Market Disruption Creates Opportunity for IAs and TPAs

The insurance industry has been absorbing a lot of disruption at once, and disruption on the carrier side creates work on the adjusting side. The third-party administrators and independent adjusting firms that are ready to answer new catastrophic loss patterns, economic swings, labor shifts, and technological change are the ones positioned to come out ahead.

A note on dates, because market commentary ages quickly. This piece was written in January 2025 and the figures below carry the year they were published. Three of the four forces described here have held or intensified since. The fourth, carrier underwriting distress, has eased: property and casualty results recovered strongly through 2025, so the argument that adjusting firms win because carriers are losing money no longer stands on its own. The cost-control argument in its place is about capacity and expense discipline, not survival.

How new catastrophic loss trends create opportunities

Natural disaster losses have been mounting. Recent events, including the flooding in North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024 and the Los Angeles area wildfires in 2025, devastated entire communities.

Those events are tragic, and claims professionals are well placed to help. An efficient claims process gets loss victims back on their feet faster while also holding administrative costs down and protecting the reputation of everyone whose name is on the file.

According to NOAA, there were 27 confirmed weather and climate disasters in 2024 with losses of at least $1 billion each. That was one fewer than the record 28 disasters in 2023, but far above the CPI-adjusted annual average of 9.0 events between 1980 and 2024. As catastrophic storms and fires keep hitting the US, claims professionals have an opening to do the work better, and the firms that do are in a strong position to grow.

How economic pressures create opportunities

Property and casualty insurers spent several years struggling with underwriting performance, driven by more severe claims and economic inflation. That pressure has since eased considerably, which changes what adjusting firms should be selling into.

The turn was already visible when this was written. Swiss Re Institute reported that in the first quarter of 2024, property and casualty insurers posted their strongest underwriting results in more than 15 years, at a combined ratio of 94%. Higher investment yields were strengthening insurer balance sheets at the same time. Results improved again across 2025.

Challenges remain even in a good year. Rising losses, particularly from natural disasters, are a standing threat to any underwriting result. And policyholders are worn down by premium increases, which sends a lot of them shopping.

The J.D. Power 2024 US Insurance Shopping Study found that half of all auto insurance customers were looking for new policies.

That is the durable opportunity. Insurers protecting a recovered result and trying to hold on to customers will pay for claims handling that controls claim cost and keeps policyholders from leaving. Adjusting firms that can show both effects in their own numbers win more business.

How labor shifts create opportunities

With Boomers and older Gen Xers retiring, the industry is losing its most experienced claims people, and many firms are having a hard time replacing them.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics projections put the industry's expected loss at roughly 400,000 workers by 2026. That window is now closing rather than approaching, which makes the point sharper than it was: the retirement wave described here is largely a present condition, not a forecast.

Insurers that cannot hold on to an experienced workforce may struggle to carry the workload, and the result shows up as delays and poor customer service. Claims businesses that use technology to absorb the labor shift without letting it reach their service levels or their turnaround times are the ones carriers will keep calling.

How technological innovation creates opportunities

Technology is moving quickly, and that is disruptive in its own right. The race is on, but the firms that win it will not necessarily be those that adopt the most technology in the shortest time. They will be the ones that adopt the right technology for the problems actually in front of them.

Technology also helps with the other disruptions on this list. It reduces the manual work each file carries, which eases the talent squeeze. It cuts administrative cost, which shows up on the bottom line. And it supports faster resolutions and better claimant experiences, which matters most in the weeks after a natural disaster when volume is highest and patience is shortest.

The IAs and TPAs that put technology to work solving those problems for insurers are the ones that emerge from this period with more of the work than they started with.

Frequently asked questions

How do rising catastrophe losses create opportunity for adjusting firms and TPAs?

Natural disaster losses have been mounting, and NOAA counted 27 confirmed weather and climate disasters in 2024 with losses of at least $1 billion each, far above the CPI-adjusted annual average of 9.0 events between 1980 and 2024. An efficient claims process gets loss victims back on their feet faster while holding administrative costs down and protecting the reputation of everyone whose name is on the file. Firms that do that work better are in a strong position to grow.

What does the retiring claims workforce mean for adjusting firms and TPAs?

As Boomers and older Gen Xers retire, the industry is losing its most experienced claims people, and many firms are having a hard time replacing them. US Bureau of Labor Statistics projections put the industry's expected loss at roughly 400,000 workers by 2026. Insurers that cannot hold on to experienced staff may see delays and poor customer service, so claims businesses that use technology to absorb the shift without hurting service levels or turnaround times are the ones carriers keep calling.

How does technology help adjusting firms handle market disruption?

Technology reduces the manual work each file carries, which eases the talent squeeze, and it cuts administrative cost. It also supports faster resolutions and better claimant experiences, which matters most in the weeks after a natural disaster when volume is highest. The firms that come out ahead are not necessarily the ones that adopt the most technology fastest, but the ones that adopt the right technology for the problems in front of them.

Where the software fits

Claims software gives an adjusting business the tools to hold its service standards steady while the market moves around it. Automated reporting removes the recurring manual cost that otherwise caps how many clients a firm can carry. Field documentation captured at the loss location keeps data entry from piling up back at the desk. Convenient communication options support the claimant experience carriers are being judged on. Analytics turn a firm's own file history into the numbers a carrier asks for during a review.

Different operating models need different configurations of the same thing. Independent adjuster claims software is built around variable volume and field work, while TPA claims management software is built around running multiple client programs with their own workflows, authority limits, and reporting formats.

VCA implementations complete in weeks, not years, which matters in a market where the opportunity in front of a firm has a date on it. Request a demo to see it against your own claim flow.