Vernon Lewis helped to revive AICA
Date: 11/16/2005Contact: Joan Barrett/800-690-0070
Vernon Lewis ended up with the checkbook for the previous Claims Association as it faded into obscurity. Not sure of what to do with the funds left from the inactive association, he examined his options and decided that he should find some individuals that believed in the continuing education for adjusters as he did and willing to work to start the organization again….and allow him to pass on that checkbook.
Vernon started in the insurance business as a claims adjuster in Las Vegas for State Farm’s Fire Company. He was transferred to Reno and then to Tucson in 1984 and underwent back surgery while there. During his recovery, Vernon decided to pursue his undergraduate degree and soon found that working as an independent adjuster and going to school were incompatible goals. The State of Arizona offered a solution that Vernon could live with; exciting, diverse claims and an opportunity to pursue the degrees that he wanted. Vernon is now a Special Case Senior Manager for the Department of Administration- Risk Management where he handles claims from the investigation phase to the conclusion. He is able to manage his work load while working toward his Master’s Degree in National Security Studies.
He has received Certification in the International Association of Law Enforcement as an Intelligence Analyst through their Crime and Intelligence Analyst program. He finds this discipline is invaluable and uses the knowledge and skills involved in crime and intelligence analysis in litigation management. He credits the learning with the ability to gather information in an organized manner and to disseminate information in clear terms. Vernon is also a licensed Private Investigator.
He relishes the opportunity to handle difficult claims that offer a wider experience level than the more usual type. His range of responsibilities include the more complex government liability cases that may involve a wide variety of issues that affect the state government from the Horse Racing commission to shootings that hold the public’s interest.
Vernon’s goal in assisting the new start for the Arizona Insurance Claims Association is to help to re-ignite interest in the area’s insurance professionals to raise the level of professional knowledge through continuing education for adjusters.
Graduate school and participation in volunteer activities take much of Vernon’s free time. He is the outgoing treasurer for the Arizona chapter of the International Association of Law Enforcement and a public member of the Arizona Board of Technical Registration on the Enforcement Advisory Committee. At home, he and his wife devote a good deal of time to their two cats, one a Snow Spotted Bengal, the other a Marbled Bengal cat which do not enter the show ring but are treated as privileged members of the family. The cats enjoy a regimen of bathing and regular walks on a leash which the Lewis’ have done since the felines were tiny kittens.