Celebrity chef, humanitarian and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés has said, "Without empathy, nothing works." Empathy is the quality of recognizing, understanding and sharing the thoughts and feelings of others. It's a powerful force for connecting and doing good in the world, and it can be equally impactful when applied to the insurance claims process. Every claim represents an opportunity for insurers to demonstrate they are listening and care about their customers. Remember, the policyholder has just suffered a loss. It may be one of the worst days of their life. Even if it's just a minor accident, the insured is likely anxious and uncertain about the claims process and in need of reassurance that they will receive fair and efficient service. It's a make-or-break moment for the company, given that many consumers will switch carriers if they have a bad claims experience. Yet why do so many insurers seem to strike out when it comes to handling claims? As it turns out, lack of empathy is the single biggest reason. According to data collected by Hi Marley, the platform for carrier-insurer communication, the level of empathy displayed by the claims team accounts for the largest difference between insurers with low (1-star) customer satisfaction scores and high (5-star) scores. In analyzing nearly 25,000 claims survey responses from more than 50 property & casualty carriers, Hi Marley found that by far empathy was the biggest driver for 5-star ratings. According to their research, "Forty-six percent of 5-star satisfaction ratings mentioned a positive or empathetic adjuster attitude and handling approach as the primary reason for their satisfaction score, followed by timeliness of overall service (18%), excellent and effective claims communication (16%) and process effectiveness (12%)." On the other hand, Hi Marley says 34% of 1-star reviews mentioned "ineffective or suboptimal communication by the carrier or adjuster. A negative adjuster attitude or handling approach drove 23% of 1-star reviews, followed by poor claims process explanation and expectation setting (21%)."

Creating a culture of empathy

There's no doubt that empathy can be a powerful differentiator in the claims experience. Yet management can't just mandate kindness; it's a value that must be built into a company's DNA. At Westfield, empathy is part of our culture, what we call our "commitment to caring." It's how we strive to treat each other and our customers. Hiring the right people who can embrace this belief is crucial. Notes Mark Synder, a claims subject matter expert at Hi Marley, "When dealing with peoples' emotions in a time of need, nothing can replace empathy — it is one of the most important qualities to look for when hiring a claims person." When recruiting, we look for talented people who display a strong affinity for the customer. And it's not limited to the claims team. Managers and supervisors, on up the chain, are all committed to our core competencies of collaboration, communication, listening and building trust. As a result, claims professionals feel secure in doing the right thing for the customer. We always want to pay what we owe the policyholder and deliver on the promise of protection in the products we sell. Just knowing that the company stands behind this promise helps our claims team to reinforce our culture of caring. Training that emphasizes active listening, open communication and perspective-taking can help hone empathy skills, but empathic cultures also need leaders to model and reinforce a caring approach to customers. Identifying the "connectors" in your organization who can reinforce the message of empathy goes a long way toward changing old behaviors and moving to a new model of caring. As Stanford University Psychology Professor Jamil Zaki puts it, "empathy is contagious: People 'catch' each other's care and altruism." Leading with empathy means claims professionals are able to respond to varied and sometimes stressful customer encounters in a healthy, positive way. By connecting more authentically, they can earn the customer's trust, communicate with greater compassion and effectiveness, and clearly set expectations for service and resolution.

Building trust through consistent communication

Communication and trust go hand in hand. When you deliver on what you've promised, you build trust with the customer. And the longer a claim is open, the more important communication becomes. But this is where insurers often miss the mark. As the claim ages, they tend to provide less and less information to the customer. In fact, ineffective or suboptimal communication from the insurer is the primary reason for 1-star service ratings. At Westfield, we believe claims communication is absolutely critical. We don't ever want to end a conversation with a customer without telling them what's happening to their claim, what will happen next and what, if anything, we need from them to move their claim forward. We also proactively push out claims information electronically each step of the way, so customers quickly receive key information they need, such as their claims number and claims representative contact information. We're constantly reviewing our communications procedures to look for ways to respond faster and to give our customers more choices in the way they connect with us. A supervisor reviews every customer comment, and negative surveys are sent to our national leaders so we can follow up with the customer and improve the quality of our communication. It sounds simple, but the key is to always follow through with the customer and do what you say you're going to do. Clearly, connecting one-on-one with the customer, listening to them, understanding their needs, and delivering on their unique situation all are essential to a positive claims experience — and ultimately retaining the customer. As carriers adopt new technology to automate claims and communicate more efficiently with policyholders, they must not lose sight of the importance of the human touch. Those who can balance innovation with empathy to streamline processes, reduce friction and provide a personal connection in the policyholder's time of need will be one step ahead of the competition in delivering a world-class customer experience. Jon Thornton ([email protected]) is national claims strategy and transformation leader at Westfield, where he leads technology, vendor, process and claims strategy initiatives. A leading property-casualty carrier founded in 1848, Westfield provides personal insurance in 10 states, commercial insurance in 21 states and surety products in all 50 states. It is based in Westfield Center, Ohio. See also: