Suncorp says it is leading the way in staff education, as tertiary qualifications or their equivalent become a requirement for its personal injury claims managers.

The company’s statutory claims section has provided free education for the past two years, and more than half its 400 staff now have tertiary qualifications.

“This market-leading initiative will ensure Suncorp continues to set and improve on high claims management performance benchmarks,” EGM Statutory Claims Paul Smeaton told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Courses include Certificate IV in General Insurance, the Diploma in Personal Injury Management and the Master of Management (Personal Injury).

All new statutory claims staff are now enrolled in the certificate IV general insurance course as part of the standard induction.

“This is a highly skilled profession and a corresponding level of relevant tertiary education is required to ensure claims managers can perform at the highest level,” Mr Smeaton said.

However, not all claims workers will need to upgrade their education.

“While Suncorp will not require all staff to obtain the relevant tertiary qualifications, it expects them to have competencies that are equivalent to this level of education,” Mr Smeaton said.

“In the majority of cases, these competencies will be best achieved through tertiary qualifications.”

Suncorp’s statutory claims division includes workers’ compensation and compulsory third party claims management.