Leveraging diversity in claims management, insurance litigation
Diversity fosters more comprehensive legal analysis and a deeper understanding of jurors and judges.
It’s well established in HR circles that embracing diversity in the workplace is key to creating more inclusive and equitable environments that foster innovation and collaboration.
Many have yet to consider, however, that diversity has an equally important role to play in the development of legal and claims adjusting teams.
The ability to consider a broader range of viewpoints puts diverse legal teams in a strong position to anticipate and address potential challenges, strengthening their case presentation and increasing the likelihood of success in court. But it’s the rare claims management team that naturally has this capability without mindful steps to fully build and utilize diversity.
What is diversity, and why is it important on a legal/claims adjusting team?
Too frequently, diversity is defined too narrowly, focusing mainly on demographic factors like race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation and physical abilities. But to gain the full value of a diverse team, several other factors also need to be considered including cultural backgrounds, professional experiences, communication styles and socio-economic backgrounds.
Diverse perspectives are important to the development of unique strategies that can win cases. A claims handling team is comprised of an array of professionals such as lawyers, adjusters, engineering experts, forensic accountants, appraisers, building consultants and salvage experts. They bring varied insights and approaches to problem-solving alongside a unique set of technical skills and experiences, which can lead to more comprehensive analyses of legal issues, innovative strategies, and a deeper understanding of diverse jurors and judges.
Building a diverse team starts with having a deep bench.
It’s important to have a diverse bench of talent ready before you receive a claim or file. Building a diverse team is not something that happens by chance; it is an ongoing process that requires intentional and strategic actions. Make it a point to regularly assess your bench of talent and evaluate your resources to ensure you have a pool of qualified team members with diverse backgrounds and attributes — and proactively implement actions to address any gaps.
To expand your network, become a member of organizations with diverse memberships and attend networking events with the intent to meet new and diverse experts. When attending industry-related presentations, be intentional about who you speak with at these events and which sessions you attend, and keep the contact information of the presenters so that you can reach out to them. In addition, actively seek experts from underrepresented groups through targeted outreach outside of traditional networks.
The team and case’s needs should drive appropriate representation.
At the outset of a case, identify the technical skills, background, experiences and perspectives that would be the most complementary. Consider the following:
- Where is the case is taking place?
- Who would complement the existing team?
- Who would the jury better respond to?
- How do their language skills align with the matter?
Review industry relevance to ensure that the varied perspectives contribute meaningfully to achieving the goals of your case.
When building the team, design an interview process that assesses not only technical skills, but also people skills, collaboration and adaptability, enabling a cultural fit on the team. Some example questions include:
- How do you approach working with others on a project and ensure opinions are heard and incorporated into your work product?
- How do you incorporate diverse perspectives and feedback into your decision-making process?
- What techniques do you use to connect with jury members during a trial?
Consider leveraging diverse language skills as a case strategy.
One of the challenges of being an expert witness is to communicate complex and technical information in a way that is understandable and persuasive to a jury. Experts who speak English as a second language often communicate more directly and use more common jargon; they keep the messaging simple.
Having an expert who can avoid using overly technical jargon is key. This kind of expert helps to avoid confusion or misunderstanding, makes it easier to recall and repeat the facts accurately, and reduces the risk of being challenged or contradicted by the opposing counsel.
Leverage diverse perspectives to develop messaging that connects with diverse jurors.
In trials where the jury comes from diverse backgrounds, having legal professionals and experts who can connect with the jurors from various backgrounds can be advantageous when influencing perceptions and building rapport. Experts and lawyers with diverse backgrounds are often able to connect with jury members on a personal level through humor, storytelling, or eye contact.
Additionally, remember that jury members will have different socioeconomic levels and backgrounds. Having a team with a broader background can provide a better understanding of how messaging, terminology, and opinions will be received and can impact how you and your team connect with the jury.
A diverse team can also better recognize potential objections and questions. Each team member will digest and understand the information with their unique viewpoint and develop questions that can be addressed before a deposition or trial.
Building an effective team to solve an insured’s problem or take a claim through litigation is a critical part of managing a claim.
Understanding how and when to integrate the diversity of a team into your overall court strategy, recognizing the value of having a diverse litigation and expert team, and learning to incorporate that advantage into your approach can be the difference-maker for a legal team. With regular review of your resources and proactive efforts to maintain a diverse talent bench, claims handlers can set themselves and the insureds they represent up for maximum success.
Diana Estrada, P.E., (destrada@engsys.com) is a senior consultant with Engineering Systems, Inc. Michael Mandredi (Michael.Manfredi@wilsonelser.com) is a partner at Wilson Elser. And Patricia Farve (Patricia_Farve@us.crawco.com) is vice president of Operations at Crawford & Co.
This piece is published with permission and may not be reproduced.
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