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

To ensure that ANA people have necessary skills to support mature, evolving and emerging markets for ANA services, so that ANA 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 ANA 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.

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

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

Support for AICLA

ANA 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 ANA 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.

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

Support staff development

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

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

Teaching

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

In-house training development

In order to capitalise on its deep skill sets, ANA 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 ANA 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.