An Introduction to Negotiation Skills for Insurance Professionals

Jeff’s career has been varied, having re-trained several times. Jeff’s career has included spells in the legal profession as a litigation executive, insurance industry as a senior liability adjuster, and more recently as a language expert and trainer.

Jeff is well versed in negotiation having dealt with litigation up to the Court of Appeal and having been heavily involved in complex claims all around the world. He now uses his experience to train others. As Jeff pointed out, whilst his skills and experience have a legal bias the principles can be applied to any industry.

Jeff talked about what makes a good negotiator and how often we end up in negotiation scenarios, sometimes without realising it. Jeff introduced the ‘mirror principle’ early in the talk, to which he regularly referred back, which states that it’s important in a negotiation to repeat the main themes of another party’s statement to indicate that the statement has been acknowledged. By doing so, a relationship can be established, and an atmosphere of trust and cooperation can be cultivated.

A fundamental part of the mirror principle is being reasonable, open minded and wiling to listen to the other party’s opinions and views. This will (hopefully) help the other party be equally reasonable and willing to reciprocate.

As well as using the mirror principle, another good weapon have within a negotiator’s arsenal is ‘intellectual humility’. In short, this is simply having the open-mindedness to concede points. Jeff commented that whilst most people’s perception of a strong negotiator is one who stands their ground, this isn’t always the case. Being able to see things from the ‘other side’ and having the humility to give away ground in a negotiation can be a powerful tool in building trust.

When heading into a negotiation, some of Jeff’s key tips include –

• Assess your own strengths and weaknesses before a negotiation and have ready-made responses lined up.
• Prepare yourself with concessions/trade-offs/alternatives ready to use.
• Adopt the mirror principle and act in a cooperative manner.
• Concept check – this means periodically confirming to your co-negotiator that you have understood their position correctly (which demonstrates you were listening as well as providing clarity).
• Remember that it’s easier to ‘prove yourself right than someone else wrong’.
• Don’t use the term ‘offer’ – this suggests that a negotiation is actively invited.
• As much as possible use the word ‘because’ – this provides logic to the statement that precedes it. Backing up a statement with facts is essential.
• Start the negotiation and make the first move. Starting the negotiation controls it.
• When negotiation try not to use the words ‘but’ or ‘however’. They can have the effect of showing an ignorance of the other’s point of view by seemingly disregarding the statement they have just made. Try to respond by saying ‘I understand but can I bring us back to the valuation/issue?’, or words to that effect.
• Argue figures and not facts.
• Avoid ‘emotional transfer’ – do not make a call immediately after having an intense or heated discussion. The emotion of the previous call can transfer to the new call and cloud judgement.
• Consider seating and positioning – try and remove physical barriers and avoid negotiating with someone on opposite sides of the same desk. This creates a setting where you appear to be opponents and may psychologically create a divide.
• Use positive language - by modifying the words we use, and not necessarily what we say, we can give a more positive meaning.

Jeff closed off by talking about the ‘Chimp Paradox’. This is a famous paradox conceived by the Professor Steve Peters, a leading psychiatrist.

The theory goes that the brain is split into different segments, one of which is controlled by ‘the chimp’. This is named as such as we supposedly share this with our hominid cousins. This part of the brain acts impulsively and emotionally, with little regard to consequences

The human part of the brain is much more reasonable and rational, and thus is far more reliable and useful in decision making.

When negotiating, it’s important not to let the chimp control matters.