Making the Decision to Retire

 

Making the decision to retire wasn’t easy. It was a struggle to determine if the time is right, if I’d saved enough money to live the life I’ve envisioned, and if I was prepared to give up the identity I’d established as a high performing, valued, claim professional in the P&C insurance industry. There is no question that I’m still at the top of my game. But, the machinations required by my company and the toxic litigation environment made it too challenging to do the job. 

The stress has been overwhelming. It is not as if an incorrect decision would result in people dying or losing their homes or livelihoods; instead it is the acknowledgment that making the wrong recommendation could cost my company millions of dollars and more Thursday morning quarterbacking than I want to endure.

Activism amongst the judiciary, ethically challenged plaintiff attorneys, juries that do not appreciate the value of a dollar, greed, shortsightedness, anger towards corporations that employ people, intolerance for accidents, and the apparent need for some people to transfer wealth from those who create to those who believe society owes them has created a landscape I no longer want to navigate. 

The inmates have co-opted the asylum. Even the parts of the job that energized me no longer compensate for the negativity. My only hope is that the cycle will tilt towards what is reasonable. But, I’m no longer willing to wait.