Claims associate vs insurance clerk

The differences between claims associates and insurance clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a claims associate and an insurance clerk. Additionally, a claims associate has an average salary of $36,558, which is higher than the $33,089 average annual salary of an insurance clerk.

The top three skills for a claims associate include customer service, medical claims and phone calls. The most important skills for an insurance clerk are patients, insurance verification, and data entry.

Claims associate vs insurance clerk overview

	Claims Associate	Insurance Clerk
Yearly salary	$36,558	$33,089
Hourly rate	$17.58	$15.91
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	9,145	147,755
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	High School Diploma, 29%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a claims associate do?

Claims associates control claims for insurance companies. Their job duties include determining a customer's insurance coverage and evaluating those who have filed a claim. Also, they must make sure that a claim is analyzed correctly for the clients to receive their entitled financial settlement. The work may require the agent to travel to generate information about the claim and may vary from a different position in the insurance industry. Qualifications for the job include an associate degree, excellent interpersonal and research skills as well as relevant experience in customer service.

What does an insurance clerk do?

An insurance clerk usually works to process insurance, reinstatement, changes, or cancellations for a company or an individual account. They are responsible for monitoring, processing, and organizing different insurance claims for a client. They usually work closely with the company's insurance agent to provide necessary information to process the clients' application. This career requires a broad knowledge of local and state insurance policies, good attention to detail, excellent communication skills, customer service skills, and administrative skills.

Claims associate vs insurance clerk salary

Claims associates and insurance clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Claims Associate	Insurance Clerk
Average salary	$36,558	$33,089
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $44,000	Between $27,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Hartford, CT	Henderson, NV
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New Hampshire
Best paying company	Accenture	Lenoir Memorial Hospital
Best paying industry	Insurance	Finance

Differences between claims associate and insurance clerk education

There are a few differences between a claims associate and an insurance clerk in terms of educational background:

	Claims Associate	Insurance Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	High School Diploma, 29%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Claims associate vs insurance clerk demographics

Here are the differences between claims associates' and insurance clerks' demographics:

	Claims Associate	Insurance Clerk
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 30.3% Female, 69.7%	Male, 8.3% Female, 91.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 3.9% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 13.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 3.9% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between claims associate and insurance clerk duties and responsibilities

Claims associate example responsibilities.

Investigate, evaluate, and manage call to complete coverage analysis confirming or denying coverage using Xactimate estimating software.
Obtain vehicle information from the DMV.
Follow HIPAA policy on each and every call.
Abided by the laws and regulations associate under HIPAA and patient confidentiality.
Receive recognition for creating a workflow and database for all incoming subpoenas.
Assist in training new CSA s on job responsibilities, which increase office productivity.

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Insurance clerk example responsibilities.

Manage front office check-in, insurance verification and certifications from doctors.
Establish and implement procedures for completion of patient super bills with proper diagnostic coding utilizing ICD-9 and CPT code manuals.
Maintain patient medical records insuring diagnosis codes (ICD-9) are itemized correctly and name and address of insurance carriers record.
Schedule and obtain authorization for outpatient procedures for patients via private insurance, worker's compensation, and Medicare/ Medicaid.
Complete several ICD-10 training courses.
Perform medical coding with most accurate and descriptive HCPCS code.

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Claims associate vs insurance clerk skills

Common claims associate skills

Customer Service, 14%
Medical Claims, 8%
Phone Calls, 8%
Claims Handling, 7%
Insurance Claims, 6%
Medical Terminology, 5%

Common insurance clerk skills

Patients, 25%
Insurance Verification, 7%
Data Entry, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Insurance Coverage, 5%
Computer System, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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