underwriter

claims specialist

claims supervisor

National Interstate

The claims department is a TERRIBLE place to work. The work load is out of control, and management sets VERY unachievable expectations. When telling management about struggles to keep up with the work load (despite working 50+ hours a week) they more or less tell you to suck it up and deal with it. There is no empathy or compassion, or suggestions of how to help the situation. Managers/Directors do not care about employees- they are just “things” to fill seats and process claims. Remember in high school when a mean person would constantly make fun of and bully someone?  Miss that? Come work in the claims department where you can experience that all over again- kindly provided by management. Managers/Directors belittle people-openly mock and impersonate employees when they don't fit the mold. Managers/Directors are incredibly unprofessional- sharing personal information to others- which spreads like wild fire to the gossip hounds. I have witnessed upper management screaming and swearing at employees for all to hear. The claims department is managed like the Gestapo, ruled by fear, intimidation and bullying. This is completely encouraged- and due to this- employees are dropping like flies, resignations are a weekly occurrence. And if you think HR will help- think again. I have witnessed co-workers being retaliated and attacked for going to HR with complaints of the work environment. HR is useless and powerless. Interaction with management is non-existent- they sit in their ivory towers and fire off threatening emails. Open discussions of new ideas are not welcome and actually snubbed. This used to be a great company to work for- but gone are the days of a healthy working environment where hard work and devotion is actually appreciated. If you are looking for a claims career- this is NOT the place for you. Average tenure is 2 years. Do not get duped by a decent salary and a shiny new building. It will lure you in and suck the life out of you.

I was a claims adjuster in the captive property damage claims department.  Everything was good for about the first eight months until other adjusters started leaving my team for other positions or whatever.  Upper management failed to fill these positions and basically gave me all of their claims, plus I was getting a lot more because we were short staffed.  Was I appreciated for my efforts? NO!  There were days I would go in at 4 o'clock in the morning and not even leave until 9 o'clock at night.  The claims load was unbearable.  I had about 400 claimants at one time and obviously they were angry because their claims were not being handled fast enough.  I skipped lunches, worked overtime for free, and couldn't even go to the bathroom because I was so busy.  I know other claims adjusters that would come in on their days off just to stay afloat.  The technology is from the 1980's and their processes and systems are completely inefficient.  Upper management is completely out of touch with their claims adjusters and couldn't care less about us. There is an  environment of fear that you will be fired if you cannot keep up.  In fact, the longest conversation I had with someone in upper management was when he fired me and would not even give me a reason why.  Then when I filed for unemployment, I found out that they lied and slandered me.  Suffice to say I won my unemployment claim.  And this is the appreciation I got for never taking a vacation, taking over other people's claims, and taking on more work because upper management would not properly staff the department.  I would urge anybody to stay far far away from this terrible company!

Been with National for 5 years now and when I started work loads were manageable. Now Management is so far removed from claims that they only view the bottom line. They overload employees so bad that you cannot do your work properly. Your coworkers and direct supervisors are great but have no power to change the claims department practices. The systems are old and outdated. You will have to work 50 hours just to be behind. Constant complaints and people mad as they cannot do their work. High turnover rate. Company is failing in the claims department management. No future plans to fix the problem as the company announced the budget is set for 2024 which means no hiring or relief for current employees. The high turn over and over load has been happening since 2018. I was told how the company used to be great and they always talk about improvement but it never has happened. Increase of Clients but they do not hire more adjusters to handle the loads. They run on a skeleton crew! Terrible place to work now.  If you would like to come to work and get yelled at by customers all day, not meet your deadlines or task, fail at National compliance surveys, then this company is for you! If you want a company who really understands what a claim adjuster does and ensures proper workloads and set goals you can actually do within a 40-45 hour workweek, then work somewhere else. 

