AIC Adjuster Level 1 Scenario Practice Guide
How to read AIC Adjuster Level 1 (Alberta Insurance Council) scenarios, locate the decision point, and choose defensible answers.
Scenario practice guide
Use this guide when an AIC Adjuster Level 1 scenario contains more facts than you can comfortably organize. The goal is to identify a supportable next step within a Level 1 adjuster’s supervised role, not to jump directly from a reported loss to a coverage, liability, or payment conclusion.
This is independent Finance Prep practice guidance, not an Alberta Insurance Council procedure manual or official exam content.
The two-pass read
| Pass | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First read | Identify the claim stage and the question being asked: intake, coverage, investigation, valuation, liability, communication, payment, recovery, or escalation | It prevents one familiar fact from pulling you toward the wrong issue. |
| Second read | Mark the parties, policy term, evidence, amount, deadline, authority limit, and missing information that affect the next step | It separates supportable action from premature conclusions. |
Build a five-part claim frame
| Part | Questions to ask |
|---|---|
| People and interests | Who is insured, claiming, witnessing, responsible, supervising, or otherwise affected? What interest does each party have? |
| Policy and authority | Which policy term may respond? What limit, condition, exclusion, deductible, reservation, or approval boundary matters? |
| Facts and evidence | What happened, what supports it, what conflicts, and what still needs to be obtained or preserved? |
| Loss and responsibility | What is damaged or alleged, how is it valued, and is liability actually established? |
| Next file action | What should be documented, communicated, investigated, diarized, recommended, approved, or escalated now? |
Answer-choice filter
| Choice pattern | Usually weaker when… |
|---|---|
| Immediate denial, admission, or payment | Essential policy facts, evidence, valuation, liability analysis, or authority are still missing. |
| Action beyond Level 1 authority | The file requires Level 3 review, approval, countersignature, or direction. |
| Generic policy statement | It does not apply the actual wording or the material fact in the scenario. |
| Estimate treated as a final answer | The estimate does not by itself establish coverage, scope, reasonableness, or the payable amount. |
| Liability assumed from an accident or injury | Duty, breach, causation, damages, and possible defences have not been analyzed. |
Domain-specific cues
| Scenario | Pause and identify… |
|---|---|
| Property loss | Cause, damaged property, insured interest, mitigation, scope, valuation basis, deductible, salvage, and recovery potential |
| Automobile claim | Driver, owner, vehicle, use, permission, accident sequence, witnesses, reports, damage, injuries, coverage, and liability facts |
| Liability allegation | Alleged duty, breach, causation, damages, defences, evidence preservation, limitation concerns, and settlement authority |
| Conduct or file-control issue | Conflict, confidentiality, communication, documentation, payment integrity, complaint handling, supervision, and escalation |
Practice loop
- Complete a short focused set without checking explanations between questions.
- For every miss or guess, write the claim stage and decisive fact.
- State the supportable next action and whether Level 3 review is required.
- Read the explanation and correct the reasoning, not just the answer letter.
- Retest with new scenarios before returning to a timed mixed set.
Scenario practice should improve judgment. If a better score comes only from recognizing repeated wording, switch to new questions and a different topic mix.