Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between insurance examiners and adjusters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an insurance examiner and an adjuster. Additionally, an insurance examiner has an average salary of $50,967, which is higher than the $49,396 average annual salary of an adjuster.
The top three skills for an insurance examiner include EKG, financial statements and blood pressure. The most important skills for an adjuster are customer service, strong customer service, and litigation.
| Insurance Examiner | Adjuster | |
| Yearly salary | $50,967 | $49,396 |
| Hourly rate | $24.50 | $23.75 |
| Growth rate | -6% | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 39,601 | 7,936 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A claims examiner is responsible for conducting a claim review of a client against a particular insurance company--usually a health and life insurance company. An examiner must review claims and then approve them, reject them, or develop a possible settlement. They need to communicate with policyholders and insurance agents to assess if all the information under the company's claims guidelines and policies are correct and accurate.
An adjuster is responsible for evaluating the extent of loss in the company by calculating the damage costs, determining the settlement payment to the client, and managing the reputation of the company for claims accountability. Adjusters must have extensive knowledge of the insurance principles and processes, following the state and federal regulations to protect clients and the business from insurance fraud. They collect documents from different organizations, perform field research, and interview witnesses to verify the accuracy of claims statement.
Insurance examiners and adjusters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Insurance Examiner | Adjuster | |
| Average salary | $50,967 | $49,396 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $76,000 | Between $35,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | Farmington, CT | Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | RSM US | FCCI |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Insurance |
There are a few differences between an insurance examiner and an adjuster in terms of educational background:
| Insurance Examiner | Adjuster | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between insurance examiners' and adjusters' demographics:
| Insurance Examiner | Adjuster | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.1% Female, 75.9% | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 6.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |