THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT

Sunday Blog. After all the insurance topics all these days, probably a non-insurance topic may be better for a Sunday.

Let me go down the memory lane. I had joined one of the public sector insurers in the late 1980’s. Grateful to the insurer for the opportunity provided to work across different lines of business as well as functions. It all started with a 6-month training which included a 2 month on the job training. Many trainings in between including the golden opportunity to be trained for around a month in Munich Re and American Re.

Year 2000 saw the first few licenses for a private sector insurer. In that very year joined one of the private sector insurers.

Early 2001, our business started in a small way. Started in a small office in Mumbai. I was sitting and by my side was a colleague Vikas Shukla.

That very small space was also occupied few just out of college young boys and girls recruited for the call center. Everyone could hear what others were talking. Calls used to come from customers about various insurance products and possible claim scenarios and these young boys and girls used to answer their queries and convince them to buy insurance.

Vikas told me ” Atma- Look at these young boys and girls, just out of college and see how confidently they are answering claim queries saying a particular claim is payable or not-payable. After all these years in the insurance industry, we are not as confident as them about the interpretation of the wordings and clauses.”

Some statements get stuck with you for life and this is one statement I never forget.

Later, after many years, I came across “The Dunning-Kruger Effect”. It says:

“The more you know, the less confident you are likely to be. Because Experts know just how much they don’t know, they tend to underestimate their ability; but it is easy to be over-confident when you have only a simple idea of how things are. Try not to mistake the cautiousness of experts as a lack of understanding, nor to give much credence to lay-people who appear confident but have only superficial knowledge.”

Bertrand Russel once said, ” The whole problem with the World is that fools and fanatics are so certain about themselves, yet wiser people so full of doubts.”

Food for thought for a Sunday.

Blog by Atmaram Cheruvu