Have you ever picked up a claims file and scratched your head as to how the adjuster arrived at their liability decision? Having run a quality assurance department for a large multinational insurer, I can say with certainty I've been in that position more than once.

Consider scenarios involving intersection accidents, parking lots, lane changes, slip and falls or product defects where liability is simply assessed at 100 percent with little to no discussion on duties owed and breached. Then consider the financial impact that improper liability assessment can have on claim settlement accuracy or policy holder retention.

Doing some simple math in the auto market , let's say, on average, an insurer is assessing comparative negligence in 5 percent of all cases. While seemingly a low figure, I am told by a number of top executives that real comparative negligence assessment is often even less.