Essentials of Loss Adjusting C110

Chapter Three  – Communication Skills for Loss Adjusters

Identify rapport and how it can be cultivated.

Rapport in a relationship confirms a common bond between people that often leads to agreement and harmony. Rapport naturally occurs as people spend time together and share common experiences. It can also grow our of shared interests, heritage, background, or common behaviours. We tend to like the people who are like us.

Rapport Building

·         Rapport naturally occurs when people spend time together and share common experiences or interests

·         Conversations, posture and body language all seem to integrate with others when we start achieving rapport

·         Rapport begins with finding a common ground, similarities with others

Rapport Building

• rapport is necessary to get along with others
• people like others who are similar to them
• start any exchange we can begin positively by smiling and demonstrating our willingness to listen

Identify and explain the factors that condition human behavior.

Identify two factors that influence human behavior from a cultural point of view.

Objectives in Communication

·         communication is key in loss adjusting with the claimant, insured, others in the claims department and other departments of the insurance company

·         educate on communication through life experience

·         failure to provide an effective level of service could lead to lost customers, damage to the industry’s  reputation, job loss and allegations of bad faith

·         customers place high value on fair claims service and having a policy that is easy to understand

·         acknowledging feelings is important as well as promptness and full explanation in the claims process

Understanding Human Behaviour

·         human behaviour is conditioned by cultural influences, environment in which we live, level of education, and our genetic makeup

·         various cultures have various holidays, customs, languages, time zones and ways of doing business – an adjuster must respect regional differences

·         politeness is also interpreted differently by various cultures, different approached may be necessary

Communication Skills for Loss Adjusters

• effective communication is key to loss adjusting
• claims depends on good communication with claimants
• insurance is a service industry
• treat people courteously, pleasantly and professionally

Understanding Human Behavior

• human behavior is complex and conditioned by cultural influences
• cultural influences are derived from the religious and ethnic values of the society in which we live
• cultural norms and associated factors affect how we behave, feel, react, and relate to each other
• adjusters must respect regional differences to alleviate any lack of trust from locals
• cultural norms affect how we interpret politeness
• home and work environments plus other environmental factors affect how we behave
• effect of education also play a role on how we behave
• genetic influence
• subconscious actions

What is the key to overcoming falling into a potentially inappropriate habituated or automatic response when communicating with people?

The key is to consider our usual response and whether it is appropriate under the circumstances.

Describe the following four personality types: passive emotion-based, aggressive emotions based, aggressive control oriented, and analytical passive.

Identify and explain the four personality types.

Understanding Personality Types

·         4 main types of personality include:

1.    the passive emotions-based or people-oriented persons asks for and needs time to make decisions. They relate well to people and prefer one on one relationships

2.    the more aggressive emotions-based or people-oriented person makes decisions quickly, they prefer to be in groups

3.    the aggressive control-oriented and task-oriented person makes decisions quickly, they tend to focus on the bottom line, are often intimidating, and want to get things done and over with

4.    the analytical passive person needs time to make a decision and is task or facts-oriented, they tend to move slowly, carefully examining each situation cautiously

Understanding Personality Types

• we learn people are predictable and assert ourselves based on our personality type
• passive need more time to make decisions
• aggressive types decide quickly
• task-oriented people respond in a very controlled manner
• people who respond based on emotions are more people-oriented
• aggressive control-oriented and task oriented person makes decisions quickly
• analytical passive person needs time to make a decision and is take or facts-oriented

 

 

 

 

Give examples of thought styles and how they can be identified.

Explain how a person whose thought style is visual thinks.

 

Thought Styles

·         three types of thought styles include:

1.    Visual  - see

2.    Auditory - hear

3.    Kinesthetic – touch

·         Eye moments show thought style – upward glances generally mean we are accessing a visual thought, glances to either side mean we are accessing a auditory thought, and downward glances are accessing feelings (pg 9)

·         Up and left = memory, up and right = lying (constructing)

·         Some people respond in the reverse

·         Having determined a response pattern we can generally tell whether information is flowing from memory or being constructed

Thought Styles

• some of us think in visual terms, auditory, or in terms of how we feel
• out thought style is determined by the words we use
• eye movements show thought style
• upward glances and to one side show the person accessing visual thought
• glances to either side indicate the person is accessing auditory thoughts
• downward glances and to the left tend to show that a person is accessing self-talk
• most people glancing to the left and up to the side indicate they are accessing memory
• glancing to the right and up indicates a person is in the construct stage forming new thoughts
• small percentage respond in reverse
• thought styles can be situational

Discuss how body language affects communication.

