(An edited version of this article appeared in the April, 1997 issue of Claims Magazine)

by Ronald J. Zaremba, CPCU,AIC,ARM

"The shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time" is the definition of "Future Shock" by its originator, Alvin Toffler. The concept is easy to understand. What is difficult, at least for me, is the fact that Mr. Toffler's concept of future shock first unfolded over twenty five years ago and we still look at change and future shock as new phenomena.

The changes in the last half of this century have been accelerating and interesting. Most of our apparent technological changes in the last twenty five years are computers and the information and automation technologies they drive. But this period is not the era of the greatest change for mankind. The last half of the twentieth century would probably do no better than a distant third for the most change in the historic eras of man. One of the reasons we think we are undergoing so much stress brought on by change is our lack of historic perspective. Ignorance is not bliss.

I would argue that the era of greatest change in modern history (the last 3000 years or so) was the industrial revolution in the first half of the nineteenth century. The shift from a feudalistic political system and an agrarian economic system toward a populist industrial system was devastating both in its impact and dislocation. Even as we move into the information age, ripples from the changes of the industrial revolution are still being felt. At the same time all this was going on in the beginning of the nineteenth century, there was the rapid expansion into the new world and the explosion of knowledge in the scientific community. What I would argue held it all together and made it work even with great shifts, was a relative constant set of values. The aberrations in values caused great upheavals, but generally the values remained those of the Judeo-Christian tradition. And that's just a view of the Western European transition. The rest of the world, thanks to colonization by Western Europe, had even greater change forced upon them in a much shorter time.

When I think of change, I think of my Grandmother. She grew up in a small rural community in the horse and buggy days at the beginning of the twentieth century. She marveled and welcomed the many technological changes which made life easier, yet she never changed her underlying set of values. She had no problem coping with technological change, she loved it ! Being obsolete didn't bother her. She knew what she had before she got the equipment that was now obsolete. The new was a big improvement over what she had before. She did not change just for the sake of change. She believed in wearing something out before she disposed of it. Now we are given this false sense of urgency with its unrealizable goal to keep up. Keep up to what ?

Change is much easier to deal with if you can control it. Well, you personally cannot exercise much control over political, economic or technological change, but you can control your set of values. You must have a firm set of values that will serve as your landmark, beacon and guideposts. Your values are your "rock" as you watch and experience the turmoil about you. I believe one of the reasons so many experience stress from change now is that they do not possess a strong set of personal values.

The greatest change in the claims business since I started over thirty years ago ? It is not technology. I agree, we have some really neat gee whiz productive tools now. We do not waste nearly as much time as before. We are more efficient. And our new tools have longer and steeper learning curves. However, the greatest changes in the last thirty years in our business are the changes in the expectations of the insuring public as reflected in our common law. As an example, when I started, the wrongful death claim of a child could only be sustained to the extent that the parents could show financial loss. Remember the "Guest Statutes" ? "Governmental immunity " ? Products liability has redefined torts. There are completely new challenging fields such as environmental law. I am not so old but I can remember adjusting first party claims first without deductibles and then later using "disappearing deductibles". Now, personal lines insurance in this country is truly ubiquitous. Big changes.

So why is change suddenly so stressful ? Let's face it, stress and its causes are big business. Communication technology has definitely improved so it is easier and cheaper to get the word out. It is generally to the benefit of the communication media to amplify the "news" to increase its advertising revenue. Thus what you are hearing about the tremendous change and all the related stress is, to a large degree, a lot of self serving hogwash. Keep that in mind in order to cope with change. More importantly, to cope with both change and stress, maintain your set of values and your historical perspective. Our personal set of values changes slowly and when they do change, there is occasional pain and friction. But our collective set of values holds the center as the pendulum of change swings from side to side. Relax, Enjoy. Reap all the benefits of technological change. Tell the change masters and the futurists to blow their smoke in someone else's ear.