Negotiation determines the outcome of nearly every litigated claim in our industry, yet it remains one of the least systematically developed skills inside many claims and defense organizations.
Executive Summary
"For decades, the industry has not treated negotiation as a discipline to be taught, strengthened and measured," writes Westfield Specialty's Krista Glenn. "Fixing the negotiation talent void is not a matter of personal improvement. It is a leadership responsibility," she asserts, going on to offer a leadership blueprint to rebuild negotiating skills as a core competency across insurance organizations.
This article is the third installment of a multipart educational series, "Negotiation Reclaimed," conceived by Guest Editor Taylor Smith, founder and president of Suite 200 Solutions. Smith introduced the idea in his recent CM article, Taking Back Negotiation: Why Claim Professionals Must Lead the Next Chapter
Read Part 1: Negotiation Is the Job: Reframing Defense Work in an AI-Enhanced Era
Read Part 2: The Power of the First Offer: Anchoring, Evidence and the Battle for Perception
After decades in claims handling and leadership roles, I’ve seen firsthand how profoundly negotiation quality shapes indemnity spend, resolution timing, and partner alignment. And I’ve also seen how far we still have to go.
As the plaintiff bar continues to modernize its negotiation capabilities by investing in analytics, offer scripting, message testing, and AI-driven demand tools, the defense industry is confronting a widening skills gap. This gap is not a reflection of the talent or commitment of our professionals. On the contrary, it is a reflection of the fact that, for decades, the industry has not treated negotiation as a discipline to be taught, strengthened and measured. And without the willingness or ability to measure our results, we have lost the ability to accomplish our mutual goals of managing the risk for our insureds by paying only what we owe while providing our employees with the opportunity to improve their negotiation skill set in a controlled setting.
If we are serious about improving file outcomes, controlling indemnity volatility, and operating with strategic foresight, we must rebuild negotiation talent with intention—not as an individual competency, but as one of our organization’s core competencies and capabilities.
The Capability Gap Hiding in Plain Sight
As Ron Morrison emphasized in the first article of this series, 98–99 percent of litigated matters resolve through negotiation, not trial. That statistic should reshape how every carrier views the work of litigation. Negotiation is not a phase of a claim file; it is the central event that determines outcomes.
Related article: Negotiation Is the Job: Reframing Defense Work in an AI-Enhanced Era
