March 22, 2013
It’s coming up roses in this month’s labor analysis feature from The Jacobson Company’s David Coons, who says the insurance industry is anticipating hiring new talent more than ever. But one quote from him raised an eyebrow:
“When the right skill set is hard to find, many companies will fill claims roles with non-traditional backgrounds to ease the recruiting burden,” says Coons. “Many companies discontinued training programs for claims recruits from universities, resulting in a gap in low- to mid-level claims talent.”
First of all, do any of us in claims really feel comfortable plugging square holes with round pegs? What about policyholders? Secondly, if entry-level professionals aren’t getting education from their companies, by whom, exactly, are they being trained?
It’s time for a different approach. In a partnership with several universities, CLM is launching a paid, eight-week internship program this summer for 20-25 college students. These students will be exposed to claims departments at various CLM member insurance companies and have the potential to earn a full-time position upon graduation, not to mention their adjusting licenses.
It’s a small but significant step forward to professionalizing our industry. We’ve seen it work for risk management; it’s time for it to happen in claims. We’ve got to start somewhere, and starting at institutions of higher learning is the right place to do it.