101. The Claims Professional's Friend -- 2008 ($39)
Eighteen before-and-after examples of claims correspondence (to doctors, lawyers, insureds), including critiques and analyses. Rewrites show proper organization, tone, and phrasing. Includes ten 8 1/2" X 11" posters on aspects of writing, such as Persuasion, Tone, Old Fashioned Phrases and Punctuation.

102. "Dear Doctor" ($3)
A brief article focusing on the best ways to obtain claims information from doctors.

103. Tips on Improving Your Tone ($3)
A brief article focusing on achieving the proper tone when communicating with insureds and opposing attorneys.

104. How to Write to State Insurance Commissioners ($6)
A before-and-after look at two letters answering complaints.

105. The Perfect Denial Letter ($5)
Combines a critique of six actual claims letters and "Seven Ways to Improve Your Denial Letters," which appeared in Canadian Insurance.

106. Eliminating Wordiness and Antiquated Phrases ($5)
A brief article suggesting substitutes for many antiquated and wordy phrases.

107. Letters to Insureds: A Critique ($18)
Twenty (actual) letters to insureds (names have been changed), covering a variety of situations. Each one shows how an adjuster handled the situation and includes our commentary and suggestions for improvement.

108. Tips on Improving Reservation-of-Right Letters ($8)

109. "Dear Attorney" ($12)
A brief article focusing on examples of communications with attorneys (includes critiques of five actual letters to opposing attorneys).

110. Tips on Improving Your E-Mail ($3)

111. The 25 Worst Phrases in Insurance ($8)
A review for the 25 phrases to avoid because of their stodginess, poor tone, and vagueness.

112. Breaking Up Lengthy Paragraphs and Sentences ($11)

113. How to Organize Writing Training in Your Claims Department ($6)

114. The Perfect Reservation-of-Rights Letter (New!) ($19)
A thorough critique and analysis of eight typical reservation-of-rights letters.

115. Conquering "Claims Writer's Block" ($4)

116. The Workers' Compensation Claims Professional's Friend ($33)
Thorough critiques of 15 typical Workers' Compensation documents, including letters to claimants, reinsurance companies, employers, and physicians. Critiques include commentary and tips on improving wording, phrasing, tone, format, punctuation, and grammar.

117. "The Claims Examiner's Friend" ($29)
Twelve before-and-after examples of claims examiner correspondence (including reservation of rights, requests for more information, letters to attorneys, captioned reports, recommendations to settle, denials of coverage, and decisions to defend). Critiques and rewrites show how to improve organization, wording, and tone.

118. The Perfect Reply Letter To State Insurance Commissioners ($9)
An in-depth analysis of five actual letters answering complaints.

119. Highlights of The Claims Writing Letter 2003-2008 ($33)
The best claims writing tips (and goofs!) drawn from a year of our E-Zine!

120. Reforming Form Letters ($8)
Looks at the pros and cons of claims form letters, using many actual examples, and showing where each goes wrong.

121. The Underwriter's Friend ($19)
Eight before-and-after examples of underwriting correspondence. Critiques of each letter, pointing out ways to improve phrasing, tone, format, and style.

122. Breaking the Rules of Writing ($7)
A lively look at 10 "myths" about writing (e.g. "Never end a sentence on a preposition") that helps claims writers understand the difference between informal writing and incorrect writing.

123. Writing Skills Training and Return-On-Investment (ROI) ($7)
A comprehensive justification of how claims writing skills training affects the "bottom line" of an insurance company as well as promotion benefits (fewer embarrassing errors, more professionalism, retaining adjusters) that may not show up on a ledger.

124. Updating Form Letters: A Review of 40 Actual Claims Form Letters ($38)
This is an in-depth look at 40 different -- and actual -- claims letters, showing precise phraseology and format requiring updating and revision. A set of 40 letters (as written, names deleted)is provided along with a second set of the letters, showing suggested revisions.

125. Improving Workers' Compensation Correspondence ($5)
A look at some key writing issues in Workers' Compensation correspondence.

126. "Dear Claimant" ($6)
Writing to claimants is one of the insurance industry's greatest challenges. This article critiques several actual letters, offering tips on improving your technique.

127. Organizing Information ($5)
Want a sure-fire way to organize informative letters, reports, memos, and e-mail? This report shows you 5-step sequence that helps you get to the point quickly, summarize your thoughts, and proceed in a logical order.

128. How's Your Grammar? ($7)
This lively test -- accompanied by an answer key and explanations -- helps you assess your own grammar skills -or those of your entire department.

129. Seven Steps to Creating a Successful Writing Style Guide ($7)
You recognize the importance of everyone in your department or company being on the same page when it comes to matters of writing style, format, phrasing, and tone. This can be accomplished with a style guide that, once and for all, lays out a few guiding principles. This report provides a road map for instituting a style guide in your department.

130. Eliminating The Passive Voice From Your Claims Writing ($9)
Explores the proper use of passive language in claims writing and offers an exercise on changing passive language to active language. Includes a small poster giving rules and examples pertaining to passive language.

131. Ten Tips on Writing Perfect "RE" lines in Claims Correspondence ($6)
It's amazing how many different ways adjusters get tripped on expressing "Re" line information properly! These tips show you how to correct the ten most frequent "Re" line errors in claims correspondence.

132. Improving Agents' and Brokers' Correspondence ($22)
This report includes professional critiques and commentary on twelve actual letters sent from brokers and agents to various correspondents.

133. Eight Tips on How To Express Mathematics, Numbers, and Monetary Units in Claims Correspondence ($5)
These tips will help you explain the details of a settlement, a deductible, or any other typical situation in which adjusters try to "walk a claimant through" the mathematics of how an adjuster arrived at a dollar amount.

134. The Consequences of Careless Writing in Bad Faith Lawsuits ($10)
This article discusses how discoverable documents are tainted by careless and prejudicial writing as well as by conclusory statements. It also discusses how discoverable documents are "discovered" and ends with a list of do's and don'ts when writing e-mails and log notes that are part of a claim file.

135. Ten Tips on Formatting Policy Language in Denial Letters ($5)

136. Writing Persuasive Memos ($4)

137. A Brief Guide to Editing/Proofreading Marks ($4)

138. Subordinating Ideas Within a Sentence ($4)
If your sentences sometimes seem awkward, you may not be subordinating your ideas properly. This will help!

The following seven items help you test your knowledge on these common punctuation and grammar issues!

139. The National Colon/Semicolon Test ($5)

140. The National Subject/Verb Agreement Test ($5)

141. The National Misplaced/Dangling Modifier Test ($5)

142. The National Noun/Pronoun Agreement Test ($5)

143. The National Italics/Quotation Marks Test ($5)

144. The National Apostrophe Test ($5)

145. The National Business Writing Test ($5)

146. Twenty Tips on Assuring the Success of a Claims Training Seminar ($5)

147. Ten Tips on Organizing and Writing Meeting Minutes ($3)

148. The 15 Worst (And Funniest!) Business Documents We've Ever Seen ($3)

149. 100 Common Wordy Phrases And Their Concise Substitutes ($4)

150. The Most Commonly Misused Words in Business and Government ($4)

151. 202 of the Worst (and Funniest!) Medical "Malaprops" We've Ever Seen! ($7)

152. The SIU Professionals Friend ($11)
A series of six actual SIU letters critiqued and rewritten. Also a few exercises based on SIU documents.

153. Denying Disability Coverage ($11)
A critique of four letters denying disability to claimants.

154. The 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 "Cappie" Award Winners: Worst Claims Writing of the Year! ($8)
The Cappies are given annually to the worst claims writing throughout the world of claims.

155. The National Claims Writer's Test ($44)
Gives you an immediate snapshot of a claims professional's writing skills and sensitivity to clear, concise writing. Can be used for new hires or for new hires or for assessing the training needed for whole claims departments. Freshly updated. Now has 100 Questions to Rate Your Claims Writing Skills!

156. Poor Writing: Insurance's $1 Billion Problem ($5)
Solid estimates of how poor writing literally costs insurance companies at least one billion dollars each year in lost productivity, profitability, and bad faith lawsuits.

157. Forming the Possessive of Single Nouns Ending in "-s" (or an "-s" sound) ($5)

158. The 110 Most Misspelled Words ($5)

159. Nine Tips on Improving Your Loss Control Documents ($6)

160. A Review of the 10 Worst Claims Documents We've Ever Seen ($14)

161. Improving Auto Claims Letters (New!) ($18)
Before and after examples of six typical auto claims letters.

162. Letter Format. Proper formatting of a business letter (New!) ($6)

163. The Auto Claims Professional's Friend. ($38)
Complete critiques of six typical auto claims letters. The correspondence is real and has been written by adjusters at major American insurance carriers.

164. The Disability Claims Professional's Friend ($27)
Complete critiques of six typical disability claims letters. The correspondence is real and has been written by adjusters at major insurance carriers.

165. Tips on Improving SIU Investigative Reports ($10)

166. Revising Commercial Claims Letters. ($18)
A before-and-after look at four actual commercial claims letters, along with commentary.

167. Document Retention in the Claims Department. ($19)
How claims professionals have launched documnet retention programs at their companies.

168. Twelve Tips on Earning a Six-Figure Income as a Claims Writing Trainer. ($19)
Gary Blake shares his realistic strategies for gaining autonomy, earning more money, and marketing yourself as a claims writing trainer!

POSTERS

Posters 301-312 are 2-color and 8 1/2" by 11", printed on glossy stock. Perfect for quick reference. Each costs ($3), with a 10% discount on orders of 50 or more.

301. Stop Sexist Terms ($3)
Shows a STOP sign that includes dozens of common sexist words and phrases. Keep this eye-catching poster on your bulletin board -- or send one to each of your co-workers.

