Safety First

On December 6, 2004, a tragic story in the National Underwriter resounded throughout the insurance industry's corps of claims adjusters. With a headline that read, "Man Charged With Killing Field Adjuster," the article described the murder of a claims adjuster, who was inspecting reported hurricane damage inside a rented Tampa, Florida, house.

For years, claims adjusters have been swapping stories about the risks they face in fulfilling their job responsibilities. Under reported by the media and professional organizations, threats to adjusters, including physical assault, road rage, hostage-taking, stalking, verbal abuse, menacing e-mails and identity theft, are established risks. Prevailing health concerns, such as stress disorders, depression and exposure to environmental contaminants, are alarming short- and long-term issues.

Managing personal safety should be a key concern to claims adjusters as well as the companies for which they work. Many companies do a terrific job of outfitting their adjusters with the latest safety equipment, and they are cognizant of the signs of stress disorder; however, the adjusters themselves are ultimately responsible for their own personal safety. There are specific measures that can be taken to minimize incidences of physical and emotional harm and prevent an adjuster from becoming a victim, whether a field adjuster or an inside adjuster.

Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma raised awareness of the emotional and physical hazards faced by claims adjusters and catastrophe (CAT) team members, many of whom were victims of the storms themselves and had constant worries about their own families while helping policyholders cope with the consequences of the storms. On its Web site, the American Psychiatric Association states, "The number and scope of disaster-affected persons may be larger than realized and may include not only the individuals trapped in the immediate disaster situation but, also their family and close friends, peers and other acquaintances, rescue workers, disaster relief (e.g., Red Cross, mental health volunteers) and agency personnel (e.g., insurance adjusters), if not to some degree the entire community."

Dennis Potter, MSW, BCSCR, an advisor to crisis response teams, writes in an article for the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, "One classification of the most neglected people in the aftermath of a traumatic incident is often the team who went in to work with all the survivors. They often fail to recognize the full impact the event has on their own lives."

Adjusters must be proactive in recognizing how exposure to certain traumatic events in the field can affect their emotional and physical well-being, both to themselves and their coworkers. Some studies have shown that post-traumatic anxiety can produce immune system deficiencies in certain individuals who are then more prone to disease. Also, being part of a disaster response team can trigger a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On its Web site, the American Psychological Association describes PTSD as "an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human caused disasters, [and] motor vehicle accidents …."

Those suffering from PTSD can have trouble functioning in their jobs or personal relationships. Many people with PTSD repeatedly experience the ordeal (especially when they are exposed to events or objects that remind them of the trauma) in the form of flashback episodes, unpleasant memories, nightmares or frightening thoughts. According to the American Psychological Association, "The good news is research has shown that psychological interventions can help prevent these long term, chronic psychological consequences."

Potter teamed with clinical psychologist Paul LaBerteaux to develop a structured debriefing process for members of disaster response teams so that they are prepared for "re-entry into the world" after working with trauma survivors. Debriefing techniques might be especially useful to claims adjusters and members of CAT teams who work directly with victims of loss. Human resource departments might take debriefing strategies and techniques, as well as individual and group intervention sessions, into account when developing employee assistance programs specifically for adjusters and CAT teams returning from disaster response assignments.

Beyond the disaster-related stress and emotional trauma faced by adjusters are the health concerns presented by environmental conditions. On its Web site, the Restoration Industry Association (RIA), an international trade association in the cleaning and restoration industry, notes that adjusters and disaster team volunteers returning from the Gulf Coast began "to develop a number of different, and in some cases, unexplainable health symptoms, ranging from what some have called the 'Katrina Cough' or 'mold cold' to antibiotic-resistant injuries, [and] meningitis."

To take it one step further, according to The New York Times, New York City's Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, recently amended the death certificate of a civil rights attorney, who developed significant respiratory problems after 9/11 and died five months later, to reflect that exposure to dust at Ground Zero "beyond a reasonable doubt" was "contributory to her death." The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health continues to study the deaths of rescue workers, volunteers, and others who worked in the area of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack.

Adjusters are routinely called upon to enter buildings that may contain substances detrimental to their health. There is the obvious mold and mildew in basements and fiberglass insulation in attics, but what about the unseen dangers? Douglas Jackson, president of the Society of Registered Professional Adjusters, recalls a court ordered reinspection program that had adjusters inspecting attics and crawlspaces during the time of the hantavirus outbreak in southwestern portions of the U.S. in the 1990s. In those instances, protective breathing apparatus were given to adjusters; however, think about how often adjusters go into buildings without consideration of what hazards may be contained within.

To help adjusters and response team members do their work safely, the RIA developed the following hurricane cleanup guidelines, which are applicable to all types of losses:

In addition to the environmental exposures, adjusters who work in the field also can be at risk for threats and incidences of confrontational exchanges, sexual assault, physical injury, car-jacking, road rage, verbal abuse and so forth.

Adjusters are often put in the position of having to deny claims, which may lead to verbal or physical conflict. Training to raise awareness of the potential dangers is crucial. Role play, which would help an adjuster become familiar with responding to menacing situations or individuals, should be practiced, and case studies about past company incidents should be reviewed. Precautionary measures to follow when working in the field include the following:

No one should take personal health and safety for granted. During catastrophic disasters, inside adjusters are also under a lot of stress because they typically handle the caseloads of adjusters dispatched to the field. Because of the nature of claims handling, those who work inside an office can also become targets and victims of emotional and physical assaults, including verbal abuse, physical injury, harassment, identity theft, property loss and so forth. Unhappy insureds and claimants have been able to gain entry into claim departments, sometimes with tragic consequences. Some key reminders about office safety include the following:

In addition to the personal safety measures taken by adjusters, companies need to regularly reassess their role in ensuring a safe working environment for employees:

Adjuster safety is a shared responsibility between employer and employee. Companies have to establish reasonable workplace safety guidelines, provide personnel with training and appropriate safety equipment, preplan for natural and man-made disasters and be cognizant of the stress related to CAT duty. Adjusters need to act reasonably and responsibly and always take necessary precautions, whether they work inside or outside. To quote Sgt. Phil Esterhaus of Hill Street Blues, NBC's highly acclaimed police drama of the 1980s, "Let's be careful out there!"