claims adjuster

insurance agent

software engineer

underwriter

consultant

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

While Nationwide claims they invest in your training, which they do by flying you to CO for mock phone calls and lectures, it is not what you need for the job.  You just eat good food and have mediocre classes which are common sense.

Once the gates open and you become LIVE to be assigned real claims you realize how unprepared you are in about 3 months when you're swamped.  The finer details on how to manage and CLOSE claims properly and with minimal customer satisfaction is not taught and you're supposed to learn "as you go."  The problem is you don't have time for on the fly learning with all the many variables that have to be documented and done.  Meanwhile you just received 8 new claims trying to learn how to close a new handful.  So much can be taught for that full week in OH rather than mock questions which are common sense.  Just to keep your head above water you need to close approximately 15 claims a day since that's how many you receive and they'll all have new twists to learn on the fly.  Don't forget about closing more than you take in to make up for the backup you have from your neophyte days.  Also prepare getting the Hispanic or Asian ones that need a translator - those take at least 1/2 hour per call to get through the standard questions.  Also what needs to be mentioned is while you're salaried your first year you are not allowed to punch in early or stay late, 8 hrs. a day and that's it.  Forget about trying to catch up when you're not Live.  Another thing is be afraid to hang up the phone - with their system you WILL get a phone call with someone else's claim to handle if you're off the hook.  The phone system is awful, management calls it a system to "keep employees accountable."  That would be fair for a place with a reasonable workload and people that aren't pulling their weight.  NILC is off the charts for workload.  That's insulting considering the tasks we already have.  You need to figure out how to be constantly on the phone even if you need time to write notes to a claim or prepare for a next claim.  When you fall behind, and most will, stress mounts and the workday because a mild nightmare for reasons above and you feel like you cannot keep up, in fact you can't.  *Your quality of life goes downhill and you'll be doing claims in your dreams - all night long.*  Then you get to wake up and do it for real.  It's great fun.  A group of us laughed about all of us going through that at first but then it got to be a real downer.

The department has a lot of issues and management can't/won't correct it by putting a system in place for proper attention to customers and helping the adjuster CLOSE a claim, like a Pathway Map for Closing a Claim no matter what claim it is.  Whoever could come up with that will have conquered all of NILC's problems but that would take dedication on someone's part.  Unfortunately upper management somewhere seems to be constantly looking for the perfect economically rewarding ratio with how many adjusters to customers to have the basics met which yields very angry customers and that's a whole other paragraph since you will be dealing with other people's assigned claims.  Of course nowhere will agents (ones selling insurance) be held back which is good for any company but with the massive turnover in NILC there is a strong customer service deficit and the existing NILC adjusters will greatly suffer.  I had 3 managers and 2 Dept. Directors in the NILC department in 8 months.  Does that say anything?

However for positive advice I highly recommend using the first month of being Live viciously, almost like you're a hungry entrepreneur.  They will give you only a few claims at first and easy ones, then the next week ones from other employees, then some from another state you're allowed to work on, more, more until you're fully Live and fully assigned 12-18 claims per day...  You have to "touch" them within 8 work hours of being assigned and that is doable in the beginning.  Use that early Live time for hypotheticals - what if this were a translation, what if this were multiple cars, what if this person never calls back, what if this were a rental car, how do I use a field adjuster, what if this collision took place in this state... you may get some exposure to aspects of the process before you have to.  Again, none of the real time consuming problems are addressed during OH or early training so you find yourself hunting someone down to ask a question but don't forget you're only allowed to leave your desk for x minutes in a day to be accountable.

Indeed asks to include what part of the job was most enjoyable and truly not to be bitter but once the real job settled in and you were in the full mix there isn't anything.  At first it was feeling like I adequately touched all of my claims and leaving for the day but that dissipated after 4 mos.  Then I couldn't enjoy lunch because that was the only time I could be at my desk and sneak in some off-line work.  Then I couldn't enjoy going home because of not being able to touch everything I needed to and dreading going in to a new day of it.  The only time during the week I had peace was the first night of the weekend, the first day of the weekend and that's it.  Sunday I would dread having another full day of NILC ahead.

