Of all People, an Adjuster Should Know!

Apparently in St. Paul, MN a young girl was riding her bike when hit by a car driven – and then drive off – by a Farmers Insurance Company claims adjuster. (You can check out the story yourself at http://kstp.com/article/stories/s514421.shtml?cat=1) 13-year old Sydney Carlson was beneath the car which, fortunately, came to a stop. The driver got out, apologized but then drove on without checking for injuries or calling 911. The girl recalled that the car had a Farmers Insurance logo on its side.

Contacted by the girl’s father, Farmers acknowledged that one of its claim adjusters was driving the car and that the Company was investigating.

Incredible. You would think that if ANYONE knew to stop and stay at the site of an accident, it would be an insurance adjuster. Isn’t that advice given by every insurance company to its own policyholders? This just shows perhaps that no one is immune to a brain fart. The skills and advice we apply in our professional lives sometimes flees us when it comes to our personal lives. This is not, however, to justify the adjuster fleeing the scene.

Maybe the adjuster was en route to investigate a traffic accident when he ended up having one of his own. It reminds me of a story told about a bus operator in England. After weeks of customer complaints that he drove right by the bus stops without stopping, management called him in and demanded and explanation. Unrepentant, the bus driver stated, “There is no way I can make my time checkpoints if I have to stop and actually pick up passengers!” Maybe the adjuster had certain time standards for completing claim investigations and he simply could not hit his “best practices” benchmarks if he had to stop after every pedestrian or bicyclist he ran over.

Of course, now the Farmers adjuster will need his own adjuster. Physician, heal thyself.

Likely he will need his own defense attorney as well.