What does body language reveal about a person? Give an example of a gesture and how it can be interpreted.

Benchmarks in Behaviour

·         Establishing a benchmark is important to determine how a persons acts when they are upset or dissatisfied as opposed to normal

Benchmarks in Behaviour

• what we think and how we think affects our body language
• when we detect a small change in a person's behaviour, we can act on it

Body Language

·         6 types of body language include:

1.    Physiology – relates to how we hold our bodies, leaning back indicates relaxed as opposed to leaning forward, it conveys intensity and aggressiveness, posture can also show if we are happy or depressed

2.    Gestures – clusters of gestures can be interpreted more accurately than individual gestures. Crossing your arms means you are not receptive to the ideas presented, open arms means you are receptive, leaning in or coming closer means you are interested in agreement,

3.    Tonality – tone of voice, inflection in words and other sounds we produce can affect how we are understood, our physical and mental states are reflected in the sound of our voice

4.    Matching and Mirroring – mirroring is when people in tune with one and other tend to assume at least some of the same body positions, but people may feel uncomfortable if they feel they are being mimicked

5.    Rate of Speech - the quickness of our speech affects how others relate to us

6.    Triggers – physical/mental images, sounds, or feelings can trigger automatic responses within us – recognizing these triggers can help us to deal with them more effectively

Body Language

• physiology, facial expressions, tonality, and gestures are forms of body language
• gestures such as crossing their arms indicate being closed to others
• clusters of gestures can be interpreted more accurately than individual gestures
• tonality in our voices, inflection in words affect how we are understood
• matching and mirroring others is important
• rate of speech-we can calm a situation by adopting a slower pace
• physical or mental images, sounds or feelings can trigger certain automatic responses within us

Interpreting Body Language

·         non-verbal queues play a critical role in helping us understand the attitudes and motives behind words

·         be honest and show conviction through gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice

·         Clusters of gestures useful to the negotiating process:

1) The Face and Head:

Gesture	Meaning
Smiling, moving in rhythm with other party	Looking to cooperate, confident, honest
Avoiding eye contact	Trying to hide something
Reddening skin	Anger, skepticism
Squinting eyes and frowning	Anger, skepticism
Gazing past the adjuster or glancing	Bored
Maintaining piercing eye contact	Angry or feels superior
Turning the head slightly to one side	Evaluating what is being said
Nodding as the adjuster is speaking	Shows agreement
Nodding, squinting, index fingers to lips	Evaluating information

2) The Body Trunk:

Gesture	Meaning
Leaning toward the adjuster	Interested in agreement
Turning away from the adjuster	In disagreement, bored or uncertain
Moving side to side, shifting weight	Shows insecurity, nervousness

*when the adjuster is interested in achieving a win-win outcome position the body leaning towards the other party

3) The Arms:

Gesture	Meaning
Open arms	Receptive to negotiation

*when arms are initially open on the table but become crossed the message was not well received try rephrasing

4) The Hands:

Gesture	Meaning
Open palms	Positive feeling
Touch nose, chin, ear, arm or clothing	Y be nervous or lack confidence

5) The Legs:

Gesture	Meaning
Sitting legs uncrossed, feet flat on the floor	Cooperative and trustworthy
Crossing legs	Disagreement, anger, suspicion, dishonest
Pacing back and forth	Uncertainty, indecision

Describe how to develop skills in self observation.

Through observation and self analysis we can choose to respond in a positive way in a claims encounter. How would you handle a tense situation where a claimant is being demanding or aggressive as a reaction to the stress of a loss.

Observation and Self-Analysis

·         we must be aware that we have a lack of knowledge then we can do something about it – we can only change ourselves not others

·         habituated responses: when we are confronted by a stressful situation we interpret it through our habituated responses  - we think about it as we have always approached similar situations and replay thoughts we have had in the past

·         as we think about a situation we stir emotional reactions, this is how we have interpreted the situation

·         this leads to a behavioural response – key is to stop an inappropriate response to a current problem

·         once we recognize the self defeating behaviour we can refuse to act on the memory of past failures

·         there is always resistance when doing something new – to overcome resistance we must allow ourselves to suspend judgment and note how we think

Observation and Self-Analysis

• must be aware that we have a lack of knowledge
• cannot "change" other people
• our habituated response to a stressful experience creates an imprint of how we will deal with an insured or claimant
• key to stop an inappropriate response to a current problem
• deal more positively in any exchange
• recognized self-defeating behaviour
• allow ourselves to suspend judgment

Provide an example of what you could do to build self esteem.