I've been with Nationwide since 2013. Within the last few years, we have had MAJOR changes, which has been disheartening at best. THOUSANDS of positions eliminated, unfortunately a majority of those positions for very tenured associates (we're talking 20-25+ years with the company). For example, my department originally had 8 managers. Not even a year ago, they gave 4 of them their 60-day notices as their positions were being eliminated. Of the 4 who received their notices, the least tenured had been with the company for 22 years. 2 of them were within 3 years of retirement. The worst part? They realized after the fact that they actually needed 5 managers, so someone else was brought in shortly after to fill the position they just told someone months ago was being eliminated.

Now, do I think that they should let the longest tenured person stay of the most qualified? Absolutely not and I've always believed the most qualified person should get the job. However, that was shockingly the theme during the cuts and hard to believe it wasn't by design. It's difficult to trust a company who says they value people when it seems they cut the people who are the biggest liability (those closest to retirement, who have put most of their lives into the business). 

They've cut so many of our field Property & Material Damage appraisers, which means we now outsource the work (go figure). I'm giving it another year for the expense reports to roll in for them to realize we're spending way more money on Independent Appraisers, then rehire all the positions they eliminated (which they actually did within TWO MONTHS of the last round of cuts when they realized oh shoot, we got rid of way too many people).....sound like a trend?

These changes have also made development and progress within the company very difficult recently. Before, that wasn't the case and there was so much potential. Now, everyone looking to develop is scavenging for jobs. It makes it extremely difficult to grow as a professional when there are 50+ people applying to one single job opening. And of course there's always the corporate politics game of giving folks a courtesy interview even they already know who they're hiring.

And don't get me started on the recruiters.....I'd love to understand how they process or screen applications. I have a Commercial Claims background and a Casualty Claims background.. I recently applied to a Commercial Casualty position and received the automated "we've decided to go with someone more qualified" email response. I'm sorry, I'm not qualified? I have all the experience even required, not to mention I was the ONLY one in my department to receive a 5 year-end score, which is the highest possible performance rating. 

As for the good parts of the company, I work in the newest campus (built in 2015 or 2016) and it has SPOILED me. It would make it very difficult to move to a different company, or even building within the company, because this one is so nice. The Wellness center is great (gym, fitness classes, massage therapy), the campus and surrounding area (Grandview Heights) is absolutely beautiful, the facilities are new and clean, open and bright. 

The culture is pretty laid back as well (in my department, other departments not so much). The workload can be extremely stressful, but at least I don't have to worry about acting uptight all the time. Jeans were introduced as part of the everyday dress code a couple years ago and was very well received. Before then, it was business casual with jeans allowed only on Friday and only if you donated to a local charity. 

Many positions are transitioning to full time work-from-home (AWE), and many are allowing a certain number of days a week from home. I currently work 2 days a week from home and having that flexibility is fantastic. My kiddos still have to go to daycare those days since I'm on the phone all day, but the peace and quite, no traffic and time to myself is so nice to have. 

They are also fairly flexible with your schedule in most departments, but not all.

I would say this job is DECENT as a job,but not as a career. They love to push the notion of this being a career job, however I just don't see it. The reality is that this is a call center job, where you stay on the phone 95% of your day, you're micromanaged (just like all call centers), you consistently talk to people who are rude and normally stupid. Job growth in relation to the position isn't good enough. It's pretty difficult to get promoted because you have to meet the stats for promotion. This includes handle time, after call work percentage, and QUALITY of calls. But here's the thing about quality of calls, for an average MCR quality only grades 1%> of your calls. You take a lot of calls a month and quality only looks at 4-5 and bases your performance off that. What other career do you know of, where your supervisor bases your overall performance off less than 1% of your work? It's not consistent, and as a result the metrics you get which determine your chances of promotion aren't consistent. And that's just for promotion within the position. Going from MCR II to III or IV. In reality most people want to get AWAY from the call center portion of the company or at the very least away from the customer service portion of call center work, and I don't feel like Nationwide gives the development opportunities for that to happen. Or at the very least, supervisors aren't always eager to give you those development opportunities. Like I said, it's a call center. in their mind the queue and service levels are more important that attempting to assist you in your move to a different department. Whether that be claims, sales, or trying to sit and learn things about a group completely unrelated, like HR.  

