Claims - September 2014

Everyone is too “busy” getting to the next claim. His suggestion: “Stop for a moment the next time you converse with someone and consciously think, ‘Am I listening to this other person ... or am I thinking about what I’m going to say next?’” He asks, how many lawsuits could we avoid with just another hour spent doing nothing but listening?

#2. Empathy. By definition, adjusters work with people under stress. They would not contact an adjuster unless misfortune had visited. Not only are they stressed, they may be angry at whatever or whomever caused their loss.

They may take out anger, unjustly, on the claim professional. Sadly, many people hold adjusters in low regard, lumping us with bill collectors and used-car salesman. (Have you ever seen those TV ads run by personal injury attorneys?) This shapes a negative impression that many consumers have of adjusters as people out to shortchange them.

Adjusters with soft skills possess empathy and see beyond these factors, putting themselves in the proverbial shoes of the person who has suffered a loss. They realize it’s not personal! They have a thick skin about barbs aimed at them. Yet they do not develop a hard-shell or cynicism. They realize that one of the positives about working claims is being able to help people in times of need. This requires empathy, a key soft skill.

#3. Emotional intelligence.

Daniel Goleman popularized this term in his book of the same name. It involves the ability to “read” another person’s mood and react appropriately. Emotional intelligence is a key soft skill for successful adjusters facing angry claimants, What skills do adjusters need for professional success in 2014? Certainly, technical skills are a must. This includes a working knowledge of law, medicine, construction,

insurance policy content and interpretation, and subject-matter ex-
pertise specific to the claims they handle. Aside from technical skills,
though, successful adjusters need soft skills.

Six “Soft Skills” for Today’s Adjusters

Don’t think that just because these skills are called “soft,” that they are easily acquired. While most people would agree on the types of hard skills needed for claims success, there is less consensus regarding which soft skills are essential. Nevertheless, I will nominate six soft skills essential for today’s claims professional.

#1. Listening. Hearing and listen-
ing are not synonymous. “God gave us
two ears and one mouth and we should
use them in just that proportion.” As sea-
soned claims people, we understandably
feel we must show our expertise. Silence
discomfits us, and we feel compelled to
fill the void with our own words.
Sometimes, take-charge approaches
work against us though. Instead, switch
the frequency from “send” to “receive”
mode. Keep the ears open and the mouth
closed. Kevin Hromas, a Houston-area
claim specialist, recalls his stint as a Mis-
sissippi “cat” adjuster post-Katrina. He of-
ten sat on a home’s concrete steps with an
insured, because that was all that was left
of the structure. They just talked. Hromas
adds, “Sometimes we prayed. Sometimes
we cussed. Many times, I just listened.”