Resolution Through Relationships:

How An Adjuster Helped Drive Closure Through Care

Note: The following is a true story with names & accident details changed to protect identities.

It’s Tuesday afternoon, just after lunch break.

Kurt and his crew are getting back to the loading bay for a few more hours of unloading, loading, hauling, and sorting before they clock out for the day and head to their children’s soccer games and dance classes. Should he pick up dinner on his way home after he picked his daughter up from Girl Scouts? He’s pretty sure his wife said this morning they didn’t have dinner planned, and he knew his daughter really liked those milkshakes from that one place near their house…

But now all Kurt can think about is his throbbing left shoulder shooting pain all the way down to his hand. He has reached for those palettes like that for years. What had he done differently this time that caused his shoulder to pop and buckle like that?

Hurting and tired, he doesn’t bother to pick up dinner and heads straight to his daughter’s school just in time for her troop to be letting out. He swallows some Advil and doesn’t get out of the car like usual to greet her. He listens as she rattles on about their garden project but his mind is on his arm and how he hopes it’ll feel better in the morning.

Kurt wakes up at 5:45 like usual and immediately winces as he rolls over.

The pain is still there, and he knows his day will be more difficult for it. He takes some more Advil, pours some coffee in a thermos, grabs a pack of sunflower seeds and a Lean Cuisine for lunch and heads out the door.

With no improvement to the pain, Kurt tells his supervisor about his shoulder and a claim is filed.

He asks what he’s supposed to do about the rest of the day, tomorrow, how is he supposed to work?

What happens next?

Will he still get paid?

His supervisor says someone from the insurance company will reach out to him, and in the meantime, he can go home for the week and rest and they’ll figure something out for him on Monday.

For the next 6 months, Kurt tries to navigate his claim on his own.

The adjuster who has been assigned his file is the only point of contact he has, and she does her best to answer his questions and listen to his fears and concerns. As he tries to maintain his life on two-thirds of what he was making as Shift Lead— a position he worked for years to advance to— his daughter has to quit her Girl Scout group and his wife asks for extra hours at her administrative job. He asks his adjuster when this is supposed to end? How does he get out of this ever-downward spiraling cycle?

When Kurt’s case makes it to mediation, he has still not ever seen or met his adjuster with whom he’s been in near constant contact since the start of his case. She shows up for the mediation, and after his case settles, Kurt asks to meet her. He thanks her and lets her know how much he appreciated how she handled his claim and explained things to him throughout this process.

This is what it looks like to begin with the end in mind and how keeping people’s humanity at the center of claims management leads to better outcomes for all involved.

By taking just a little extra time to listen, respond & communicate how the comp system works, this adjuster set the stage for resolution early on. By the time Kurt’s case made it to mediation, he was mentally & emotionally prepared for closure. The resolution of Kurt’s case wasn’t just a win for him, it was a win for his employer, for their insurer, and for Kurt’s family as they each begin to get back to their life as it was prior to his accident.