Real-Life Communication
Most of the communicating underwriters have to do is with the agents
that sell the insurance.
"It's one of our primary, day-to-day
contacts," says underwriter Neil Facteau. An agent's livelihood depends
on the acceptance of the policies by the underwriters.
"Ideally they'd
like us to approve everything, but we can't. We have to look at the risks,"
he says.
When a claim has to be rejected, it often creates an uncomfortable
situation for the underwriter.
"Most agents are good -- respectful
and responsible -- but there's always a few that seem to have the wrong
attitude from the start," says Facteau.
You've just received a
phone call from an angry agent. He wants to know why his client's claim
was rejected. As an underwriter, you know that the claim had to be rejected
because of a condition that turned up on a confidential doctor's report.
You can't give out this information.
Pretend you're the underwriter.
Without mentioning the doctor's report, write down what you could say
to the angry agent to try and calm him down and explain that you are just
doing your job.