*They do a lot of things they're supposed to do as call center managers. I literally googled "how to manage a call center" and found all the stuff they do. Like sending emails out to the whole department when someone gets a promotion to make it seem like this is something very common. When in reality it isn't. Those people who got the promotion worked hard and earned it, but there were also others who worked hard and might not even get another opportunity for a while. Next opportunity might not open for months, or a year. And the kicker is the point I mentioned earlier, because of the inconsistency of how we're graded on calls they might not even qualify for the position when/if it opens again.*


With that said, this is a decent job. The work atmosphere is nice, you have friendly co-workers. I don't really consider this a "corporate" job, but it is nice to be in a corporate atmosphere. Nice benefits, and if you don't have a college degree it gives decent pay. Most people start off around $15 an hour (I didn't try to negotiate it when it was offered, but I don't think they're willing to negotiate anyway. But you can try) If you're looking at this from a job perspective, it's a pretty solid deal. From a career standpoint, I've seen a lot of good employees just switch companies. It seems to be easier to get the position you want just going to a different company than it is to grow from within. Not a knock on the company, but reflective of the position. Call center jobs aren't careers.

*Don't get me wrong, I love the environment of the company. For the most part, great, positive supervisors and managers. But friendliness doesn't pay my bills. :). As much as I love the culture, I know the reality is that my career development options are pretty limited relative to this position.*

A typical day at work is all about taking phone calls (at times back to back, at times not), team huddle (to review your metrics & stats, and  issues while on a call), 15min break, lunch and back to work until the end of your shift with an ocasional 1 on 1 coaching or team even (such as a potluck, or on some ocasions birthday celebration break)

During the time i worked at nationwide, i leanred many insurance related things, skills needed to network and advance in the company and sadly that the company values metrics more than they value their employees.

Management was ok, and the work place culture was somewhat relaxed (you are allowed to use your cell phone while on the floor, and you can take advantage of the recharge room to relax for a bit before hitting the phones) but lots of people quit or where let go do to the their stats (even if you missed by 1%). One of the managers did let me know that the average burnout time for call center jobs was 2-3 years, but working for nationwide I noticed that many (if not most) of the new hires would only last 6-12 months do to the many stresses that come dealing with the system, resarching guidelines maintaining your stats balanced, or just getting fired do to said stats being low. Promotion was a hit or miss deal, promotions where based off stats/metrics but it also depended how much your supervisor liked you (there where cases where reps got promotions without reaching the required metrics).

The hardest part of dealing with this job was using the system resources to research procedures or gudelines (center-wide issue), the info was scatered over a very long page or pages and reaching said page or pages were dificult do to the search engine being terrible. This said, it would interfere with your metrics and cause stress. Also the aplication or portal used to work on policies feels like its from 1998, offten be dificult to work, crash, not become responsive or delete all your data.

The most enjoyable part of the job was working with great, friendly, smart, fantastic people!

During our team huddle, we would share stories, jokes or experiences and everyone could rely on their fellow team mates or neighbors if they requried help or had technical dificulties. We also had events like team potlucks, events or parties. 

WORK PLACE DRAMA WAS NON-EXISTANT, peace & quiet.

The installations also are great! the campus has very open areas and many great features such as the gym, break room, cafeteria, lunch area, starbucks, and patio to enjoy your lunch. The cubicles where nice and roomy, and you didnt feel like you where in a dungeon.

The break room (or recharge room) had great comodities such as 52" lcd tv, video game consoles (Wii U & Xbox one), ping-pong table, foosball table, darts, leather couches and a stocked magazine/bookshelf.

•	Worked with Business Analysts and users to understand the requirements.
•	Involved in installation and Configuration of SQL server 2008.
•	Involved in developing logical and physical modeling of the database using Erwin.
•	Highly used T-SQL for developing complex Stored Procedures, Triggers and User Defined Functions, Views, Indexes.
•	Used SQL Profiler, System Monitor, Query Analyzer for Troubleshooting, Monitoring, Optimization and Tuning of SQL Server.
•	Created Indexes and Rebuild indexes for better Query performance.
•	Migrated DTS 2000 packages to SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) packages and also modified the packages accordingly using the new features of SQL Server Integration Services.
•	Created SSIS packages using various Transformations for export data from different data sources and Transformed data and load it to SQL Server 2008.
•	Improved the Scalability and Manageability of large tables by creating Table Partitions and maintained Data Consistency and Data Integrity by applying various constraints like Primary Key, Foreign Key, Unique, Check, and Default.
•	Implemented error handling and roll back process in SSIS Packages.
•	Used SSIS package Configuration, changing the variables dynamically and SSIS logging.
•	Built MDX queries for Analysis Services & Reporting Services.
•	Responsible for gathering/refining requirements from the customer for developing reports.
•	Responsible for Full Report cycle including Authoring, Managing, Security and Generation of reports.
•	Developed Query for generating drill down, drill through, parameterized, cascaded reports in SSRS 2005.
•	Backing up, Restoring system & other databases as per requirements, and also scheduled those backups.
•	Managing the security of the servers, creating the new logins and users, changing the roles of the users.
•	Worked on database security, Replication and Log shipping activities.
•	Designed Web-based ASP.NET and C# Internet applications linked to firm wide SQL Databases.
•	Involved in Developing the .NET components and ASP.NET Web form applications like Company website as well as code samples for fellow staffers.
•	Wrote C#, VB.NET Code for Script Task in SSIS 2008.
•	Set Physical Security of SQL Server, to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the servers.
•	Created Master SSIS packages in order to execute a set of packages on a timely basis and deployed those packages using Manifest Files and Import/Export Wizard so that the packages were available for use to other team members.
•	Employed many Slowly Changing Dimension methodologies to maintain and update historical data.
•	Designed and implemented a variety of SSRS reports such as Parameterized, Drill Down, Drill Through, Ad-hoc and Sub-Reports using Report Designer and Report Builder based on the business requirements using both Tabular and Matrix report formats.

●	Highly experienced Business Intelligence Professional using SQL server 2005 and 2008 offering over 7 years of commercial experience working for various organizations within several industries such as health, manufacturing, supply chain management, banking, retail and private
●	Experience in Extracting, Transforming and Loading of Data from Excel, Flat file, Sybase, Oracle to MS SQL Server by using BCP and DTS Import/Export utility, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)
●	Diagnosed query optimization, client/server connectivity, and running database consistency checks using DBCC Utilities
●	Developed database objects such as tables, views, stored procedures, triggers, row-level audit tables, cursors, indexes, user-defined data-types, functions, constraints
●	Experience in providing Logging, Error handling by using Event Handler, and Custom Logging for SSIS Packages
●	Experience in DTS Migration and Metadata Management: Migrating DTS packages to SSIS, Package Migration Wizard, and Storage Management. 
●	Excellent understanding of Relational Database Systems, Normalization, logical and physical data modeling for OLTP and dimensional modeling for OLAP
●	Experience in Database Backup and Recovery
●	Debugging Stored Procedures, Views, User Defined Functions and Triggers
●	Experienced in MS Analysis Services (SSAS) programming for data warehouses (Schemas), proficiency in data warehousing techniques for data cleaning, slowly changing dimension phenomenon
●	Extensively worked on Developing SSAS Cubes, Aggregation, KPIs, Measures, Partitioning Cube, Data Mining Models, Deploying and Processing SSAS objects
●	Experience in writing Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) and used the MDX queries in the report generation
●	4+ years’ experience in working with Reporting tools like Crystal Reports, Microsoft Reporting services, (SSRS)
●	Experienced in Development and Deployment of Reports (Tabular forms, Matrix (Cross Tab report) form, Conditional, List Items, Charts and Sub Reports) using SSRS 
●	Experienced in SharePoint providing central management, governance, and security controls for implementation of project requirements
●	Experience with software development life cycle (SDLC) and project management methodologies.
●	Worked with end users/customers to understand business requirements, recommended technical solutions and documented functional requirements
●	Possess excellent management skills of outstanding decision making with excellent verbal and written communication skills
●	Supervised in preparing and assisting formal walkthroughs and presentations of system designs for business analysts, stakeholders and clients

