Adjusters now have at their disposal all sorts of high-tech tools to presumably increase their productivity. They have damage estimating software to calculate property loss.
They have Colossus software to help compute the value of bodily injury claims. We have broadband Internet systems and computers that can calculate at warp speed. We have calendar and organizational software to manage task lists and key dates. We have Blackberries, iPhones, 3G smart phones and PDA’s.
These are all handy tools. I confess to being a bit of a gadget freak and have often been accused of being an “early adopter” by others who were not totally sold on newfangled gizmos.
Sometimes we forget, though, that a key to productivity and effectiveness lies not in technology tools. Rather, it may rely upon good old-fashioned willpower, the willingness to do things daily as claims professionals that we would really rather not do. To do things that we would rather put off, delay or procrastinate on.
We don’t want to field that phone call from a difficult claimant who’s phoning for the umpteenth time, badgering us about the “low” damage estimates to her soot-stained kitchen.
We don’t want to deal with the building contractor who says he’s going to need an extra 20% to cover his increased material costs.
We don’t want to handle the difficult commercial account to is forever questioning our reserve numbers as being too high, and even when actuaries who review the same numbers criticize us for setting them too low.
We don’t want to negotiate with a belligerent claimant attorney who has a chip on his shoulder about adjusters and a poorly disguised distain for insurance companies.
We don’t want to leave a warm bed at 3:30 AM to drive 42 miles to stand next to a frigid isolated highway to oversee a tractor trailer accident.
These things we do, not because we want to do them that because they are sometimes the necessary components of being a claims adjuster. The willingness to do them even when we don’t want to is a hallmark of a productive and effective adjuster; it has nothing to do with one’s technology tools. To be sure, having a combination of high-tech tools and these character traits will comprise a formidable package in the adjuster’s effectiveness arsenal.
Bicycling champion Lance Armstrong titled his first book, “It’s Not About the Bike.” His point was that his ability to overcome cancer and to win the Tour de France bicycle race was more due to his own persistence and character and willingness to pay the price it was because he had the most high-tech bicycle.
Yes, in time Lance Armstrong also became a student of bicycle racing technology. As he began defending successive Tour de France titles, he would exhaustively test bicycle frames in wind titles, check the aerodynamics of various designs of bicycle helmets and even the aerodynamic properties of different types of fabrics next to his skin. He overlooked no detail in either technology or his training to prepare himself for multiple defenses of his Tour de France yellow jersey. It was not just about the bike but also about the bedrock character qualities that he exhibited to fight through, to pay the price and to do the unpleasant things that he didn’t want to do — – even if that meant 115 mile training ride through cold rain when he would rather be lounging on the sofa.
As motivational sage Randy Gage has stated as a daily mantra, “I’ll do today what others won’t so I can do tomorrow what others can’t.”
It’s not about the bike and it’s not about the Blackberry, the PDA or the high-tech adjusting tools. These are all worthy implements for the adjuster, but sometimes low-tech is better.
So, how do you assess YOUR low-tech toolbox? When you face unpleasant situations in your daily claims handling, do you face them head-on or do you put them off for another day?
What do you eat first — the icing or the cake?