302. Punctuation at a Glance I and II ($5 for both posters)
No need to ever fear punctuation again. These posters clearly label and summarize the main punctuation marks: commas, apostrophes, semicolons, colons, hyphens, dashes, ellipses, parentheses, ampersands, quotation marks, and question marks.

303. Grammar at a Glance ($3)
No need to "sweat" grammar. This poster clearly labels and summarizes the grammar glitches that haunt most writers: subject-verb disagreement, noun/pronoun disagreement, problematic pronouns, dangling modifiers, misplaced modifiers, and run-on sentences.

304. Prevent "Separation Anxiety": Use the Comma ($3)
The eight major comma rules, complete with examples and exceptions, on one page. You'll never worry about commas again!

305. Hyphens: The Often-Missing Link ($3)
Everything you need to use hyphens properly.

306. Capitalization at a Glance ($3)
This poster is a bright, handy reminder of the major capitalization rules, each illustrated with several examples.

307. Spelling: Conquering 50 Commonly Misspelled Words ($3)
Displays 50 commonly misspelled words in business and government. Each word is followed by an easy-to-recall slogan that will help you learn the word and spell it correctly forever!

307A. Spelling II (Another 50 Commonly Misspelled Words) ($3)
Each word is followed by a handy slogan that helps you remember how to spell the word correctly.

308. Hedging ($3)
Lists 50 "weasel words and phrases" that harm your writing by making it seem tentative and vague. Offers tips on making your writing more authoritative.

309. Tips on Tone ($3)
Are you letting your anger show through, or being overly aggressive? This poster offers important tips on tone, illustrating each with an example. This poster is vital for people who find themselves letting their emotions dictate what they write.

310. Persuasion at a Glance ($3)
For everyone who needs to write persuasively. Leads you through the "Persuasive Sequence," showing how you can make each letter, memo, and proposal you write more concise and motivating.

311. Apostrophes ($3)
Apostrophes are one of the most difficult punctuation marks to use correctly. This poster presents all the major rules at a glance.

312. Eliminating Old-Fashioned Phrases ($3)
Lists the 50 worst antiquated words and phrases. Each is followed by a better substitute. Essential for everyone who writes claims letters!

Posters 313-319 are black and white. Perfect for distributing to all colleagues who need writing help! ($2 each)

313. Eliminating Redundancy ($2)
Lists 50 of the most common redundant expressions, and offers a better substitute for each.

314. Eliminating Wordiness ($2)
Fifty common wordy expressions--and a concise substitute for each. Keep this one close by!

315. Paralellism ($2)

316. Brackets, Parentheses, and Ellipses ($2)
The concise "do's" and "don'ts" for these three tricky punctuation marks.

317. Active and Passive Language ($2)
Helps you to make authoritative choices about when to use active and when to use passive voice.

318. Latin Words and Phrases of Help to Insurance Professionals ($4)
Translation of 50 common words and expressions.

319. Yiddish at a Glance ($6)
Translation of 100 common Yiddish Words.

320. French at a Glance ($4)
Translations of 50 Common French Words and Phrases That Every Insurance Professional Should Know.

321. Collective Nouns at a Glance ($2)
Is it "The jury is ..." or "the jury are..."? This poster shows the right way to use 50 common collective nouns, such as committee, group, class, and team.

322. Russian at a Glance (New!) ($4)
Translations of 50 Common Russian Words and Phrases That Every Insurance Professional Should Know.

323. Spanish at a Glance (New!) ($4)
Translations of 50 Common Spanish Words and Phrases That Every Insurance Professional Should Know.

324. Italian at a Glance (New!) ($4)
Translations of 50 Common Italian Words and Phrases That Every Insurance Professional Should Know.

325. "Good, Better, Best": A Word on Comparatives in English. (New!) ($5)

326. Gary's Top Tables: My 100 Favorite Restaurants in the US. ($12)
Do you travel a lot? Enjoy dining out? This report gives you an annotated list of 100 gastronomically and geographically diverse places that are fun, welcoming, and have good value as well as good food!

327. 300 Cliches to Avoid. ($4)

328. British English at a Glance: 100 common British Equivalents of American/English Word and Phrases. ($3)

329. Ten Tips on Writing Letters. ($2)

BOOKS

401. The Elements of Business Writing ($12)
Now in its 25th printing, with more than 150,000 copies in print, this concise style guide presents the basic rules of clear and concise writing.
Following the easy-to-grasp format of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, this book covers principles composition, organization, wording and phrasing, tone, persuasion, punctuation, grammar, abbreviation, capitalization, spelling, and format. Paperback. (Macmillan, 1992)

Please add $4.25 for shipping to your order total.  We currently accept checks and money orders made out to The Communication Workshop.  Send your payment to:  The Communication Workshop,   130 Shore Road, Port Washington, NY 11050. 

Upon receipt of payment The Communication Workshop will process and ship your order via first class mail.  

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