Claim investigator vs fraud investigator

The differences between claim investigators and fraud investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a claim investigator and a fraud investigator. Additionally, a claim investigator has an average salary of $49,415, which is higher than the $49,010 average annual salary of a fraud investigator.

The top three skills for a claim investigator include scene investigations, insurance claims and property damage. The most important skills for a fraud investigator are law enforcement agencies, investigative reports, and fraud investigations.

Claim investigator vs fraud investigator overview

	Claim Investigator	Fraud Investigator
Yearly salary	$49,415	$49,010
Hourly rate	$23.76	$23.56
Growth rate	-6%	6%
Number of jobs	8,738	5,470
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	44	43
Years of experience	4	4

What does a claim investigator do?

Claim Investigators are professionals who are responsible for examining facts of insurance claims to determine their extent and validity to prevent any cases of fraud. These investigators must use a combination of tools such as cutting-edge software to help insurance companies to settle claims quickly by evaluating them. They are required to manage multiple cases by investigating defective products or events such as an oil spill. Claim Investigators must also prepare reports while keeping track of evidence trails.

What does a fraud investigator do?

A fraud investigator specializes in investigating and identifying fraudulent activities within a company and its clients. Their responsibilities depend on their line of work or industry of employment. However, most of the time, their duties will revolve around devising strategies and systems to detect inconsistencies, monitoring suspicious transactions and accounts, conducting reviews to identify any security lapses or vulnerabilities in the procedures, and teaching staff how to notice any fraudulent activities. Furthermore, it is vital to implement the policies and regulations of the company.

Claim investigator vs fraud investigator salary

Claim investigators and fraud investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Claim Investigator	Fraud Investigator
Average salary	$49,415	$49,010
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $65,000	Between $32,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	Health Alliance	Deutsche Bank
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between claim investigator and fraud investigator education

There are a few differences between a claim investigator and a fraud investigator in terms of educational background:

	Claim Investigator	Fraud Investigator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	California State University - Bakersfield

Claim investigator vs fraud investigator demographics

Here are the differences between claim investigators' and fraud investigators' demographics:

	Claim Investigator	Fraud Investigator
Average age	44	43
Gender ratio	Male, 52.5% Female, 47.5%	Male, 49.6% Female, 50.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 5.2% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	10%	4%

Differences between claim investigator and fraud investigator duties and responsibilities

Claim investigator example responsibilities.

Manage and dispose of claims in litigation by preparing and developing strategy with defense counsel and consensus relative to litigation handling.
Coordinate with SIU investigators in their investigations of the same claimant or insure.
Collaborate with SIU, fire, and police personnel in an effort to resolve investigations.
Conduct extensive field investigations and interact with staff attorneys on litigation matters.
Prepare and/or review property and content estimates for settlement using Xactimate and XactContents software programs.
Conduct complete assessment of interior and exterior damage to create a detail repair estimate within Xactimate software.

Fraud investigator example responsibilities.

Manage corporate-wide document production relative to complex litigation cases.
Detect and investigate fraudulent transactions such as money laundering, check forgeries, unauthorize ACH transfers and debit card fraud.
Review ISO reports and maintain close contact with police agencies working on fraud investigations.
Pursue recovery of bank funds through ACH processes, restitution from perpetrator and customer through criminal and civil means.
Write suspicious activity reports, address fraud alerts, and other applicable AML processes in accordance with regulations and time limitations.
Work on the development of a client application site determining the AML decision making rules, alerts, validation and verification.

Claim investigator vs fraud investigator skills

Common claim investigator skills

Scene Investigations, 11%
Insurance Claims, 7%
Property Damage, 5%
Fraud Claims, 5%
Background Checks, 5%
Litigation, 4%

Common fraud investigator skills

Law Enforcement Agencies, 7%
Investigative Reports, 6%
Fraud Investigations, 6%
Criminal Justice, 6%
Financial Institutions, 4%
Fraud Claims, 4%

Claim Investigator vs. similar jobs

Claim Investigator related careers

Claim Investigator related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Claim Investigator
Claim Investigator vs Fraud Investigator

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs