SESSIONS

We are dedicated to sessions that are real-life and contain meaningful information that can be put into place right away

 Basics of Subrogating Workers' Compensation Claims

With 50 separate bodies of workers’ compensation law, this area of subrogation remains one of the most confusing and difficult to master. This introductory level course focuses on the basics of workers’ compensation subrogation – Who can bring a third-party action? Who qualifies as a third-party? How is a recovery allocated once recovery is made? Is the carrier’s lien reduced by the worker’s attorney’s fees and litigation costs? How and when can a carrier receive statutory credit for monies recovered by the worker and a reserve take-down. This course is for claims handlers, in-house counsel, and subrogation professionals and is intended to introduce and provide a general understanding of workers’ compensation subrogation to assist in handling the subrogation issues encountered in today's workers' compensation subrogation marketplace.

 Claim Innovations - Handling Claims in the Digital Age

Session description forthcoming

 Claims Handling: Understanding Litigation Strategy and Management

This seminar will discuss litigation strategy and managing outside counsel. It provides claims adjusters a better understanding of civil litigation, the various types of pleadings and when each may be used, strategies to evaluate settlement versus continued litigation and what options may be presented by defense counsel during the lawsuit. It will discuss the life of a lawsuit and topics to discuss with defense counsel at various stages.

Upon completion of this seminar the attendee will better understand the life cycle of a lawsuit and how different decisions can impact the litigation. By understanding the life of a lawsuit, the attendee will be better equipped to manage litigation and provide input to outside counsel regarding strategy. Further, the attendee will better identify settlement opportunities and leveraging the litigation to obtain better results.

 CliftonStrengths Part 1

One of the key responsibilities of any leader is to identify and utilize your own natural talents and talents on your team. You don’t have to waste time guessing because Gallup, a global research firm, has a tool to help!

For 30 years, Gallup studied human talents and strengths, and interviewed two million people asking, "At work, Do you have the opportunity To Do what you Do best every day?" Gallup's studies and the survey results built StrengthsFinder 2.0.

This session introduces 'StrengthsFinder 2.0 From Gallup – Discover Your CliftonStrengths' and uses your online Gallup Assessment results to link behaviors to your successes and challenges at work and at home. This insight can improve your communication, build mutual respect and enhance your productivity. Pre-work is required for this session.

Required Pre-work:

  • Teresa Headrick will contact you requesting a physical shipping address and phone number.
  • The 'StrengthsFinder 2.0 – Discover Your CliftonStrengths' book will be shipped and include these instructions:
    • Read Part I of the book.
    • Use personal code in book to access the on-line Gallup Assessment.
    • Complete the Gallup Assessment.
    • Receive customized Strengths Insight Guide and Signature Theme Report.
    • Read Part II of book.
    • Send your top 5 Strengths to Teresa Headrick at teresa@insuranceinstitute.com

 CliftonStrengths Part 2

You must attend part 1 in order to participate in this session.

The goal of this workshop is to provide attendees guidance to utilize CliftonStrength 2.0 to discover, develop and maximize your and your team members’ natural talents.

By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

  • Utilize your Gallup assessment results to understand what you do best
  • Identify how your strengths link to behaviors – both productive behaviors and derailing
  • Discover the diversity in natural talents of others

 Critical Thinking Games: Learning to Think Things Through

Effective leadership decision making is not about always being right. It is about thinking things through. It is about testing assumptions. It is about considering the relevant information, avoiding the pitfalls, and making the best decision possible.

Topics Include:

  • Critical thinking skills for leaders
  • Learning how to think things through
  • Opposite Blindness – Mistakenly thinking two things are opposite when they are not (quality vs. customer service)
  • Avoiding the pitfalls of poor decision making

In this session, you will be tested to develop and implement leadership decisions to solve common workplace problems. You might make mistakes (actually, you probably will) but that is okay.

 Decision Making for Claims Managers

When negotiating with an unrepresented customer, an opening statement is an effective negotiation tool. It assists the customer in understating how the process works and that our goal is to be fair. In this session you will learn the right way to present your settlement figure.

 Driving Up Employee Performance

Managers spend a tremendous amount of time trying to improve employee performance by focusing on their ability. Yet most experts would say that people’s performance is driven more by their attitude than their ability.

The very top performers come to the job with the attitude that it’s their job to improve themselves, but most employees do not. The managers who are best at driving employee performance focus on inspiring employees to improve themselves. Once you have inspired people to want to improve, they will do most of the work in driving up their performance. It is your job to get them to want to improve.

 Duty to Defend Broader than the Duty to Indemnify: How to determine if the insurer has a duty to defend under the policy

The importance of correctly analyzing and determining whether there is a duty to defend should not be under-estimated. An incorrect analysis could result in the waiver of coverage defenses and increase the chances of being exposed to extra-contractual liability. This seminar will focus on how to analyze the duty to defend, including providing a checklist of helpful reminders.

Statement of Learning Objective:
This seminar will walk the students—step-by-step—through how to analyze whether there is a duty to defend. Afterwards, the student will better understand how to conduct this analysis depending upon the applicable law, complaint, and policy language, enabling them to successfully preserve the insurer’s coverage defenses and demonstrate the insurer’s good faith.

 Emerging Topics in Claims Handling & Litigation

The claims and litigation landscape for 2023 presents many opportunities and pitfalls for anyone working in the insurance industry. From developments in technology and medical procedures to how juries and claimants have changed following the pandemic, the insurance professional is operating in an ever-evolving world. This program will discuss many of the emerging issues and provide tips for handling from the perspective of seasoned defense attorneys.

 Ethics for Insurance Professionals

The insurance claims industry is changing every day and helpful insights and tips from industry leaders to younger professionals on how to be successful in their careers can be very valuable. Our panel members have all made lifelong careers in insurance and they will provide answers to some of the tough questions that the younger professionals may be faced with every day. Topics of discussion include: ethics in claims handling, working with a litigation department and what the panel members would do differently if they could in their career looking back.

This seminar will provide students witth valuable claims information from industry leaders that may not be readily available to them within their companies. The information students will learn is from professionals with years of experience who all want to provide the next generation of claims professionals witth the knowledge that can help enhance their careers. Afterwards, the student will have a host of valuable career tactics that they can take back with them to the office and immediately begin utilizing and implementing.

 File Documentation Part 1: Nine Most Common File Documentation Errors

While adjusters can do many things to enhance the culture and commitment of the service they are trying to provide, probably the most important is file documentation.

There is very little that will determine the direction a claim takes more than file documentation. The issue isn’t just "Is there documentation In the file?" but "Is the documentation an accurate reflection Of the claim?" The answer depends heavily on the file’s documentation quality and timeliness.

Good file documentation can help resolve issues that may arise when there is a misunderstanding between the customer and the adjuster.

In this session, we will review tips to make sure claims professionals avoid file notes that are:

  • Vague and ambiguous
  • Incomplete
  • Incorrect
  • Wordy and without purpose
  • Unprofessional
  • Judgmental
  • Rude
  • Condescending
  • Self-inflicting

 File Documentation Part 2: Common Claims Standards to Improve File Documentations

Professionalism is a key factor. A file that is professional in nature can positively reflect on the adjuster’s knowledge, experience and desire to do the right thing for the customer. It is important to project a high level of professionalism in order to gain the confidence of those individuals outside of the company who may review the file notes.

In this session, we will cover these topics:

  • Files notes that are accurate
  • Being thorough
  • Importance of timely documentation
  • Make sure notes are clear
  • Being honest
  • Professionalism in the claims file

 Fundamental Claims Handling: Applying Basic Claim Principles to Current Technology

The insurance industry has experienced an increase in technology in the claim process, which has led to more specialization of tasks and emphasis on data entry. The foundations of our industry have not changed much; however, they may not be receiving the attention they deserve.

In this session, you will apply basic claim principles to common claim situations. Through examples, you will experience how to be more efficient, reach more accurate claim decisions, and reduce conflict. We’ll demonstrate how application of fundamental claim principles leads to greater job enrichment for the claim professional.

 Interpersonal Skills: How to Deal with the Snide Comment

Claims professionals sometimes place barriers (or fail to remove obstacles) to settlement simply because they do not recognize when a customer is asking for help. Most of us in claims will not recognize that when a customer makes a snide comment, such as, "Thanks For calling…Finally," the customer is actually asking for something. We take it as an attack, and generally it is not! It is a request.

For example, some people make snide comments when they are irritated. For those people, it is important to recognize what they want when they make the snide comment. They don’t want you to admit a mistake. They don’t want you to say you are not worthy of them. They do not want you to admit you are horrible person. What do they want? You’ll be surprised. Come learn how to deal with this issue, and make your job much easier.

 Material Misrepresentation in the Application

This presentation provides in-depth analysis and legal updates on evaluating claims with potential misrepresentations in the policy application. It will demonstrate the requirements, under the law, in which adjusters can void a policy ab initio, as well as the scope of discovery that can be expected during litigation.