Pros
-Some really great co-workers -Awesome parties and socials -Great health insurance if you're single -Lots of responsibility for most entry level jobs -CEO still tries to treat it like a smaller company and give personal touches. Does a lunch with new hire groups and one-on-one meetings. Signs your birthday cards too. If you're looking for experience, NATL is a good place to start. There's always openings and you get a chance to do some things early in your career. I was maintaining a $7M book of business within a year.
Cons
-Boy's club -Favoritism rules -Low pay, no flexibility at all, terrible benefits (401k, vacation time) -No value to employees -Complaints to HR get right back to the managers or source of the problem. No real confidentiality. -Terrible technology They treat employees like worker bees and commodities. Hire them for cheap out of college, then they leave 2-5 years later for 15-20% pay raises. It's a revolving door which makes real business impossible. Brokers and agents don't trust them enough because there's no relationship. Had to travel and put things on my own credit card because there wasn't a corporate card given out. Take a red eye back home after working in CA over a weekend and ask your boss to come in at 11am after a nap...oh you have to take PTO for that.

I learned about customer retention, DMV and filings issues and how to resolve them and introduction into commercial and personal insurance. National Interstate motto is Insurance built around you and that is what they strive to do. They are looking for what the customer wants and needs first and foremost. They want customers to come back year after year, not just for their money. I also learned that insurance companies work with the states to make sure that vehicles are registered and have correct VINs listed on file with the state as well as your policy. If you are a commercial customer they want to make sure you have authority with federal and states to insure driving through any or all states is approved. I come from a background of retail so insurance was very new to me. National Interstate was open to teaching me the difference between personal and commercial lines. I started off taking phones in customer service assisting insured's and agents with payments and simple questions on the policy. When I wanted to learn more they were open to me moving into the DMV/Filings department. I am again looking for something more to learn and open to all options.

A four-day-per-week return-to-office mandate has been issued for local employees. This decision conveys a concerning lack of trust in both our local and remote workforce and effectively eliminates the work–life balance that has been successfully maintained for years. It represents a significant step backward in how we support our employees and structure our work environment.

I have had the privilege of working with exceptional colleagues, and the strength of this team has been one of the organization’s greatest assets. Unfortunately, many of these talented individuals are now actively considering new opportunities as a result of the recent changes.

I respectfully urge leadership to reconsider this mandate in order to preserve our ability to retain and attract top talent. Our focus should remain on becoming an industry leader—one that prioritizes performance, innovation, and employee satisfaction. By embracing and strengthening a high-performing remote workforce, we position ourselves competitively rather than risk driving valued talent toward organizations that offer greater flexibilbility.



National Instate is a company that has focused its time and money on developing a product that far exceeds any other in the commercial auto marketplace. The lack of time and money invested in developing systems and procedures has left the company behind the times and out of touch with the wants and desires of their employees. They rely on recruiting staff directly from colleges and universities that have no experience in the field or in the work force. Many of the supervisors and managers have been with the company from the time they finish school and therefor bring no new ideas or change to the table. They have a lack of vision and have created an isolationist culture in the market that is stagnate. With the recent acquisition by Great American, many of these individuals are finally getting a first hand look at what lies outside the of the Richfield, OH area.

Each day is started with 'Good Morning' greetings throughout the office.  This company provides many morale boosting activities and weighs heavy importance on keeping its employees happy throughout the daily work routines.  Since starting here I have gained a better understanding of the insurance industry and continue to learn from the management and the underwriting team here.  Most of the managers here have an open door for questions and do their best to explain in depth to provide a better understanding of policy or procedure.  All the departments communicate well and work together.  Benefits and wages are above fair but will depend on where you see yourself going with the company and how you communicate your goals with the management.  Definitely not a place for the weary or the unmotivated.

Primarily use negative reinforcement. I entered a confident OSHA trainer and customer service pro and left feeling inconfident due to continuous negative reinforcement even though the clients were very satisfied with assistance I gave them. I worked 80-90 hours a week and they wanted more from me; managers are mostly interested in pleasing president etc instead of treating employees decent and with respect. Oh yes then you have to use your own credit card for travel which the fees add up when at one point I was owed 14000 dollars of travel expense; the person processing travel expenses decided he was too busy! Management did not care of financial burden it caused, still paying debt, big mistake going to work here!!!!!!!!!

No flexibility, no advancement opportunities, management lacks direction and will lie to your face, no consistant work procedures. Little to no positive input. No training on procedures, worst of all truthfulness not recommended.

on site gym, inexpensive lunch program good if you like soup and sandwiches, hot meals not so much

Worst of all is the antiquated computer systems.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Underwriter 4 salaries reported	$62,829 per year
Claims specialist 3 salaries reported	$99,040 per year
Claims supervisor 3 salaries reported	$111,667 per year

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