At the start of working at Nationwide I was introduced to a three week training period. Training was extensive, and isn’t your typical step by step training course. The class was from 9am to about 5:45pm...perks were we were allowed early release most days. One of the Trainers I’ll disclose her name as Trainer “G” was very nice, helpful and professional “during training”. I’ll explain why I said during training later. Also we had an additional trainer K. To make a long story short training was difficult once we made it to claims, and the training did not hardly prepare us for the customer care floor. I was very disappointed when I actually began to take calls, because I felt like I had the basics down but I was just repeating what my floorwalkers were saying. We had floor walkers for about 1 full week which is ridiculous because we all needed a lot more help. As I crossed paths with the trainers they no longer greeting me with a hello or even gave eye contact. Trainer K was always pretty rude, and anti social...let me add she does say “Have a good weekend” on FRIDAYS! Trainer G does everything she can to avoid you, but when she needs the gossip on the office she will stop by to say hello. Back to taking calls; you are advised to call team leads if you need further assistance.  5 out of 10 are rude, will make you feel dumb, and will try any and everything to just get you off the phone if it’s an escalation (meaning they want to speak with a supervisor). If you’d like to know the type of calls you’ll be taking, just google the reviews with the better business bureau. You are told the job is like working at Disneyland many times, this is a lie. 

I started as a temp worker, and was given a 90 day probation period. During this period I was told that the only things that could affect me was my attendance. Further more as my 90 days began to approach I was bombarded with minor errors in calls, and seat changes all while being told each day that I was doing amazing. They will drag you along as long as possible to make sure they won’t have to pay you the amount on the posting. Ask for the pay you desire before accepting the job. Also demand extensive training you will definitely need it for the floor. 

I decided to leave this job just to find out that Managment told my personal business on the fact that I did resign. The managment never personally cared about me, my wellbeing or help I needed on the job. There is much more I can say about this job from scheduling to pay but it’s far too much to type. Please look into another job before taking the offer from nationwide.

It's a fast paced cut throat environment which is praised as being premium 1st class none can do better. "Best practices" are enforced 9on some teams while other teams are encouraged to "do whatever is takes" approach which rides the line of ehtical vs illegal in the eyes of the department of insurance. Getting paid off policies sold is a joke. Processing is THE MOST UNTRANSPARENT thing I've ever seen in any corporate environment its nuts. I'm so surprised someone hasn't sued them over processing and getting paid on time it's laughable. "Top of the funnel leads" were given to "top reps" yet you were NEVER permitted to listen to their calls or shadow them. Supervisors were instructed to say all leads are given equally to all agents... The VP of Sales, the AVP or sales for P&C admitted otherwise. But yet this is an Equal Opportunity Employer whom gives everyone a chance to make the same pay. 90% or the sales floor is averaging 40k sold for the month while a few "Top Agents" have sold 80-90k so far... And they say it's by consistentcy but yet won't let you do and side by sides with them. Smelling fishy yet? Agents are encourage to give high deductibles for home and autos first chance. I'm talking 5-10k deductibles on home. And customers have no clue the impact this would make. Personal Health issues of employees is gossiped between supervisors and managers. Last time I checked this was against the law yet HR does nothing. HR and managers are are personal terms which makes bringing matters up very uncomfortable and almost impossible due to retaliation. Over 1100 Lay offs just occurred and still more needed as Nationwide moves to a Independent Agency model. Not enough people are quiting so the incentive model is being moved again. This new model is very closely related to "Constructive Dismissal" which is used to force people to quite due to impossible demands of performance except for "Top Agents" (which are funneled the best leads after being screened). Security on campus seems good until you realize employees let anyone and everyone though the back side. Also employee badges and profiles are never updated. If you've been there 10 years so far your picture has never been updated.. no cameras are installed in the ENTIRE building so of course theft is a problem. Anything's valuable at your desk. Good luck. Diversity and Inclusion is THE UTMOST importance abover all else. I believe that performance should be more important than the color of your skin. I won't say to much about this since it can be skewed the wrong way.