Self Esteem

·         how we see ourselves affects how others relate to us, good self esteem will allow us to relate to situations with flexibility, creativity and resourcefulness

·         accepting our strengths and weaknesses allows us to respect ourselves and others

·         low self esteem can lead to controlling behaviour, frantic activity and withdrawal leading to unclear communication and feelings of resentment, anger and blame

·         low self esteem could effect the claims process by subconsciously manipulating other to prove we are right, or other may bully us because we have been wrong in the past so we must be this time too

Self-esteem

• how we see ourselves affects how others relate to us
• self-image comes through in our self-esteem
• low self-esteem can lead to various types of behaviours
• can affect claims handling by manipulating others to prove they are right and others are wrong
• may cause others to question our position and ability more often

How and why do we project aspects of ourselves onto other people.

Projection 

·         aspects of ourselves that we repress tend to be projected onto others – we view others through the mist of our repressions

·         projection may manifest itself in rigid attitudes of moral superiority or it may trigger highly charged emotional outbursts

Projection

• what we repress tend to be projected onto others
• projection may manifest itself in rigid attitudes of moral superiority
• we tend not to trust others
• if we see ourselves as lazy, we tend to view others as lazy

Describe the skills of active listening.

Discuss the barriers to effective listening.

Describe the process of active listening.

How can we show someone that we are listening to what they are saying?

What factors can act as barriers to effective listening?

Outline the steps to improve our ability to deal with emotional claimants.

Listening Skills

·         Listening provides a powerful tool to communicate effectively with others

·         Listening implies a higher cognitive function – hearing the information and processing it appropriately

·         With a non judgmental attitude we encourage others to speak

·         Through active listening we provide feedback to show we are listening and encourage rapport, by asking questions we show interest and clarify any problems, and simple vocal responses.

·          Feedback techniques should be used to confirm what we think we heard

·         when we do not actively listen we risk allowing a conversation to drift off on a tangent – we can control our reactions to events and read between the lines sensing vocal tonality and non verbal responses

·         supportive listening lets the other person know that we are listening and paying attention

·         non judgmental feedback includes clarifying, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, or summarizing

·          empathetic listening – lets people know we understand their feelings, and that they are important

·         when bad news is delivered people can create a mental barrier and block the news out

·         poor listening skills may offend the insured and result in a poorly investigated claim

·         barriers to listening include:  our biases, prejudices, physical environment, and rapport

·         anxiety or competitiveness may lead us to concentrate on what we are about to say and loose focus of what is being said

·         interrupting a person should only take place if they have drifted off the topic at hand and need to be re focused to the substance of the interview

·         physical environment – can create barriers, sounds, discomfort, fatigue, poor hearing, and lack of privacy

·         Barriers could be interrupting the speaker, trying too hard to be a good listener, self consciousness or shyness can tune us out, and our physical environment.

Listening Skills

• provides us with a powerful tool to communicate effectively with others
• must concentrate to ensure we understood the message in all its dimensions
• we strive to receive information without distortion
• through active listening we provide feedback
• by asking questions we show our interest, clarify the problem, help to define the facts
• show a person we are listening by how we act and what we say
• when we do not actively listen, we risk allowing a conversation to drift off
• supportive listening such as "uh-huh" lets the other person know we are paying attention
• non-judgmental feedback includes clarifying, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, or summarizing
• empathetic listening lets people know we understood their feelings
• questions skills need adjusting for effective listening
• words affect responses
• barriers to good listening are our prejudices, physical environment, lack of rapport cause problems in listening, and our biases
• anxiety or competitiveness may lead us to concentrate on what we are about to say and miss what was actually said
• self-consciousness or shy may tune others out if they receive too much attention
• physical environment can also create barriers
• language or semantics cause barriers

 

Identify how information can be distorted during communication. 

There are many opportunities within the communication process when information can become distorted. Identify 5 of them.

What defence mechanisms do people use to help them recover from painful or strong emotions?

