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To Be a Good Adjuster…
To be a good adjuster is to be objective, analytical, and empathetic.
To be a good letter writer is to be a good storyteller.
Most claims professionals are asked to be both. And that is where things get hard.
Claims leaders know this well. In fact, when we use this phrase in conversations with executives, there is immediate agreement. Everyone nods, because everyone has seen it: adjusters are hired for one skillset, but the job demands another.
What Claims Leaders Hire For
When a claims department hires an adjuster, the focus is clear. Leaders look for professionals who can interpret policy language accurately, analyze liability and damages objectively, investigate with rigor and fairness, and communicate with empathy to policyholders during stressful moments.
These are the qualities that define strong adjusters. They are the foundation of trust in the claims process. Job postings and training programs reinforce this priority: analytical skills, investigative judgment, and interpersonal empathy.
What is not front and center? Storytelling.
The Hidden Requirement: Storytelling Under Pressure
And yet, once on the desk, adjusters quickly discover that their job requires more than analysis. It requires high-stakes writing.
Every Reservation of Rights, denial letter, or settlement notice is more than a technical record. It is a story that must make sense to a policyholder who may never have read a policy before, satisfy a regulator who may scrutinize wording for compliance, and hold up in litigation if challenged in court.
This is not just administrative work. It is communication that carries legal, regulatory, and reputational weight. And it requires the skill of a storyteller, structuring facts, weaving in policy language, and conveying it all in a way that is clear, consistent, and defensible.
Why the Tension Matters
This is where the disconnect comes in. Claims leaders hire adjusters for their ability to investigate and decide fairly. But the reality of the role forces them to also be professional writers, without training, without support, and without time.
The result is constant toggling between two entirely different modes of thinking: the investigator, focused on objectivity, accuracy, and empathy, and the storyteller, tasked with producing a letter that satisfies multiple audiences.
This is not simply more work. It is a stretch into a second profession. Adjusters are asked to handle technical analysis and narrative writing back-to-back, every day, under heavy scrutiny.
The Consequences: Burnout, Inconsistency, and Risk
For claims leaders, the consequences are clear:
- Burnout, with adjusters spending up to 40% of their day drafting and reviewing notices that take them away from resolving claims.
- Inconsistency, where letters vary from adjuster to adjuster, leading to uneven customer experiences and compliance gaps.
- Risk, because a poorly worded letter can spark disputes, appeals, or even litigation.
The industry has lived with this friction for decades, but that does not make it sustainable. Leaders who once sat in the adjuster’s chair know exactly how draining it can be to shift mindsets in the middle of a claim.
This Is Not a Training Issue. It Is a Design Issue.
It is tempting to think the answer is more training. After all, if adjusters need to be better writers, why not teach them?
But that misses the point. Claims leaders did not hire adjusters to be storytellers. They hired them to analyze, decide, and empathize. Expecting them to also carry the load of professional communication design is asking them to do two jobs in one.
The real problem is not capability. It is workflow design.
A Smarter Path Forward
Better design means separating what adjusters do best from what technology can support. Adjusters should focus on analysis, judgment, and decision-making, the very skills they were hired for. Systems should handle the mechanics of drafting, structuring, and formatting letters in a way that is consistent, compliant, and regulator-ready. Adjusters then step back in to review and personalize with empathy, without being forced to start from a blank page.
This shift respects the distinct skillsets while ensuring the final communication reflects the highest standards of both accuracy and humanity.
Where AI Fits In
This is where AI, applied carefully, has real potential. Not as a replacement for adjusters, but as an encoding of best-in-class storytelling.
With the right design, AI can draft letters instantly with correct policy language pre-filled, standardize formatting and compliance language across teams, and provide adjusters with clear, empathetic drafts they can quickly refine.
That means every adjuster, regardless of their personal writing strengths, has a best-in-class letter-writing capability at their fingertips.
Branch Insurance saw this firsthand, reducing drafting time by 65% while ensuring every notice met compliance standards. Harbor Claims cut adjuster drafting time in half while maintaining consistency across multiple jurisdictions.
The message is clear: when technology handles the storytelling foundation, adjusters are free to do what they were hired to do, which is analyze, decide, and support policyholders.
The Future of Adjusting: Precision Meets Humanity
For claims leaders, the takeaway is simple. If you want adjusters to thrive, stop expecting them to master two professions at once.
Hire for objectivity, analysis, and empathy.
Support the storytelling with tools that guarantee clarity, consistency, and compliance.
When the workflow respects the difference between those skillsets, adjusters perform at their best. And claims leaders can be confident that every letter carries both the precision of policy accuracy and the humanity of empathetic communication.
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