Feature -- by Mark Sproxton

Illustration by Kathy Lycka

Examining the charred and scarred remains of a truck and van, the staff insurance adjuster will have to make more trips to carefully examine police reports of the accident and medical reports of the injuries the occupants suffered. Depending what she uncovers, an accident scene reconstruction may have to be ordered.

What Shelley McKechnie, a casualty claims representative with Ing Western Union, finds will translate into many phone calls and face-to-face meetings with those involved in the accident, their lawyers and possibly witnesses. "Any or all of those will happen in one day," she said.

Her job is to investigate, negotiate and settle insurance claims. In this case, a client of her company who was allegedly at fault in an accident that sent three people to hospital, is being sued. It's her job to ensure the settlement reached is fair.

"The most difficult thing about doing this job is you always meet people in times of crises," McKechnie said. "They're not always really happy to see you. Sometimes people just need to vent. You have to be flexible and allow them to do that, and understand it's not you." Not every day will be so harried, and potentially emotionally stressful, but almost every day features that diversity.

"You never know what to expect," said McKechnie, who has over 16 years experience in the insurance industry, four as an adjuster. "There's definitely a lot of variety. If you had two days exactly the same, that would be weird. No two car accidents are the same and the people are completely different as well."

While the job requires a great understanding of many things, McKechnie also specializes in the area of personal injuries. With degrees in biological sciences and physiology, and after completing some post-graduate work in medicine, she has the required technical knowledge to help with her work. But that's not a job requirement. "The work we do, everybody has a very different background," she said.

Not all adjusters work on staff with an insurance company either. Independent adjusters work for an independent company, or for themselves, and are often hired by insurance companies or governments to conduct independent claim investigations, negotiate and resolve claims. Some staff adjusters may also work in positions such as a catastrophe adjuster and deal with events stemming from incidents such as the ice storm experienced in Eastern Canada in 1998.

Now fully versed in the industry, McKechnie's entry to insurance occurred more by accident than planning. "I'm a classic insurance person," she said. "It just happened to me." Her journey began as a teenager working part-time in the insurance office of a friend's parent to eventually choosing to merge her interest with science and the body with work.

All along she was able to complete her insurance duties while also attending university. "They worked around my hours at school," McKechnie said. "I worked nights, weekends, whatever, as long as the work was done." That same flexibility holds true in her job today. "I try to do something like 8:30 to 5:00, Monday to Friday. There are times I work a Saturday or into the evening, but it goes both ways."

The time flexibility isn't the only aspect of the work she enjoys. "Another perk is job security. The industry is very stable. Everyone will need insurance and people will crash their cars." And regardless of when she works, she's in constant communication with others. "Adjusting is a very social job. You have to like dealing with the public. And you need to be a good negotiator, a good listener and have conflict management skills. Usually you're dealing with two people who are mad at each other and you're in the middle."

Along with those tense situations comes a livable wage for staff adjusters who are paid a salary, McKechnie said. "I've never heard of anyone becoming rich and famous, but you can live on it. There's a rumour that says if a claim is worth $10,000 and I settle it for $5,000, I get to keep the $5,000. That's not true."

Like many other positions within the insurance industry, companies provide hands-on training to adjusters allowing them to start with small claims and work their way up to more complex cases. "No matter what your background is, don't think you have nothing to offer," McKechnie said. "The work in the industry is so diverse, everyone has something to offer."