 

Language or Semantics

·         regional accents or words, different primary languages and the use of specialized words or jargon within an industry can make it difficult for others to understand

·         avoid jargon and use clear language to ensure everyone understands

Memory

·         some feel memory is always there but we simply loose access to information that is no longer relevant, while others believe that the memory deteriorates and changes with time

·         one day after an event we only remember ¼ of what happened, three days after that is cut in half and six days after it is cut in half again

·         memories are imperfect and we can interpret things subjectively

·         memories can be distorted when:

1.    we receive the information through our senses

2.    we sort the information and store it in our memory

3.    we need that other information in another context

4.    we locate the information and it is decoded

5.    the decoded information is used

·         problems arise for adjusters as well including:

1.    reception problems – include hearing, sight, distance, location, or surrounding distractions, poor attention span, selective perception – hearing what we feel is important

2.    incorrect observation – this may include witnesses that hearing or sight problems, or who could not have physically observed the incident due to location, distance or distraction, too many distractions while taking a statement may cause us to incorrectly hear the information

3.    Inattention – witness may not have been fully paying attention and there perception of the incident may be weak – stressful event of shock can leave us with a short term memory

4.    effect of stress – causes increased memory distortion and memory loss, stressful situations cause us to narrow our fields and become somewhat disorganized

5.    mind fabricates information – when a mental image deteriorates we tend to fabricate the information to complete the picture, mishearing information can lead to misunderstandings because we believe that something is true when it is not

·         defense mechanisms are used to help people recover from painful or strong emotions: block out painful memories, refuse to acknowledge painful emotions, may project repressed feelings onto others, may identify with others feelings and accept them as our own, may direct anger at an undeserving person

6.    mental filters – as we filter information our personal frames of reference interfere with and modify our perceptions  - we see what we expect to see

Memory

• memory of an event is coloured by our internal processing
• one day after an event we remember only a quarter of what we remembered at the time of the event, three days after memory is in half, six day event is cut in half again
• retain less when more information is presented or another activity occurs immediately after
• opportunities for distortion
• receive through our senses
• sort information and store it in our memory
• need that information in another context
• locate the information and it is decoded
• decoded information is used
• reception problems when the information is heard or have made incorrect observations
• witness may not have been paying attention to the incident
• stress causes increased memory distortion
• subconsciously individuals may fabricate information
• adjusters can deal with reception and memory problems by asking probing questions
• people use defence mechanisms to help them recover painful or strong emotions associated with an event
• may repress memory
• may refuse to acknowledge events
• may start projecting our repressed feelings onto others
• may identify with someone else's feelings
• may displace aggression by directing anger at an undeserving victim
• when we filter information our personal frames of reference interfere and modify our perceptions

Speaking 

·         loss adjusters must make sure that they are understood, speaking loudly and avoiding distractions

·         show interest by involving in the conversation, and relate to their personality types

Speaking

• we must speak clearly using words that the other person will relate to and understand easily
• watch for body language and tonality
• must be specific and accurate in the message we convey

Discuss how to deliver bad news in a claims situation.

Suggest how an adjuster could approach delivering bad news to an insured.

Give an example of two statements providing the same response but one positively stating the info and the other negatively stating.

Bad News

·         managing expectations is part of the process of dealing with bad news, show empathy and sympathy when giving bad news, and give a warning that the news is coming

·         adopt as sense of urgency to the insured conveying the right message and priority

·         show respect even when the customer is wrong

·         hostile questions may not be questions at all but attempts to damage, divide or embarrass the company – do not become involved in this situation

·         when in an inflamed hostile exchange wait for a lull, calmly state that a clearer idea of the issue s needed – ask the client to re-explain, listen and respond as appropriate

·         there is no excuse for profanity and abusive behaviour

·         reword a negative statement – to make it less damaging to an insured

o   Unfortunately the contractor will not be able to get out here until next week, or, I can have a contractor out here as early as next week.

·         if a mistake is made own up to it and apologize

·         begin with good news when there is both good and bad – bad news first will take over the reminder of the conversation

Bad News

• show empathy and sympathy
• adopt sense of urgency
• show respect even when the customer is wrong
• when faced with hostility convey sensitivity with responses like
  "I am sorry you are upset"....."thank you for bringing this to our attention"
• listen politely, remain calm and do not argue
• reword a negative statement
• negative-contractor cannot make it before early next week

positive-contractor can make it as early as next week

Examine types of difficult people and ways of dealing with them.

Identify three characteristics in how people think, including their attitudes that would negatively affect their ability to communicate effectively.

What is meant by calibrate behavior.

How would you deal with a yes person striving for harmony and being too quick to respond in an affirmative?

Dealing with Difficult People

·         identifying the needs of those we relate to on as many levels as we can will result in improved communication

·         best approach is to use our observation skills and respond with flexibility as the situation demands

·         establishing a benchmark for how people are behaving allows us to calibrate our behavior and set a standard on how we measure the changes.

