Applied Underwriters Reviews

Ok, here is my up-front, honest opinion. 1. The 4 and 5 star reviews are definitely company plants. In 3 years I have MAYBE met 2 people here who like their job. 2. Vending Services - It used to be $.25 for everything...but it was very slim pickins. Now if you make up to $40k a year they give you $8.00 per day to use on vending. If you make $40k or more, you get $2.50 per day. The prices are so high the over $40k staff can't even get a sandwich or salad for lunch but the under $40k people are literally hoarding food, snacks and water to take home everyday so they use up their $8.00. It is truly ridiculous. 3. Hours and Pay - Salary. Very low pay for the work you do. In your interview they will say the average adjuster works 45 hours per week. Wow! Try 55-60. A lot of adjusters come in on weekends. Forget about having a life. And even though you are SALARY, and DO NOT get paid for overtime, and you will meet 40 hours by Thursday morning, don't even THINK about clocking out 2 minutes early. Yes, you clock in and out for the day and for lunch and it's heavily monitored...just like a 16 year-old McDonald's employee. If you work here two years you are considered a long-term employee. People leave so frequently they have to hold about 11 new-hire adjuster trainings per year. It's a revolving door where you get your adequate training 5 months after you are already doing it. 4. Work - I have never, ever been so stressed out or seen so many co-workers stressed out in my life. High turnover. Understaffed. Over-worked. Everyone hates their jobs. You will EASILY get over 120 heavily litigated claims. You cannot possibly manage everything and the so-called "assistants" they give you are a joke. The reason they have so many customers (Look on the website!) is they tout "low claim loads" - what a joke - and fast claim resolution. Let's discuss that. The closure goals are LUDICROUS and because your team-lead and their bosses get nice fat bonuses for hitting these goals (did I mention the adjusters, who do all the work, get nothing?) they employ some VERY shady practices for hitting these goals, even if it means closing active claims and reopening them later. DO NOT SPEAK UP ABOUT THIS because it puts a huge target on your back. 5. Benefits - Not horrible. Free medical insurance to employees but expensive if you have to add family members. They say "free prescriptions" if you use THEIR internal pharmacy. This is true. But keep in mind this allows the company to monitor your prescriptions and have medical information about you. There is a HORRIBLE PTO system that is pathetic, especially if you have kids. Heaven forbid you get the flu or your kid gets sick. Prepare to get a write-up if that happens. 6. Management - First, as much as I dislike this company, despite a previous review, there is absolutely no racial discrimination here. With that said...HORRIBLE management. There is ZERO consistency, a lot of unfair treatment and favortism abounds. It's like being in a clique-ish high-school environment. You get no performance reviews or raises but you do get a weekly one on one with your team leader where you will be told how sub par you are. Morale here is in the toilet. It's the only job you have where you work like a fiend and it will just never be enough. If your supervisor loves you, you may get a promotion to the next level, if not, you will do the SAME WORK as the next level but forget the promotion. Some people get away with breaking the rules, coming in late daily, violating the dress code in all kinds of dramatic ways, etc and it doesn't matter. There was one lady who had influenzloa A last year and they did not make her use her PTO and she got paid. Another person had it and they made that person go negative in their PTO bank and get written up. Kids have a concert? Swim lessons? Ball game? Sick? Find someone else. Family does not matter here. You and your life are not priorities. 7. Misc - The dress code is ridiculous. NOBODY SEES US. Men must wear ties daily (even file clerks). They won't even consider jeans Fridays. Tattoos must be hidden...oh, wait, depending who you are. No jeans or casual shoes. On Fridays men can leave their ties at home. That's the nod to casual Fridays. The company absolutely REFUSES to modernize. They staunchly refuse to reduce paper or buy scanners to reduce paper. Everything is in a physical, paper file. We get ONE copy machine for well over 100 employees. The payroll system is literally a black and white screen 1998 DOS program. The computer towers are probably 10 years old. Only senior staff are allowed a wireless headset so your neck constantly hurts from being on the phone. The analysts who are supposed to make sure claims are compliant with regulations constantly overstep their bounds and make your job impossible. Your supervisor will never stand up for you when you're right. They think it's easier just to do it than to do what is actually right. Oh, and close claims. Right, wrong, good, bad, ethical, unethical...does not matter. Keep your head down, your mouth shut and close claims. WORST WORK ENVIRONMENT I HAVE EVER BEEN SUBJECTED TO. There will probably be a planted 4 or 5 star review after this to offset my very generous one star review. If you value having a life, don't want to be involved in unethical dealings and don't consider an ulcer to be an asset, look elsewhere.