Dennis Bergstrom- continuing education is key
Date: 9/14/2005Contact: Joan Barrett/800-690-0070
CCNC is a perfect setting for a conversation with Dennis Bergstrom as he believes continuing education is the key to success in the insurance industry.
Dennis has returned to the Northwest where he started life in Washington State and graduated from Western Washington University. His wife taught school and after college the plan was for Dennis to get a job for two years to fund his time in law school. With that goal in mind, he looked at an adjuster’s position to provide additional experience needed for law school. After his first company choice fell short of his expectations, he heard about Crawford and Company, researched the company and wrote to ask for a job. He was hired on January 10, 1972. But after two years, he realized he had found his calling with a career he enjoyed and a company that provided opportunity. He was promoted to Adjuster in Charge of the Bellingham office. He was then promoted to Branch Manager and the next few years saw the family heading to Salem, Reno and then Sacramento in December of 1987. He also has served as Vice President – Regional Manager and is currently a National Account Executive for the company. Dennis’ predecessor as Branch Manager, Clark Wilkinson started as the Sacramento branch on October 1, 1959 by himself with a card table for a desk and his wife Doris taking claims on the phone.
Of the many changes he has seen in these (so far) thirty-three plus years, the most significant are the number and type of carriers in the marketplace. “Like the airlines, we are dealing with fewer providers who are constantly looking for more effective ways to sell their products and handle their claims. Carriers spend less money on highly trained adjuster resources to handle high frequency, low severity claims. As a result, more value is placed on the highly trained adjuster to handle high severity or more complicated claims. This has created a gap in the employment pool that should be viewed as an opportunity. There will always be more demand for the person who seeks a higher education in his/her field. Young claims professionals who seek AIC and CPCU designations will have greater demand in the market.” Dennis cites Gil Malmgren and his team of independent adjusters (now realigned as a separate company, Probity Adjusting) as an example for young people of the respect for knowledge in the industry that education and professionalism can afford.
“There is reluctance among young people to change locations for opportunity. That creates another condition of the marketplace that we have to deal with in recruiting, training and retaining our best employees.” Dennis went on. “One candidate turned down a lucrative job offer because he wouldn’t cancel a recreational event to relocate.”
Crawford and Company had 1,800 employees in North America when Dennis started with the company. They now have 8,000 employees in 67 countries worldwide. Dennis says with confidence that good leaders with a clear vision and the ability to effect change are responsible for the expanded service through growth, training and acquisitions.
“The future of the claims industry hinges on our ability to recruit young people which” Dennis grins “is a challenge because the insurance industry isn’t sexy. Insurance companies are competing for highly educated people with the high-tech industries, which have a greater appeal to these kids who have a high demand for services and also demand instant gratification. On a more positive note, they are not as consumed by career as perhaps we were. Job satisfaction and family are more important”
Dennis had plenty of praise for the CCNC, “As in the past, this years’ conference has a strong program with well-planned seminars that cover all the disciplines. Adjusters have numerous desktop resources to assist in planning and managing the claims process. These seminars help to provide direction in utilizing all of these resources.”
“The hurricane disaster in the Gulf Coast will utilize every available independent adjuster and we’ll still not have enough people to handle the volume of claims”, Dennis stated. “Regular every day claims volume is still down due to higher deductibles, etc. but the severity of the claims reported are up. Crawford Technical Services is handling that aspect of the process quite well. Crawford’s Contractor Connection managed repair program is filling the void on low severity – high frequency claims. Contractors now are involved with claims that used to have adjusters on site.”
Speaking of claims associations of the past, Dennis says “they were comprised of claims professionals and attorneys only. Suppliers are now an integral part of the associations because they are part of the claims process. A side effect of the involvement of service providers is that insurance carriers no longer support the associations as they once did. The best antidote is to offer the strongest educational programs possible to become a viable resource for the carriers.”
When asked to impart some advice for people new to the industry, Dennis says emphatically “Get as much continuing education as possible! If your company offers it- get it! If you have to get more education on your own, make sacrifices to do it. Set personal and professional goals for yourself. A good manager will help his/her team to develop professionally. Work towards handling the most complicated claims and when you do so, you will command the professional respect of your peers, and be provided with opportunity beyond your imagination.”