Alan Baron, you know you remind me of...
Date: 1/6/2006Contact: Joan Barrett/800-690-0070
Alan Baron of Canco Property and Casualty is so used to being told that he looks like Al Pacino, Alan or Adam Arkin or Robert DiNero that it doesn’t phase him in the slightest when a new acquaintance gives him an appraising look and asks “Did anyone ever tell you that you look just like ___(one of the above)____?” Alan figures that as long as people keep calling him, he will use his New York energy and work ethic to get the work done and the reports completed quickly, no matter whom he reminds them of.
Alan has been in claims since his graduation 27 years ago from ASU with a degree in business when he was hired by Liberty Mutual to investigate claims. He has spent the intervening time in the same field as a claims supervisor and claims manager for other carriers and now as the owner of his own business. His scope entails investigating all types of Bodily Injury claims; auto, commercial, general liability and worker’s comp for carriers, the State of Arizona and self-insureds.. He started with Canco after returning to Arizona after a Claims Manager position in California. Alan was employed by Canco for 7 years before he purchased the company 6 years ago.
The rewards of self-employment are the satisfaction that comes from doing a good job and the flexibility of making one’s own schedule. Alan concedes that this makes for an odd work day sometimes, he gets calls in the wee hours of the morning on occasion and sometimes has to schedule meetings on weekends or evening hours, but feels that the compensation for this is that there are days when he can take his 6 year-old son to the park for an hour or two. Family is a priority for Alan and time with his son is precious.
Alan has learned to utilize the technology available to stay in touch with his clients and their claimants but due to the field investigations that are part of his daily routine, he does not feel the isolation that can plague some adjusters who work from their home office. His home office routine is broken by visits to police departments and appointments to gather statements by witnesses. Alan relieves the stress of a high stress profession with his affection for racquetball and does well in the tournament circuit. He also makes it a point to adjust his schedule to attend AICA meetings whenever the topic promises to deliver information he can use in his business.
The adjuster’s job is, in Alan’s view, usually a high stress job with an unreasonable caseload but he feels that he has managed to find a working method that he can live with. His experience as a manager has prepared him to evaluate his position clearly and makes him very sure that he is happy with a one-man office and he knows that he doesn’t want to manage employees at this point in his life.
His goal is to maintain the reputation for quality and timely reports that Canco currently enjoys for the next 10 to 15 years before he retires and leaves the business to a new owner. Alan speculates along with the rest of us about the future of the economy because he has learned over the years that the Independent Adjusting business gets better when the economy falters.