A Day in the Life: Nate Hartman
In this edition of A Day In The Life, we will give readers an idea of what the typical day looks like for a Claims Superintendent. Nate Hartman from Admiral Insurance Group has generously volunteered to enlighten our audience with his insights. In this edition we will discuss Nate’s background, what he loves about being a Claims Superintendent, and the skills that lead to a successful career in this role.
Claims Superintendents are responsible for managing and resolving complex coverage claims, conducting in-depth coverage analysis, leading investigations, and overseeing the management of litigated files. Key duties include recording all claims, establishing and maintaining appropriate loss and expense reserves, and supervising the activities of various members of the Claims team (which includes adjusters, investigators, and defense attorneys). The Claims Superintendent also presents claims to committees, participates in mediations and trials, and ensures compliance with company procedures, legal requirements, and reporting obligations.
Background
What is your current position? How long have you been in it? How did you find it?
Professional Liability Claims Superintendent. I have been at Admiral Insurance for 3 years and I found the position through an online job search engine.
Please give a description of your current position, something that explains your role in the insurance marketplace and how you interact with others:
I handle surplus lines non-medical professional liability claims with exposures up to the policy limits. I handle litigated and non-litigated claims under Insurance Agents & Brokers E&O, Architect & Engineer E&O, Technology Professional Liability, Cyber Liability, and Miscellaneous Liability policy forms. I collaborate daily with Insureds, Underwriters, coverage and defense counsel to provide effective claims handling services.
Where is your Undergraduate degree from? When did you graduate?
I graduated from Albright College in 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Marketing. I earned a Masters in Business Administration from Alvernia University in 2018.
What positions have you held to date? Why did you get into the insurance industry?
I started as an Auto Claims Adjuster in 2009 and have held numerous claims handling titles while handling several different types of commercial lines claims over the past 15 years. I played college basketball with someone who was handling claims at the carrier where I started, and I have always been a curious person who enjoys investigating things I don’t understand. I knew absolutely nothing about the Insurance Industry at the time, but this mentality made me take the risk of joining the insurance industry and the rest is history.
What do you love most about your position?
The 2 things that I love most about my position are interacting with people and the ability to learn something new every day. I lean on the people I interact with daily to help me grow and provide the best service possible on behalf of Admiral Insurance. Claim types, exposures and risks evolve over time and just about anything can be insured these days. This requires constant learning and growth to handle claims to the best of my ability.
What is one misconception about your position?
Claims departments are not out to deny coverage for claims. I promise my colleagues and myself at Admiral are of the mindset to find and provide coverage if it’s available. A policy is a contract and we can’t change the terms of a contract after it is in place to fit a claim circumstance. We interpret the policy and when coverage is owed, then we defend and/or resolve claims as needed.
What professional designations do you hold (if any)? And how have they helped you in your career?
I hold the RPLU (Registered Professional Liability Underwriter), Associates in Surplus Lines Insurance (ASLI), and the Cyber Professional Liability Practitioner (CPLP) designations.
What skills make someone successful in your position? What skills are essential and what are nice-to-have?
I believe the desire to constantly learn is important to success in the insurance industry because the insureds, policies, claims etc. are always changing. I also believe being able to review and interpret in your own words in any type of situation is very helpful as a claims handler. It is essential to be able to relate to all different types of people and adapt because no 2 claims are the same. It is nice to have effective time management, be innovative and organized but as you gain experience, those skills get better.
Daily structure
What does your morning routine consist of?
I get a cup of coffee before I even turn the laptop on. I then take 5-10minutes to list things that are a priority to get done that day. This list can include meetings and calls scheduled later in the day. I then like to attack my email inbox first thing in the morning because I find I can work other things more effectively when I am not behind on my emails.
What tips do you have for hosting meeting effectively?
I think having a clear agenda for a meeting is critical because time is valuable and having clear goals during that meeting helps keep everyone focused on the task at hand. I also find when leading a meeting, it is effective to not be the person that does all the talking, when appropriate. There are a lot of outstanding minds in the insurance industry that can bring different perspectives to help a company move forward.
