As an insurance adjuster, you know that technical expertise (like mastering Xactimate, understanding construction requirements, or policy interpretation) is only half the battle. What happens when you’re face-to-face with a furious policyholder, stuck in a stalled negotiation, or you start missing phone calls because you are juggling 60 open claims?
Technical skills enable you to investigate damage and write an estimate, but it often takes soft skills to close a claim and keep clients happy.
In a landmark study, the Carnegie Foundation concluded that 85% of job success comes from well-developed soft skills, while only 15% comes from technical knowledge. Despite an increasingly techno-centric workforce, soft skills remain the cornerstone of business success.
That’s why AdjusterPro is delighted to launch a course that directly focuses on the indispensable skills needed to navigate the human side of the claims industry:
Soft Skills: The Essential Art of Adjusting
What Soft Skills Does an Insurance Adjuster Use?
This course is designed to help insurance adjusters train and prepare for real on-the-job scenarios by addressing how to:
- De-escalate High Emotions: Reduce tension and manage complex, stressful situations effectively.
- Master Insurance Claim Negotiations: Prepare for successful settlements by defining a BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) and using persuasive techniques.
- Cultivate Trust: Connect with claimants and build trust, even during challenging claims processes.
- Manage Time: Efficiently juggle numerous files and responsibilities without losing individual connections.
- Communicate Clearly and Build Rapport: Develop a professional communication style, self-awareness, and empathy to make the claims process smoother for everyone.
- Achieve Fair Outcomes: Explore the art of persuasion and apply strategies to secure equitable settlements between the insured and the insurance company.
- Solve Problems Creatively: Utilize a multi-step critical thinking process to find innovative solutions to complex claims.
- Uphold Professional and Ethical Standards: Maintain fiduciary responsibility, professionalism, and composure while navigating negotiations or ethical challenges.
Who Should Take this Soft Skills Course for Adjusters?
Because emotional intelligence and soft skills are beneficial for any person’s development, this course is designed to serve a broad audience of insurance professionals, including:
- New Adjusters: Build confidence and “soft skill muscle memory” before your first deployment, ensuring you don’t freeze up when a claimant gets upset.
- Veteran Adjusters: Refine your negotiation tactics, reduce burnout, and explore new strategies for handling increasingly complex claims environments.
- Businesses and their Employees: This course can also serve as a resource for desk adjusters and customer service teams regarding customer satisfaction and retention, reducing the risk of DOI complaints against your business.
How Soft Skills Are Actually a Huge Competitive Advantage for Insurance Adjusters
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.”
~ Peter Drucker, Management Consultant
Protect Your Career; Remain A Desirable Adjuster as Technology Advances
While algorithms now excel at technical tasks like writing estimates and analyzing photos, they lack the essential human touch. AI can sound compelling, but it will never truly empathize with a family devastated by loss or navigate the complexities of a complex negotiation with a frustrated contractor. As technical work is increasingly automated, the adjusters who remain essential are those who master the human side of the adjusting business: the soft skills.
A Small Investment to Protect Your Income
Unnecessary conflict eats up time. Every minute spent arguing on the phone is a minute not spent closing a file. Applying effective soft skills and emotional intelligence could save you hours of unproductive discussion. Priced at $99 (including lifetime access and support), this course costs less than the billable hours you might lose on a single stalled negotiation. By preventing just one communication breakdown that could lead to a Department of Insurance (DOI) complaint or a required reinvestigation, the course effectively pays for itself ten times over.
Become the “Low-Risk, Highly Desired” Adjuster for Independent Adjusting (IA) Firms
IA Firms and businesses prioritize adjusters who solve problems rather than create them. A resume that highlights soft skills training signals that you are “deployment-ready.” An adjuster who can manage complex claims without generating complaints for the firm manager to clean up.
The outcomes (mastering your ability to de-escalate, negotiate, and manage your time) are an investment in skills that build your reputation, reduce your stress, streamline your ability to manage a caseload of claims, and ultimately help you close claims with greater efficiency and confidence.
If this course is a good fit for your virtual toolbelt, enroll here! Soft Skills: The Essential Art of Adjusting.
Please reach out with any questions, comments, or feedback. We are here to help!
