Staff Training Policy

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Purposes of this policy

The purposes of this policy are:

  • To ensure that loss adjusters and other insurance professionals working for vrsANA:
    • maintain their professional standing and memberships
    • extend their skills sets.
  • To ensure that support staff working for vrsANA:
    • Maintain appropriate qualifications and memberships
    • Extend their skill sets
  • To ensure that all vrsANA staff are able to pursue sustainable careers within vrsANA and the industry.

To ensure that vrsANA people have necessary skills to support mature, evolving and emerging markets for vrsANA services, so that vrsANA can maintain and advance its customer service.

General Insurance Code of Practice

The General Insurance Code of Practice was first introduced in 1994 by the Insurance Council of Australia as a voluntary Code. It has been regularly reviewed and updated with any and all updates communicated to vrsANA Adjusters for explicit acknowledgment of any new or altered obligations required by the Code. The Code is independently monitored and enforced by the Code Governance Committee.

The Code has been developed through consultation with a range of stakeholders including consumer and industry representatives, the Code Governance Committee, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

The complaints procedure set out in the Code operates under the authority of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and in accordance with their requirements.

The objectives of the Code are:

  • to commit insurers and their representatives/suppliers to high standards of service;
  • to promote better, more informed relations between insurers/their representatives/suppliers and policyholders/ third parties;
  • to maintain and promote trust and confidence in the general insurance industry;
  • to provide fair and effective mechanisms for resolving Complaints made about insurers and their representatives/suppliers; and
  • to promote continuous improvement of the general insurance industry through education and training.

vrsANA will pursue the above objectives of the Code with regard to the law and acknowledging that every contract of insurance is a contract based on the utmost good faith.

All vrsANA Adjusters are subject to regular, rigorous and scheduled training in relation to the Code and vrsANA is committed to the handling of claims efficiently, honestly and fairly.

vrsANA Policies provide transparency and support to not only vrsANA adjusters but also the policyholders and third parties we interact with on behalf of our clients.

Support for AICLA

vrsANA is a member of and fully supports and endorses the work of the Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters (AICLA).

The purposes of AICLA include

  • provision of a framework of recognised and respected educational standards, courses and qualifications
  • continuing advancement of the education and technical knowledge of our members through meetings, seminars and conferences.
  • provision of unified representation in the Insurance and Financial Services Industry which we serve
  • ongoing liaison with Insurers, Brokers, Lawyers and others serving in our Industry.

Members are subject to a framework of qualifications and bound by a strict code of conduct designed to ensure a high standard of knowledge, efficiency and integrity in our dealings with our Industry and the Public.

Visit the AICLA website at https://aicla.org/.

Professional development

All vrsANA professional staff are expected to fulfill at least the minimum ongoing professional development requirements set by their appropriate professional body.

Staff are encouraged to go beyond the minimum requirement and extend their qualifications and membership levels, for example from Associate to Fellow.

Obtaining further qualifications in specialist areas of insurance is especially encouraged.

Further study can include short and non-accredited courses, where these are practically focused and teach real-world skills.

vrsANA especially encourages professionals from other fields entering Loss Adjusting via intensive training, for example engineers, lawyers and accountants. 

Support staff development

vrsANA encourages ongoing training of support staff to extend their skills, including into new areas.  vrsANA values multi-skilled staff highly.

vrsANA seeks to offer all support staff a career path including becoming loss adjusters, if they choose.

Teaching

Teaching can be the best learning. As vrsANA employs only senior, qualified adjusters our people are regularly involved in delivering industry training, including supporting emerging loss adjusting industries on other countries. vrsANA strongly supports this long-established trend.

In-house training development

In order to capitalise on its deep skill sets, vrsANA plans to develop in-house and on-line training resources, initially for internal use. We are developing a survey of training needs so we can plan on-line training subjects.

The first step in developing our in-house training capacity will be a national employee event, to be held as a virtual conference, with sessions for managers, adjusters and support staff.

First aid

All vrsANA offices are encouraged to have at least one person who maintains a current first aid qualification. Completion of a workplace-related mental first aid course is also encouraged.