The fundamental goal of social work is to facilitate the social well-being and social functioning of the person-in-environment. Each of the key concepts in this statement is essential to the understanding of the scope of social work. The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) recognizes social well-being as an integral component of a person’s overall state of health, complementary to, but different from, physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Social functioning refers to the way people perform their social roles and interact with the world around them. The person-in-environment perspective recognizes the impact of societal systems such as natural support networks (i.e. family, friends, colleagues) and the formal structures (i.e. work, school) within communities that may enhance or inhibit individual social well-being.

Social workers in the automobile insurance sector focus on assessment and treatment of individuals and families who experience disability as the result of the injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision and look at thorough consideration and investigation of the biological, psychological and social factors that can affect a person’s functioning and well-being. Social workers perform many roles in this sector including the provision of direct assessment and treatment services (i.e. psychotherapy, psychoeducation, couple counselling, family and group therapy, case management services and community work).  Social work has become increasingly prevalent and well-regarded in the auto insurance sector over the past many years due the multiple levels of interventions required and the number of people and systems involved in an individual’s life following a motor vehicle collision.