 Negotiation Skills: Making an Opening Statement

It has been estimated that approximately 60% of jurors make up their mind during the opening statements. First impressions are hard to change. Yet, in claims, we rarely take advantage of this opportunity. In this session you will learn the nine-step process of making an opening statement as part of the settlement negotiations.

 Negotiation Skills: Words to Avoid with Unrepresented Parties

When negotiating with unrepresented parties, it is especially important to demonstrate a level of concern for paying a fair amount along with the outlining the efforts to make that happen.

Often claims professionals utilize words and phrases that can send the exact opposite message that they are trying to convey. In this session, attendees will learn some very common words and phrases that should be avoided when negotiating with unrepresented parties.

The impact of words and phrases such as offer, willing to, took a look at, came up with, about, only and many others will all be discussed. Attendees will learn the right way to say things in order to take the credit for the hard work they do.

 Nuclear Verdicts

This seminar will describe the definition, extent, causes and counter-strategies for nuclear verdicts. The learning objective of this session is to understand phenomenon of nuclear verdicts and ways to counter them.

 Risk Management: Loss Prevention in the Restaurant Industry

Beignets were first introduced to the city of New Orleans by the French-Creole colonists in the 18th century. The concept is simple – dough is fried then covered with mounds of powdered sugar – but the result is extraordinary. When served hot, they are absolute perfection!

In this session, we will learn how to make beignets, watch firsthand and maybe even help as a Hilton New Orleans chef makes beignets and, best of all, we will gobble them up after the demonstration! But, in our profession, we know that there is a risk management side to this type of activity. What do restaurants need to keep in mind as they drop gooey balls of dough into burning hot oil? Come to this session and find out!

 Roundtable Technical Discussion with Industry Experts

Moderated by David Alfini, Esq. and panel members: Sarah Hudson, SCLA, USAA; Cathy Krane, SCLA, University of Oklahoma; Shawn Phillips, SCLA Gold, Allied Universal Compliance and Investigations; George Wilson, SCLA Gold, Auto-Owners Insurance

The insurance claims industry is changing every day and helpful insights and tips from industry leaders to younger professionals on how to be successful in their careers can be very valuable. Our panel members have all made lifelong careers in insurance and they will provide answers to some of the tough questions that the younger professionals may be faced with every day. Topics of discussion include; ethics in claims handling, the art of negotiation, career paths, navigating the insurance fraud division, helpful tips for claims handling and working with litigation department. This seminar will provide the students with valuable claims information from industry leaders that may not be readily available to them within their companies. The information students will learn is from professionals with years of experience who all want to provide the next generation of claims professionals with the knowledge that can help enhance their careers. Afterwards, the student will have a host of valuable career tactics that they can take back with them to the office and immediately begin utilizing and implementing.

 Time Management: Dealing with Interruptions

Do constant interruptions get in your way of getting things done? What if you knew everything that was going to happen to you at the beginning of the day? Imagine how wonderful it would be if you could put everything that would eventually happen during the day on your to-do list at the beginning of the day. Would that be a relief? Sure, because then you could prioritize everything you had and nothing would interrupt you.

In this session you will learn the right way to plan and prioritize your activities so you don’t end the day feeling like you got nothing done. You will learn skills that will:

  • Help you prioritize
  • Gain a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day
  • Allows you to forget work or tasks at night
  • Focus you on next item and priorities
  • Focus you on your workload and help you say "no" when appropriate
  • Keep you in the "20% time 80% results area"

 Time Management: Tips for Reducing Phone Calls

How often have you taken the time to explain the claims process in detail to a customer, only to have them call you back 15 minutes later with a question? Not a new question, but a question about something you just told them. It happens all the time. What we don’t realize is that we create most of the problem ourselves. We complain about too many phone calls or too many voice mails but often, we are the cause of those very same unnecessary calls. We do things that actually encourage people to call us, instead of taking steps to make sure they don’t have to call us.

In this session you will learn five tips to help you reduce the number of calls you receive, and the number of calls you have to return. When practiced and used these five tips will save time, reduce extra work and make the job less stressful.

PRESENTED BY:


SPONSORED BY:

INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE INSTITUTE, Inc.
6221 S. Claiborne Ave. Ste. 639
New Orleans, LA 70125
www.InsuranceInstitute.com
Questions? Contact Lisa at 612.868.3650 or lisa@insuranceinstitute.com