Insurance adjuster

 reader stressful jobs guy coates
  • Name: Guy Coates
  • Hometown: Prescott, Ariz.

I didn't appreciate how stressful my job as an insurance adjuster was until I stopped doing it.

The main problem was the workload: You were asked to handle a high volume of claims, which increased year after year, more and more.

I worked for 30 years in the industry and handled all sorts of claims, property, personal injury liability. It was a prestigious job at first and you handled claims face to face. That switched to telephone contacts and then to computer. The volume increased all the time.

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If you did a good job, the company management gave you more until you were overburdened -- then criticized you if you couldn't get it all done. I worked nearly every weekend and many evenings.

I would get panic attacks, wake up at night and feel like I was having a heart attack. My marriage broke up and I attribute that partially to the impact of the stress.

You rarely see an adjuster over 50 years old. I'm now a real estate agent and there's practically no stress at all, compared with [my years as an] insurance adjuster.

First published June 30, 2014: 5:49 PM ET

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