Most insurance companies employ “fast track” processes to evaluate and process property and casualty claims.
The fast-track claims handling process requires minimal involvement on the part of the insurance company. Normally, in the event that a vehicle is involved in an accident, the damage inspection will be carried out by a repair center. An appraiser from the insurance company will then assess the damage and make a decision as to whether the vehicle can be repaired or should be declared a total loss.
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1. What is the insurance claims management process like?
When processing a claim there are two main parties involved: the claimant and the insurance company. Each party has different needs.
So, what are the claimants concerned about?
First of all, they do not want to be referred to as plaintiffs. They are insured. In other words, they want to be treated as valued customers. That means that when they need to use your policy, they expect an exceptional customer experience. An experience in which:
- Be proactively informed and always know the status of your claim management.
- They can communicate critical information about the incident quickly and easily.
- Most importantly, they don’t care about the claims management process, they only care about the outcome of the claim.
2. How do insurers handle claims management?
Insurance companies have processes, and optimize them through continuous improvement, in which efficiency is the key. Thus, companies want to balance the best customer service with aspects such as:
- That the workload of employees is reduced.
- That the claims management process is as agile as possible.
- The cost of the claim as a whole is reasonable.
- Your ability to verify and validate information.
- Ability to make decisions on the claim very quickly and autonomously
- Do not accept unprofitable clients or pay unfair or unreasonable claims.
- Prevent fraud in small and large claims.
- That the management be definitive. That is to say, to reach, as soon as possible, a satisfactory solution for the client.
In a well-designed remote management process, the various steps of the claim are automatically or electronically traversed from start to finish. This modality provides customers with the ability to use their smartphones to send invoices, take pictures of damage, complete forms and minimize the information to be filled out on the forms. Later, using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, insurers can automatically decide whether or not a claim should continue through the process and reach an efficient conclusion.
The remote claims management process would not be possible without the existence of telematics, for example, the black boxes that are installed in vehicles. These devices, which continuously record critical driving data, can be used to inform the insurer of exactly what is happening at any given time. This is especially relevant and useful when a vehicle is involved in an accident.
Thanks to telematics technology, insurance companies can leverage the efficiency of AI.
First, the telematics black box provides the data. The AI system then analyzes them and then makes a decision on the outcome of the claim quickly and autonomously, reducing the workload of the insurance company’s employees.
By connecting telematics and AI to a customer experience management solution, insurance companies can create a claims handling process that is fast to manage and has the potential to be extremely powerful.
If claims decisions can be made as autonomously as possible, “insurance companies can reduce their claims cost and loss-adjusted expense by approximately 50%,” according to Dheeren Gorecha, Quadient’s pre-sales leader in the UK and Ireland.
3. Applied examples of remote claim management
Here are a couple of use cases to appreciate the differences that a contactless claims management process can make for both the policyholder and the insurer.
3.1. First use case: Juan, trustworthy
A policyholder named Juan is driving down the street when a truck carrying a dumpster surprises him, and a collision occurs.
Juan’s insurance company receives an automatic notification of the accident via the telematics device (i.e., a black box) in Juan’s car. This triggers a proactive claim request to be sent to John, so that he can confirm that he has been involved in an accident. When he does so, the artificial intelligence system decides which is the most appropriate way to handle his claim and then sends John a simple accident declaration form, consisting of only three questions.
After submitting the accident declaration form, the artificial intelligence system performs an analysis, comparing the information Juan has provided with the information gathered by the telematics device. It then generates a claim report that autonomously authorizes the repair of the vehicles, the rental of a vehicle and the dispatch of a tow truck.
3.2. Second use case: Ramón, slight fraud
A policyholder named Ramon is driving down the street when he, too, encounters a truck carrying a dumpster.
The telematics device in Ramon’s car notifies the insurance agency of the accident and the insurance company immediately sends a proactive claim request to Ramon so he can confirm what happened. Ramon does so and receives the accident declaration form with three questions.
This is where Ramon’s scenario begins to differ from that of Juan.
Ramon fills out the form, but states that he was driving at only 10 km/h, and that he had been driving alone for 30 minutes. Then send the form.
The artificial intelligence system compares the information Ramon has provided with the data collected by the telematics device. The two sources do not coincide.
According to the telematics device, Ramon was driving at 50 km/h, not 10 km/h, and had been driving for 60 minutes, not 30 minutes.
Differences in the data triggers the automated system to redirect the claim to an adjuster, who performs a more in-depth analysis to ensure that the report has been completed correctly and that the data from the telematics device is accurate.
Upon completion of his investigation, the adjuster notifies a claims handler at the home office that Ramon is a high-risk client and may be attempting to commit a minor fraud. The processor investigates further in collaboration with the expert. When the investigation is completed, the adjuster determines that Ramon was committing minor fraud and his claim is rejected.
4. The advantages of an insurance claims management system
With a remote claims management process, insurance companies can improve their customers’ experience because they will be able to respond faster to their needs and requests, keep policyholders proactively informed, and process their claims up to 50% faster.
For insurance companies, a remote claims management process means increased efficiency, optimized claims validation, reduced fraudulent claims handling, reduced costs and satisfied customers: in other words, closer to renewing their policies every year.
To learn more about the advantages of implementing a remote claims management process, watch the seminar“The Art of the Possible: Future-Proofing Claims“.
Content extracted from
Quadient.