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The differences between insurance examiners and claims 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 a claims adjuster. Additionally, a claims adjuster has an average salary of $51,116, which is higher than the $50,967 average annual salary of an insurance examiner.
The top three skills for an insurance examiner include EKG, financial statements and blood pressure. The most important skills for a claims adjuster are insurance carriers, auto claims, and customer service.
| Insurance Examiner | Claims Adjuster | |
| Yearly salary | $50,967 | $51,116 |
| Hourly rate | $24.50 | $24.57 |
| Growth rate | -6% | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 39,601 | 13,221 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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.
A claim's adjuster is responsible for the handling of the insurance claims and investigating the extent of property damage and processing the business or a person's liability. Claims adjusters have a broad range of duties such as damage inspection to evaluate incident reports, communicating with property owners and spectators as well as referring to legal documents. They must also have excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills to calculate payments and analyze the complexities of multiple sources. Claims adjusters should also provide timely reports for reference and possible disputes.
Insurance examiners and claims adjusters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Insurance Examiner | Claims Adjuster | |
| Average salary | $50,967 | $51,116 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $76,000 | Between $40,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | Farmington, CT | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | RSM US | Merchants Insurance Group |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Insurance |
There are a few differences between an insurance examiner and a claims adjuster in terms of educational background:
| Insurance Examiner | Claims Adjuster | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between insurance examiners' and claims adjusters' demographics:
| Insurance Examiner | Claims Adjuster | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.1% Female, 75.9% | Male, 45.1% Female, 54.9% |
| 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, 11.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 5.2% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |