Customer Retention & Claims Technology
Printer Friendly
Canadian Underwriter Magazine - July 23, 2002
Colin Smith, VP ClaimsPath
As insurance consumers we are inundated with offers and incentives
to buy insurance or to switch companies. Most of us stay right
where we are until we are given an incentive to leave, which all
too often comes in the form of a badly handled claim. While a
bad claim experience is not the only reason we leave, it is a
surefire way of inviting us to look elsewhere.
Traditionally as consumers we speak to our insurance representative
only when buying a new car, selling an old car, adding to our
family or moving to a new home. These are usually low stress,
good life-events. A claim on the other hand is traumatic, and
is the only time we get to see the quality of the insurance product
we have purchased. A claim is an opportunity for our insurance
company to prove that we bought the right product from the right
company. To that end, insurance companies have asked their adjusters
to deliver a quality product. But have they equipped them with
the best tools to do that job?
A Claim as a “Project”
A claim can be viewed as a project, large or small, with the
adjuster in the role of project manager. As project manager, the
adjuster’s responsibility is to ensure the company side
of the insurance agreement is properly executed and the project
is concluded successfully, at a reasonable price. An important
component of project success is customer satisfaction.
Once the adjuster has captured the facts of the loss and confirmed
coverage, they need the opportunity to build their own “project
team”. This project team, of course, is made up of professional
service providers from both inside and outside the organization.
Allowing a well-equipped adjuster to choose from a preferred business
partner list within an automated claims process provides the adjuster
a “customer convenient” opportunity to pick the members
of the project team. Providing the adjuster with the tools to
assemble their own team is an important first step in achieving
project success, and building the team while consulting with the
customer creates confidence in the claim process. An internet-based
B2B claim communication tool, commonly referred to as eClaims,
allows for quick and easy selection of team members best suited
to provide the customer with the highest level of service.
Embedded Best Practices
Insurance company Best Practices are often contained in a reference
binder on the adjuster’s desk. These practices have been
developed over time, and are tried and true guidelines which when
followed will lead to a successful claim resolution and customer
satisfaction. Unfortunately, because these guidelines are on paper
in binders, they are sometimes not followed. Embedding Best Practices
into an eClaims product equips the adjuster with automated guidelines
to follow as the claim progresses, ensuring that a customer-centric
process is followed on each and every claim. Quality control is
built into the eClaims product ensuring attention is paid to ongoing
claims, reducing costly delays and helping the adjuster met customer
expectations.
A Well Equipped Project Team
When the customer speaks with the recommended supplier, the supplier
should already know about them, their coverage, their claim, and
any special needs they may have.
Communications through eClaims technology connects the vendor
partners directly to the adjuster. They truly become part of the
project team. Rather than fishing through a pile of paper or phone
messages when speaking with the customer, the supplier can simply
view the assignment on-line, demonstrating true connectivity directly
with the company. Utilizing a well-designed collaborative communication
tool allows all team members to work together, delivering a quality
claims product to the customer. Changes that impact customer expectation
such as delays or extensions can be identified, quickly addressed
and communicated to the insured consistently by any member of
the team.
Measuring Your Team Members
Naturally, a solid pool of potential project team members is
needed. Business relationships have been structured around a set
of expectations based on the desire to deliver a quality product
at a fair price. Deviations from agreed expectations should be
immediately escalated since they impact the customer. On a broader
scale, overall performance of business partners needs to be measured
against agreements. eClaims technology provides tools that measure
which partners consistently fall inside or outside the agreed
expectations. These measurements are essential in maintaining
a solid pool of potential team members.
Applying Technology to Good Claims Management.
Collaborative claim communication products such as Castek’s
InsuroCity make it much easier for your adjusters to consistently
deliver a quality product by following an embedded process, choosing
preferred suppliers from a customer convenient list and instantly
sharing the right information with business partners and customers
throughout the claim process. Introducing and properly utilizing
eClaims technology in your claim process is an important step
in providing the right tools to your adjusters. Equipping your
adjusters with the right tools for the job helps them meet customer
claim expectations, in the end proving your customer made the
right choice.
This article orginally appeared in the June, 2002 issue
of Canadian Underwriter
Magazine. Reprinted by Permission.