Quick Tips for Claim Professionals

? Look for opportunities to set expectations rather than letting the customer set his own expectations.

Managing customer expectations means consistently and accurately communicating with them. When claim issues are involved, that includes not only having a claim resolution plan, but also conveying that plan to your customers. It means that when someone solves an issue, they make sure that the customer was notified about the solution.

Many customer issues boil down to mismanaged expectations or poor follow-up. Customers expected some level of claim service and it was not delivered when they expected or it was not what they expected. This explains why two similar customers can feel so differently about our claim service.

Setting up a claim protocol that assures customer expectations are managed can make all the difference. Make sure you document any expectation you have given the customer in the claim notes.

Think about how many of your frustrations are caused because you expected something to be different than it was? If you had known what to expect, you would not have been as upset.

Needing more time to resolve an issue

In order to set adequate customer expectations, you need to tell the customer in clear and simple words. "Based on the amount of research we will need to do, we will have your coverage issue resolved in two days. We will be working as diligently as possible. However, if you don't receive resolution within that time, please contact me."

The customer may reply with, "But I really need this solved now." It's important to control the situation with something like, "I understand and we will work as quickly as we can to resolve this issue." The point to make here is that you are working hard and that you are on their side.

Getting more information

In claims, it is often necessary to continue to ask questions so that we can gather all of the information to make the right decisions and help the customer. However, customers can sometimes feel they are being made to "jump through hoops." Even worse, they can feel as though they are being tricked into saying something that could have negative consequences. Most often, they can feel that we are being meddlesome and looking for a way to deny them the services they deserve.

We must strike an acceptable balance between doing a thorough and accurate investigation, and providing outstanding customer service that lets the customer know we are here to help.

This also comes into play when trying to further understand an issue that has caused a customer to become upset.

The preceding text is an excerpt from Telephone Handling for Claims, a full-day workshop offered through the International Insurance Institute, Inc. More information is available by calling 504-393-4570, www.InsuranceInstitute.com.