Overall, from the standpoint of benefits and pay, Nationwide provided decent compensation & excellent benefits for the roles I undertook. And I was lucky enough to have some very competent and caring leadership most of my time with the company. I learned a great deal, and was actually being trained for Six Sigma prior to the announcement of pending layoffs. And, once the fear of layoff is established within a company, it loses a lot of its engagement culture, and morale dips. One should never be forced into a situation where he or she has to apply for nearly every available job posting to secure their future with the company. Sales positions were cut, retention positions within sales were cut, PLSC positions were cut, and property claims intake positions were eliminated, as were field claims roles - these all included leadership positions as well. Shift differential was removed, licensing was sacrificed, and demotions offered with acknowledgement that no raises would happen the ensuing year or two. This does not promote a positive atmosphere. During my time, I was blackballed by a department whose leader was "friends" with my worst supervisor - a supervisor with whom I talked to for a total of maybe 30 minutes in 10 months! I simply asked why I wasn't chosen for an interview for a position within that department based upon my qualifications, and what I could do to insure an interview next time -  the response was that the manager of that department felt I believed I was "entitled" to such a position, and that I'd never obtain such a role with that "attitude." In nearly five years, I was never offered an interview in that department - a department that my original company interviewers stated I was "perfect" for and that I should get within six months of joining the company. A role for which I had a masters degree. Therefore, this should be a warning to you - entry level contact center jobs are not likely to get you anything but in the door, and in the door doesn't mean that you won't be laid off at some point in the future. Even a promotion won't insure your job security. Advancement is not guaranteed, quality scoring is not consistent, leadership does have favorites, and politics does, indeed, play a role in who gets ahead. It's rather sad - I had great plans to work towards a better role, but time ran out, and had I not left the company, would have been laid off by the company. Be very, very careful, and bring up lay offs if you get an interview.

I worked for Nationwide's 2nd largest center in Des Moines, IA in the sales/retention area. It had the expected large company feel. I was in right out of college and so I got my feet wet in insurance then got out to another company where I've been much happier and have developed an actual career. With Nationwide they put you in your job and then advancement was next to impossible. The management they did advance left me scratching my head. One in particular didn't know anything about personal insurance products and really didn't have the attitude that he even cared to learn. He was later demoted (not fired) for quid pro quo sexual harassment of a female co-worker of mine at a wedding. Along the lines of "Come upstairs in the hotel with me and I'll see what I can do about a promotion" type of thing. They DID NOT fire him. Human Resources interviewed everyone there and all reported what they had heard and seen even the victim. He was offered his management salary and a demotion, so he took that and continued to work alongside the woman he had harassed. High turnover is the constant theme because everyone puts in their year (they make you sign a contract that if you leave earlier than a year you have to pay back the state licenses they had to pay for, although if you leave and don't pay all they do is mail letters, nothing happens, you just wouldn't be hired back at Nationwide). When I was hired they explained the compensation package, 33,500 base and commission. 6 months in they cut the commission and gave everyone a $750 raise. This was a long ways off what I was earning with commission. No incentive. Another point is that an absence was called an "occurrence". So if you gathered up 2 occurrences it was grounds for being put on "coaching". If you're on coaching you're on a special watch list and if you get another occurrence that's grounds for termination. An occurrence could be anything from being 5 minutes late (cumulative so if you're 3 min late in to work and 2 min late back from lunch that's a cumulative 5 min and that's an occurrence), calling in sick, having a sick child and calling in. This is why I gave work/life balance a 1 star. There's no work life balance. Have a sick kid? Sorry, that's an occurrence. Get 3 and your kid won't eat because you're fired.

All in all I got my feet wet in insurance, was grateful for that but I was happy to move on and moving on is what everyone there aims to do after 6 months.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Claims adjuster 11 salaries reported	$69,945 per year
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Underwriter 17 salaries reported	$133,620 per year
Consultant 8 salaries reported	$96,084 per year

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