California Casualty

Ian Townsend, AVP and Director of Claims Operations

Better Claims Begin with Better Questions

Ian Townsend

Customer-Centered Claims Strategist

Set the Destination, Explain the Why

The best way that I have found to improve claims operations while maintaining accuracy and efficiency is communicating with transparency, clarifying the vision, and explaining the why.  It is important to talk with and listen to the people doing the work. The people most inconvenienced or impacted by a procedure or a change often have better ideas to improve a process than the people who are focused more on the outcome.  There is more than one way to get to the destination, and leaders who know this and act from input from the people doing the work illicit more trust from their teams. The leader who can set the destination (Vision) and weave the golden string through the pieces (Transparency and Explaining the Why) has a team that believe in what they are doing. 

Remove Uncertainty Before It Grows

The purpose of claims professionals is to take the stress and uncertainty experienced by our policyholders after a loss and remove as much of it as we possibly can.  This starts with explaining the claims process, setting expectations that you can exceed and then exceeding them. Call the body shop, the contractor, the plumber, instead of telling the customer to get something for you. Communicate early and often, check in even when you don’t have an update. When people don’t know what is happening, they write the story themselves, and it is rarely the claims professional who is the hero of that story. So, write the story in which you get to be the hero.

Find the Cause Behind the Numbers

Data should help a leader figure out where to start looking. Sure, you can tell someone they need to get their numbers up, but if you don’t understand the behaviors and choices they make that are driving those numbers, you end up treating symptoms rather than the root cause. Using data as a starting point and being curious allows you to look further at the context and root causes that drive the results you see in the report and provide feedback and direction that leads to real change.

“The leader who can set the destination (Vision) and weave the golden string through the pieces (Transparency and Explaining the Why) has a team that believe in what they are doing.”

Similarly, relying on a long-standing process because that is “how we have always done it” often means that we don’t keep up with the innovation that drives our industry and we miss those opportunities to find more efficient and more cost-effective methods of handling claims. The available technologies, the number of companies in the various vendor spaces in insurance, and the expectations of customers have changed so much since I started in this industry 20 years ago and they will continue to change. Data from companies disrupting the traditions of the industry often show staggering improvements in service levels, or reductions in loss adjustment expense, sometimes with both things in tandem. Staying loyal to long-standing processes and procedures will make you the next Blockbuster rather than the next Netflix.

Adapt Before the Industry Moves Past You

It’s no secret that AI is both the thing that excites and intimidates the insurance industry now. The pace of advancement in AI and technology in general is exponential and creates challenges in awareness and implementation as there are so many players in the insure-tech space and their products improve and develop so quickly.  The most cost effective and innovative solution today may be obsolete in a year, maybe even less. This makes it so important that everyone in the industry stay informed and aware of the companies and developments that meet the needs of their company and their customers. With the changing tools comes changing customer expectations as well, and the future of the industry belongs to those who can adapt to those expectations with the tools that help achieve those expectations.

What You Permit, You Promote

My advice for those seeking to advance into leadership is to be curious, be kind, and understand and practice true accountability. Maybe that is a far cry from the management styles that used to dominate all industries, but it is what I have found to be the best indicators of successful leaders.

Curious leaders look beyond assumptions and don’t ignore potential concerns. Instead they seek to understand, and this allows them to be better informed and more effective at addressing root causes rather than mitigating symptoms.

Kind leaders treat people with respect and form relationships that foster trust. They invest in the people they work with and understand that their job is to help every person achieve their career and development goals.

Leaders often think they know what accountability means, but in practice this is something that most leaders I have observed struggle with. They allow an explanation that is really an excuse, they avoid the difficult conversations, and they give too many chances. Real accountability hinges on recognizing that when people aren’t meeting an expectation, nothing changes until it has to change.

An effective leader must have difficult conversations, clearly explain the expectations to be met and the impact not meeting them has on customers and colleagues, and then take action if expectations are not met. A friend and former colleague of mine, (Rebecca) Becky Nance, has a phrase that fits this concept, “what you permit you promote.” Whatever poor behavior or performance you allow you can expect to continue. The good news is that this works the other way too; the behaviors that you recognize people for and put a spotlight on are also what your teams will strive to achieve.