Gallagher Bassett chief client officer John Fearn talks about how leveraging technology and innovation can accelerate the claims lifecycle
A claim’s lifecycle is more complicated than one might think. There are several factors that have influence and can cause holdups – including severity, complexity, and the possibility of litigation.
Quality claims revisions and processing takes time, money and resources - that often aren’t available - to ensure quality results for both the insurer and the claimant.
To protect quality while avoiding shortcuts, the insurance industry is turning its focus to technology and welcoming data driven tools.
Predictive analytics can feed in-depth insights and changing variables into a claims professional’s management of a claim file. Integrating these tools can be daunting – and finding the right system to accelerate claims lifecycles and maintain them is not easy.
1. Assess your books
Change cannot be made without knowing exactly what needs to be changed. That’s why the first - and arguably most important - step is to understand the current state of your claims lifecycle.
Outsourcing to a team who can draw on their broad industry experience gives a clear perspective of the complexity of your book. The team can then make an assessment of what predictive analytics tools would suit your team and business operations.
2. Applying a method to the madness
Insurers that want to accelerate their claims lifecycle first need to make small, sustainable changes.
Look at applying a tailored methodology to support the development of meaningful benchmarks. Used to assess an extensive number of claims characteristics, this method can deliver significant improvements.
Compared with standard benchmarking, which involves comparing claim data with an entire book, a tailored methodology offers a refined approach. The need for manual assessment is eliminated. This insight enables your team to be more agile, armed with high level insight to better understand the claims process.
3. Formulating steps that are (not so) predictive
A predictive analytics platform will allow for the assessment of the appropriateness of reserves and adequacy of financials.
Integrating systems that account for the changes each choice presents along the way eliminates the need for manual assessment – equipping claims managers with smart analytics that allows them to accelerate the claim lifecycle and move on to the next claim without unnecessary delay. This delivers a better outcome for insurers, claimants and claims professionals.
Taking advantage of technology and integrated systems reduces error and empowers claims managers to make accurate decisions and improve productivity.
Innovative automation frees up time for robust claims strategy discussions and allows for the critical personal touch that every claim needs.
