sell insurance. He’s the
guy who climbs on your roof to inspect and writes a report for the
insurance company. In his case he is a 3rd party hired by various
insurance companies for his services. His integrity is not for sale. If
you ever have an insurance claim, I ask that you speak with the person
on the phone as a human being, as you would speak to anyone who is
trying to help you.
My husband, Aaron, keeps the volume on his phone way up, so I had the misfortune to hear his latest insulting work call.
Aaron:
I’d like to make an appointment to view the damages.” … A minutes of
back and forth with the man refusing to meet except for Saturday and his
wife (at home) unwilling to meet Aaron or keep the dogs in. All due to a
bad experience with a previous insurance claim. Then it takes a turn…
Insured:
I told you people I was only going to do this on the weekend. You
people are all the same. All cheats. You should be ashamed of yourself.
EXCUSE ME.
This
man had a bad experience with a previous insurance claim. A claim with
another company than my husband’s. Something not at all related to this
call. But because of a bad experience Aaron was verbally attacked. He
has developed a thick skin because this happens ALL THE TIME. There are
a lot of bad feelings towards the insurance industry.
What I want
you to know is not all insurance companies/people are equal. This is
true of any retail or service available to you. But in Aaron’s job
people seem to find it easy to call my husband names over the phone or
to his face. And to them it’s okay because he’s in insurance. For some
reason these same people trust contractors like they are the right hand
of God. (And no, I’m not judging all contractors.) The contractor says
there is hail damage. The insurance turns to my husband – who saw no
damage – and Aaron is called “the son of the devil” –which was funny
because Aaron’s boss/dad ended up talking to that insured and calming
him down. Get it?
My husband is not a liar, not a cheat. If he says
there’s no damage to your home it is true. If he says your shingles
are just old and not a result of storm damage, it’s true. It is a
common misconception that a claims adjuster gets paid by the insurance
company for denying a claim. The opposite is true. My husband gets paid a
fee to inspect each property. Not much, in fact it wouldn’t be enough
to live on except that he also gets paid a percentage of the damages for
each property. In other words, if a tornado comes by and rips off the
roof to your house, my husband gets a big fat commission. That is where
we see the big bucks. In fact each storm you will find my husband and
me out back doing a naked hail dance. Ha ha. That’s right, I dream of
golfball size hail, sewer backups, pipe bursts, raccoons in your attic,
and lightning strikes. Please note that I’d never wish harm on any
person, just your house.
If you had a bad experience with one
insurance company, maybe you’d like another one better. Please remember
not to judge an entire group of people because of a bad experience or
because society tells you to. If you’ve ever been judged by what you do
for a living I ask that you remember how it feels to be treated that way
when you are speaking to others. Treat others as you’d wish to be
treated. Cliché, I know, but oh so true.