·         people we must relate to include: well, ill or uninformed, polite or assertive, abusive or argumentative

·         people with low self esteem, distrust of others, and generally a poor attitude will affect our ability to communicate effectively.

·         eight types of responses people might pursue include:

1.    make direct attacks – either crudely or skillfully, display a strong sense of what other should do, feelings of others are not considered – to deal with this we must stand up for ourselves and speak from our point of view

2.    indirect attacks – innuendos, digs, and non-playful teasing are used, if our expectations are not fulfilled then we need to feel in control of the situation – to deal with this you have to bring the attack to the surface

3.    releasing our frustrations in an outburst – as a result of being angry, threatened or suspicious – to deal with this let them run down and then show - to deal with this we have to allow them to run themselves out and then show our serious intentions, a break or cooling down period may be needed

4.    incessantly complaining – this is done to handle fear, whining or blaming that someone else is responsible for their problems, usually fueled by insecurities -  – to deal with this narrow the problem and think of solutions not feelings

5.    silent and unable to speak when assertiveness is needed – controversy and confrontation is unwanted, there may be silence but not genuine acceptance – to deal with this give adequate time for the other person to express their ideas – get them to speak up

6.    people to quickly to respond affirmatively – telling people what we think they want to hear, strive for harmony and hate to argue, we over commit to situations – to deal with this we must stress the importance of following through with commitments made, make the truth safe

7.    confident and knowledgeable persons may be quick to act and not accept ideas from others – to deal with this we must refer these people to the facts or insist that they solidify their assumptions with the facts, we must identify the issues in dispute and present alternatives

8.     indecisive personalities – wanting the perfect solution, finding flaws will cause us to change our minds – to deal with this we must clarify the issues to be decided, and reviewing the alternatives

Dealing with Difficult People

Attitude and manner affects how we perceive others

• tension and distrust can be lightened if we identify it
• recognize thought styles, social style and personality
• do not lump everyone into the same box; extroverts and introverts 

Eight type of responses-how to deal with that particular personality type

1.     some make direct attacks-we need to stand up for ourselves, allow time to run down, stand up to them

2.     indirect attacks-bring the attack to the surface

3.     release frustrations in an aggressive outburst-show our serious intentions, let them run down

4.     complain incessantly-isolate the problem and help develop possible solutions

5.     silent and unable to speak up when need to assert ourselves-need to give them adequate time to express their ideas about an issue

6.     we are "yes" people-must stress the importance of following through with commitments

7.     act on our responses-refer these types to the facts

8.     some of our are indecisive-must clarify the issues

Identify the challenges of communication by telephone and how to overcome them.

Why are people skills more critical on the telephone that with someone face to face?

Telephone Skills

·         people skills are even more critical over the phone as there is lack of non verbal communication

·         tonality generally includes voice tone, volume and pitch and this influences communication

·          when we speak we must be sincere in what we are doing and saying

·         listening for tonality in the other person helps us to know if our message was understood

·         after a difficult phone call we need to take a short break, and relax

Telephone Skills

• telephone communication is based on words
• tonality generally includes voice tone, and volume pitch
• use appropriate questions
• after a difficult call take a break
• telephone voice can be developed to be credible and persuasive

 

Describe the writing style appropriate for business use.

 

Writing Styles

·         good grammar and punctuation are essential elements in writing

·         clear and unambiguous language allows other to understand what we are saying

·         when uncommon words are used readers may slow down or become lost

·         cut unnecessary words in a document to avoid unnecessary lengthiness (15 words in a sentence is average)

·          when writing bad news begin in an indirect manner start with the analysis, the law, and the denial

Email Protocol

·         same rules of writing apply to emails – formality is required

·         email abbreviations and shortcuts are not appropriate

Finding the Balance

·         adjuster owes the insurer to investigate and settle claims fairly and to the insured to deal in utmost good faith arrive at a fair settlement and pay all legitimate claims

Writing Styles

• good grammar and adequate punctuation are essential elements in writing
• business writing should be easy to read and should flow freely
• be brief, and concise
• if providing bad news; begin with expressing goodwill, explain your analysis, facts, and the law and finally conclude with the denial or bad news

E-mail Protocol

• good writing style
• develop a short, concise message
• email abbreviations, shortcuts and emotions are usually not appropriate to use
• must be time sensitive if information is important
• email may not be private