While monitoring phone calls, we heard the followingconversation between a claims representative and an autopolicyholder.

As you read the interaction, consider how you—or youremployees—would respond to the customer when facing a similarsituation. Below, we recount the interaction exactly as ittranspired, changing only the names in order to protectprivacy:

The insurance company representative dials the phone numberlisted for the claimant. The phone rings, and Mr. Swope picksup.

Mr. Swope: “Hello.”

Meg: “Hello—this is Meg from Typical InsuranceCompany, and I'm calling about your auto accident. I know you haddamage to your car. I am sorry that we don't have any independentadjusters available right now. Can you get an estimate on therepairs and send that to me?”

Mr. Swope: “No way; I'm not going to dothat.”

Meg: “Why is that?”

Mr. Swope: “I'll tell you why: BecauseI'm the victim here. Why should I run around doing yourjob?”

Meg: “Well, it's not my job to prove yourclaim; it's your job. You have to do this in order to getpaid.”

What went wrong during the call? How would you or your claimsstaff have dealt with Mr. Swope? It's clear that you don't want toargue. Yet, it is also necessary to demonstrate that you fullyunderstand his point of view so that he will be open to listening.However, what is Mr. Swope really telling Meg?

Click on “Next” at the bottom right to findout.

When Mr. Swope responded, “Because I'm the victim here,” Megglossed over a crucial and highly emotional word—victim—and beganarguing about where the onus lay to resolve the claim. So here isour suggestion: Pay special attention when customers use emotionalwords. Such words are vivid and, provided that you are listening,are easy to pick out during the conversation.

When customers use emotional words with their reasons, it is ahint the issue is important to them. In this case, Mr. Swope usedthe word “victim.” What connotations does “victim” normally conjureup? Generally, we associate the word with a crime having beencommitted. Had he been the victim of a wrongful act, then Mr. Swopewould be using the word correctly. But you know what? He is not toofar off. After all, Mr. Swope wasn't doing anything wrong whensomeone slammed his car into his. Because of the fault of another,he must now miss a day of work. This day “off” will be far fromrelaxing; in fact, he'll spend it running around obtainingestimates for the repairs. No wonder Mr. Swope feels like a victim.It's a perfectly reasonable perception.

The Empathic Connection

Think of the empathic connection as the difference between whatsomeone said and what they actually meant.Consider what Mr. Swope said, “I'm the victim here.” What Mr. Swopewanted is empathy for having been involved in an auto accident.What Meg should have done is focus on the emotional wordand what it meant. This represents the ability to make an empathicconnection. It's certainly not always easy.

Here's another scenario we encountered while monitoring phonecalls. During a FNOL interaction, the claims professional wastalking to a customer who said, “Oh man, my brand new Porsche iscreamed.” The adjuster responded with, “Don't worry; we'llcompensate you for the repairs.” It's a subtle oversight on thepart of the representative. The customer is seeking an empatheticresponse, only that reflects the disappointment associated withhaving a brand new—and rather expensive—car severely damaged. Theclaims professional in this case missed what was meant versus whatwas said.

Now try this one: Let's say a wife walks up to her husbandand says, “Wow, Shirley sure is lucky her husband bringsher flowers.” The husband responds, “She sure is.”Obviously, what the wife said and what she meantare two different things. What did she mean when she said, “Shirleysure is lucky her husband brings her flowers”? Well, the wifemeant, “I would like flowers, please.” But that's not what shesaid. The unsuspecting husband failed to make the empathicconnection between what his wife said and what she really meant.

Let's get back to the customer with the Porsche. We'veestablished that the claims professional didn't make the empathicconnection, either. When the customer said, “My brand new Porscheis creamed,” the customer wasn't asking, “Will I be compensated forthe damages to my automobile?” Rather, the customer was saying, “Mylife is upside down right now. I am so upset, I'm besidemyself.”

Now if the claims professional had considered what was meantversus what was said and made the empathic connection, he or shecould have said something like, “You know what? If your brand newPorsche is creamed, then I am sorry. I know this is going to bedifficult for you. I know you probably loved that car. If there wasa way I could take that accident back, then I'd love to do it. ButI can't. What I can do, however, is to make sure you geteverything to which you're entitled.”

As a claims professional, listen for emotional words andconsider what the customer means. A genuine, empathic connectionwith the customer is a skill that great claims people use to gaincooperation.

Great claims people take their empathic connection a stepfurther; they tie in the customer changing the way they feel, towhat they want the customer to do. If you can tie in the customerchanging the way they feel, with what you want them to do, the morelikely the customer will do it. Here's an example of what wemean:

Mr. Swope: “Hello.”

Meg: “Hello, this is Meg from Typical InsuranceCompany, and I'm calling about your auto accident. I know you haddamage to your car. I am sorry that we don't have any independentadjusters available right now. Can you get the estimate on therepairs and send that to me?”

Mr. Swope: “No way, I'm not going to dothat.”

Meg: “Why is that, sir?”

Mr. Swope: “I'll tell you why: Because I'm thevictim here. Why should I run around doing your job?”

Meg: “You know, Mr. Swope, if you don't want toget an estimate because you're feeling like a victim, then I canunderstand that. You weren't doing anything wrong when ourinsured's vehicle slammed into yours. I appreciate how this makesyou feel. I'll tell you what, if you can go get anestimate, some good things will happen. First of all, you will getto pick the shop, so you can work with someone you trust. Second,you'll be there when the estimate is written to ensure they don'tmiss anything. That's good for you. Third, if you can get them tofax it to me, then I'll get a check out to you as soon as possible.When you're back on the road and can get all of this behind you,maybe you won't have to feel like a victim anymore. Because that'sa lousy way to feel, and I'd like to help.”

Did you see how Meg acknowledged Mr. Swope's reason, made theempathic connection of what was meant with the emotional word, andtied in getting what she wanted from him? Maybe Mr. Swope will dowhat Meg asks. Maybe he won't. Either way, Meg's job is hard enoughwithout arguing with Mr. Swope about whether he is a victim orwhose job it is to prove the claim.

Together, Carl Van and Teresa Headrick havewritten,“Negotiation Skills for the Claims Professional.” The bookis based on the full day workshop they facilitate for insurancecompanies in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. For questions, or afull list of “The 5 Claims Negotiation Maxims,” call 504-393-4570.