How do you achieve work life balance?
I have learned over the years to speak up more when I have life activities or situations that require my attention outside of work. I have had managers who don’t care but others that are very receptive to this discussion. This allows me to be transparent and work with management to help create that balance. I also have learned to walk through the front door after work and be happy with what I accomplished that day because there is nothing I can do about my work concerns until the next day. This allows me to be more present both at work and at home.
What do you do to ensure you are progressing in your career and continuously learning?
I am constantly looking for different opportunities outside of my comfort zone to grow professionally. This means trying new things related to claims and other departments within the company that allows me to expand my experience and knowledge about the industry. I have learned so many things about myself and what I am good at or what I need to work on because of so many different experiences. I have also tried to stay involved in the things that help move the company forward and industry forward like networking, community involvement and education.
How do you approach mundane or administrative tasks?
I am very list oriented. It helps me manage a lot of different things and stay organized to maintain the high expectations of myself. Administrative tasks are time consuming without much of a reward at times but not doing the small things now leads to bigger problems later.
How has COVID-19 changed your daily habits?
COVID certainly changed my daily habits because it has allowed the ability to succeed while working a hybrid schedule at home and in the office without my work product suffering. In fact, it feels my daily habits have improved because I have an opportunity to be at home certain days to practice these habits in a more controlled environment without some of the distractions that come with working in an office.
What is the most challenging part of your day and how do you tackle it?
The most challenging part of my day is the situations you don’t know about one minute but then require your immediate attention as soon as you become aware. Being on the claims side of the industry, I am involved when something already went wrong. It requires me to be reactive for immediate needs right now while also being proactive to move the situation to an ideal outcome that requires less urgency.
What is your favorite part of the day and why?
My favorite part of the day is that no 2 days are the same. I never feel that my job is the same thing day in and day out and that is a refreshing feeling because other jobs do feel like you punch in and punch out, repeat and time passes by without challenging yourself to be better.
Aspirations
What advice would you give your younger self?
Take time to understand all parts of your company. Early in your career you become so focused on your tasks at hand that you miss out on opportunities to get a better understanding of the whole picture around you. It also allows you to better appreciate how your role contributes toward the entire company.
What is one of your goals you are working towards and have not yet accomplished?
I am working toward growing my skills that will better put me in a position to succeed as a manager. I have goals set to reach certain levels of management as my career continues to progress over the years. I want to be ready if or when the right opportunity becomes available. There is so many skilled people in our industry that it takes a lot of different skills to really stand out. I want to lead people and lead a company to success until the end of my career.
Are you a mentor or a mentee? Please describe this relationship.
I am both a mentor and mentee. I started out as a mentee and really had people who took the time to answer my questions or provide insight on their experiences. As my experience has grown over the years, I have acted as a mentor for those less experienced because I love helping other people grow to be their best self. As a mentor, you still learn from your interactions with your mentee, so it is a very rewarding relationship for both parties. I plan to continue in both roles in some capacity my entire career because it is an experience-based industry and everyone has a different experience to share.
What can the insurance industry do to attract and retain talent?
The insurance industry needs to continue to shed light on the endless amount of different types of roles available throughout the industry in so many different types of companies. I think the general public doesn’t understand the extreme amount of roles out there that require a wide range of skills and talents. I think to double down on that, these different roles also come with a lot of room for growth and progression for those who want to take it. It is motivating to know if you succeed, you have a great chance to advance your career.
Typical Day in the Life
8AM – 9AM: Emails and organizing to daily priorities
10AM – 11AM: Priority calls and meetings
11AM –12PM: Less priority work such as daily activities set to check in on certain claims.
12PM– 1PM: Administrative tasks
1PM – 2PM: Lunch and Gym
2PM – 3PM: Less priority calls and meetings
3PM – 4PM: Emails, voicemails, look ahead to tomorrow
4PM – 5PM: Follow up on anything pressing or loose ends that need finished on my daily to do list.
Nate Hartman, Claims Superintendent, Admiral Insurance Group