Independent to the Core

Ask John Seyler what he wanted to be when he was a kid: Firefighter? Police officer? Tinker, tailor, candlestick-maker?

No, Seyler’s choice of career was clear from the get-go. “Quite frankly, I’ve always wanted to be an adjuster,” he says, adding with a hearty laugh, “which is sad, but true.”

The incoming president of the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association (CIAA) acknowledges the lure of adjusting may not be everyone’s siren’s song. But Seyler, also a partner with ProFormance Specialty Claims Inc., comes by his love of insurance honestly.

Seyler’s father, long since retired, was an auto appraiser. Both men opted for the same professional destination but, sons being sons, Seyler added a twist to his route. “I always remember as a kid my father grumbling: ‘The adjuster told me to do this, the adjuster told me to do that.’ I thought, someday when I grow up, I want to be that guy,” he says, again laughing.

Seyler’s first job was as a trainee at a large, national adjusting company in downtown Toronto, where he did the “usual run of work — getting statements and doing scene investigations.” Seyler stayed there for 22 years, moving up into progressively higher positions, including branch manager and director of the specialty division.

Last year, he met Tammie Norn, who Seyler describes as “one of the smartest women I’ve ever met in my life.” Together, they formed the Pro-Fomance Group of Companies, which combines ProFormance Adjusting Solutions and Pro-Formance Specialty Claims.

Why leave the company where he had worked for two decades? “I really felt the urge to build something that had my stamp,” Seyler says.

TO THE CORE

Independent adjusting is at the core of Seyler’s stamp. “I’ve always been an independent adjuster,” he says. “I’ve never worked on the company side.”

His new business partnership with Norn keeps that independence intact.

“We’re small and we’re agile,” Seyler says of the business, which specializes in handling transportation, commercial auto, casualty, errors and omissions (E&O) and director and officer (D&O) claims. “The two of us can make a decision to do something or to go off in a another direction, and we can.”

Seyler’s vigour contributes to the company’s flexibility and ability to respond quickly. “I just love to come to the office and can’t wait for the next claim to come in, for the next challenge to be presented, to deal with people,” he says.

“I love the people I work with, my partner is terrific and the business has become fun again,” he says.

Of course, it’s not always about fun and games. Seyler recently attended an accident scene within about 45 minutes of one of his client’s trucks colliding with another vehicle. Upon arriving, he could see that the police were reconstructing the accident. Although his client was not liable, he was nonetheless stressed and upset.

Seyler had to comfort the driver — “this poor guy is literally crying in my car because he’s so upset about what’s happened” — but at the same time his adrenaline was ratcheted high and he had to complete an assessment of the scene. Later, he was “sitting, grinding through policy wordings and trying to find the answer.”

Seyler cites a few personality traits that are well-suited to working as an adjuster: Being honest, credible, open-minded, compassionate, precise, organized and a self-starter would indeed be a good start, he says.

“We deal with a lot of people in stressful situations. By no intent of their own did they want to find themselves in situations in which their house burned down, they were injured in a car accident or they slipped and fell in the grocery store,” Seyler says.

Serious incidents can be traumatic for all who attend, he suggests. It is important to understand “what people are going through and try relate to it. It’s almost like it’s a little cut on you every time you go to one of these events. You have to deal with it because it’s very stressful situations in which you’re going to find yourself,” Seyler says.

LEARNING CURVE

There is still some work — perhaps even salesmanship — to be done to raise the profile of adjusting specifically and insurance generally, he says. Seyler recalls bringing his daughter to a school function when she was about eight years old. At a Canadian government display, a young student asked passing children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

The person running the program asked Seyler’s daughter, “What does your daddy do?” Seyler recalled.

“Oh, he’s an insurance adjuster,” his daughter said.

Seyler said the person running the program had a blank look on her face. “Well, I’m sure that’s secure,” she replied.

“She had no idea what goes on during the day,” Seyler says.

Early on in his career, Seyler was “always the guy asking the questions, trying to seek out somebody to help me,” he says. Now, in contrast, Seyler finds it “very flattering” that people call him for answers.

Seyler says monthly staff meetings at ProFormance are held to ensure employees are trained and educated so they can handle the demands of the job. He is very keen on CIAA launching continuing education to benefit members and their employees, believing that Ontario should mandate continuing education for adjusters.

As long as it is not mandated, adjusters should be taking advantage of program information being made available, he adds.

“I wouldn’t want to go to a dentist or a doctor or a chiropractor who didn’t belong to their professional organization,” Seyler says. The same holds for using an adjuster who doesn’t belong to a professional association like the CIAA. “I think that what we stand for speaks volumes about the type of individual we’re hiring,” he says.

At ProFomance Group, Seyler says he and Norn support efforts to ensure employees feel like they’re contributing to their community as a whole. “I think that builds character in people and I think that builds a better employee,” he says.

Building character is certainly something the CIAA can get behind, he adds. “It’s very important for the profession to have an organization that represents its interests.”

During his presidency, expected to become official on Aug. 25, Seyler intends to focus on ensuring small firms survive in this economic environment. He also wants to make the CIAA viable for multinationals. “It’s very important to be accessible and affordable, whether it be to the one-man office in Alberta or to the company in downtown Toronto on Front Street that has hundreds of adjusters.”

Ultimately, the business is not about insurance policies and insurance companies, Seyler says. It’s about people.

“I think you can’t ever forget that behind a policy number is actually a family or a person who’s found themselves in a difficult position and they’re relying on you to help guide them through it.”