Hey everyone! I had posted here previously about how much I hated my claims specialist job and that I wanted to quit. I pushed through and now I have been with my company for about a year and 3 months. Although I now get the hang of the job and I don’t have as many claims as I used to I still want to quit. I don’t know if there is something wrong with me or if I just started this position on the wrong foot from day one. I think that the mental stress and anguish from the first year of this job just completely took a toll on my mental health and burned me out to the point of no return. I just took five consecutive days off because I wasn’t able to get anything done for the last 2 months and I was honestly just feeling like shutting my computer down and never returning. Now that I am sitting at my desk again I am trying to find another job. I just feel bad about having to take a substantial pay cut. I really really really want to like the job because of the benefits and the pay and I am now just telling myself to hold off till next year to quit but I don’t think I can do it anymore. This jobs makes me miserable. I don’t even know why anymore. I think it truly is just the fact that it burned me down to the ground from the start.
I guess I just need to know that there are people out there that have been through this situation.
PS I am also only 25 hahaha, so maybe I am going through a mid 20’s crisis as I just keep thinking that this is not what I see myself doing in the near or far future.
Posted by Kyubi-michi
6 Comments
Former claims trainer here : Have you talked to your manager about cross training or shadowing other areas to develop the right skills to transfer off claims or at last to a different claim handling area? There may be opportunities to move that won’t end in a pay cut, you just need to look for them.
The first year or so is really challenging, but if you do not like it then you do not like it. I do agree in talking to the manager about possible cross training, if you think there might be other parts of insurance you would like. It is not for everyone and you are young!
You may want to look into QA or underwriting. At my last job a lot of claims employees transferred to those departments because you don’t have to talk to customers lol
Customers are probably what’s driving your stress. People can be wildly inept at handling their own adult responsibilities and they try to offload a lot of it on you. It’s kind of like a relationship; set firm boundaries, do not take abuse, and try not to allow the emotional situation of a financial loss affect you. If you’re too emotionally involved with the customers situations, you’ll never last. We literally see devastating losses multiple times every single day; that in itself can take a mental toll on most people. Keep in mind that staff adjusting has an extremely high turnover rate due to the amount of stress and is in part why you get paid so much.
If it’s not right for you then keep looking and move on but I will add that it gets easier every year you can keep at it.
Goodluck!
Former field adjuster from 1980. Get. Out. Now. Look around. Do you see and 45+ year old claims people on the phone or field. Likely you won’t, they are gone because the job is absolutely horrible. They figured it out late in their career life and had to start over their career again at 45+. Trust me. Get out. Start over now before it’s too late. You’re welcome. I know you’re going to stay but you have been educated.
Get out now!!! That’s my last attempt at helping you.
Claims jobs would actually be a lot better if they were unionized.
If the only thing really stressing you out is the workload, and you’re at a big company, I’d suggest that maybe you look into a smaller regional insurer. Some of them are pretty laid-back and nobody will hassle you or follow you around with a clipboard spamming buzzwords about metrics.
Don’t sweat quitting though. It’s not for everybody.