Humility: An Adjuster’s Guide to Less Stress

Humility is often undervalued in the business world. Yet, as a claims manager, it's one of the most potent tools in your toolkit. Paired with four other essential concepts, humility can significantly impact your ability to handle complex and challenging claims. Let's delve into the five pillars of humility and how they can enhance your claims management skills.

Understanding Humility

Humility is a virtue that allows us to recognize our limitations and appreciate others' value. It's not about self-deprecation; rather, it's about understanding that we're part of a larger whole and acknowledging that every individual has something to contribute. In various philosophical traditions, humility is seen as a pathway to wisdom, as it opens our minds to learning and growth.

As a claims manager, humility allows you to listen actively, value diverse perspectives, and remain open to new ideas. This openness can lead to innovative solutions when dealing with complex claims. To summarize what C.S. Lewis has opined in his book ‘Mere Christianity’, humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. C.S. Lewis never actually penned those words as his thought was much more in depth, but I believe this is a good summarization of his thought.

Pillar One: Humility

Humility in claims management means acknowledging that you don't have all the answers. It's about being open to learning from others—be it your team, customers, or industry experts. For instance, a humble approach might involve seeking advice from a more experienced colleague when faced with a challenging claim. It may actually involve taking the advice of a younger colleague with much less experience. It is possible to educate oneself into imbecility on occasion. Too much information can be just as harmful as too little, as too much information may lead one to think they are the final authority on the matter instead of the facts at hand, or worse, they could think they hold more authority than the insurance policy itself. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin discuss this knowledge dichotomy in depth in their book, “The Dichotomy of Leadership”. Humility demands that the effect our actions will have on others should carry more weight for us than the effect those actions will have on us personally.

Pillar Two: Empathy

Empathy allows you to understand and share the feelings of others and place more value on their emotions than your own. In claims management, empathy can help you understand the claimant's perspective, leading to fairer and more satisfactory resolutions. For example, empathizing with a claimant who has lost their home in a fire could lead to more compassionate claim handling methods.

I am married to an empath, and my oldes son has inherited this trait. These individuals lack a keen sense of the emotions of everyone around them. They are, at their foundation, people readers. My wife, Amanda, or my son, Layton, can walk into a room and immediately sense the mood of the entire room. They can see peoples emotions like communication bubbles above each person’s head, and they viscerally feel the emotions of those around them. This can at times cause an empath to experience anxiety if they believe someone is angry or upset with them. For an empath, being empathetic is fundamental to their success and emotional well-being.

This is not meant to infer that you need to be as keen as they are in sensing every emotion in the room, but it is a good practice to learn to read the emotions and understand the thoughts of the person you are directly communicating with as they communicate them to you either verbally or non-verbally.

Pillar Three: Patience

Claims management often involves intricate processes and negotiations. Patience is crucial in navigating these complexities without rushing to premature conclusions. Patience might mean spending extra time reviewing a complicated claim to ensure an accurate assessment. Patience can also be communicated by the actions we take with our insured or claimants. If they are becoming emotional while giving a recorded statement due to reliving the trauma of a vehicle accident that involved a fatality, take a break from the recording and come back when they have had an opportunity to collect themselves and their thoughts. Patience and empathy are inseparable partners.

If an insured is a day or two late on returning a Proof of Loss or other claim document to you, take the time to give them a call or send them an email with a gentle and friendly reminder and diary that file out a few more days. This not only communicates your willingness to process the claim amicably, but it can also be very helpful to have in your file should the claim become litigated at a later time. This also shows empathy toward any situations that may be causing the delay in returning the requested documentation. The humility is in placing their need for a little more time above your desire to move the claim a little quicker.

Pillar Four: Communication

Effective communication is key in claims management. It involves clearly conveying your thoughts and being receptive to others'. For instance, explaining the claims process in understandable terms can help insureds and claimants feel more at ease and cooperative.

Keep this thought in mind: it isn’t always what you say to someone that upsets them, it is how you say it sometimes that upsets them. “Your claim isn’t covered” will get a much different response than, “I have reviewed everything that has been submitted to us by you / your representative(s), and I have reviewed all of the information we have collected so far in our own investigation. Is there anything else you would like to submit for my review? The reason I ask is that from what I have at this point it looks like we don’t have coverage under the policy contract for your loss. I don’t want to make that determination yet if there is any other information available that has not been submitted for our review.”

Showing empathy and patience in your communication this way place the client’s needs ahead of your own desire to close the claim and clear it from your claim inventory.

Pillar Five: Adaptability

The insurance landscape is constantly evolving, and claims managers must adapt accordingly. This could involve staying abreast of industry changes, learning new technologies, or adjusting your approach based on feedback. For example, adapting to a new digital claims processing system can streamline operations and improve efficiency.

Keep an eye on the legal landscape of claims as well. New court cases produce new case law and new regulations. It is important to stay abreast of the constantly changing legal landscape of claims handling. I’ve read two cases in the last week that have the potential to change long standing case law.

Daily claim handling tasks need adaptation constantly. A meeting at 9 AM can later your time that you return phone calls and emails in the morning. You may need to adapt your schedule to meet these ever changing demands on your time throughout the day and the week.

To be an adjuster is to be adaptable to almost anything. When you legitimately place the needs of others above your own, you will find yourself in a constant state of humilty as you are actively engaged in that which earmarks the humble man or woman. Although we may not agree with someone’s stated gender or fluidity of that gender, if we are truly practicing humility we will place that person’s need for acceptance and to be valued above your own desire to recognize only two genders.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, humility, empathy, patience, communication, and adaptability form the five pillars that can significantly boost your claims management skills. These principles can guide you in handling even the most challenging claims effectively and fairly. As a claims manager, embracing these pillars can lead to improved claimant satisfaction, team collaboration, and overall performance.

So why wait? Begin implementing these principles into your work today and witness the transformative impact they can have on your claims management journey.

Footnotes

1. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humility/
2. https://iep.utm.edu/humility/

Bill Simmons, AIC, CPI, CCI, CASA is the owner of L2 Insurance Consulting LLC, and he is an industry recognized expert relating to insurance claims and claim related damage. Bill has worked in every aspect of insurance claims from automobile liability and subrogation to property claim specialist, and he has worked both aspects of insurance claims, for carriers as a staff adjuster and as an independent adjuster. Bill also serves as an expert witness in the insurance claim legal process. Bill lives in Panama City, FL with his wife, Amanda and their two sons, Layton and Lucas.

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