This past week we witnessed a whos-who of insurance executives gather to expound upon the future of claims processing at the Connected Claims USA Summit held in Chicago, IL. Executives from prominent insurers such as USAA, Allstate, Zurich, Farmers, American Modern, CHUBB and Esurance, were joined by newer entrants to the market like Hippo, Metromile and Swyfft in addressing the changing dynamics that are disrupting traditional ways of processing claims and how the industry needs to respond.
The Message was Clear
One message was crystal clear; the old way of doing things is not meeting the needs of today’s hyper-connected digital customer. Insurance customers want speed, transparency, and communication throughout the claims process, and insurers gathered to acknowledge that technology and innovation, not bodies, is how those expectations will be met in the future. Topics like “Straight Through Processing”, “Virtual Claims Handling” and “Artificial Intelligence” dominated talking points during the conference. But technology at the expense of empathy and compassion for the insured is not acceptable.
Some pointed to State Farm’s recent ad mocking other insurers’ use of chat-bots at the expense of customer experience, as evidence of that risk. A customer experience delivered through a balance of technology and human touchpoints needs to define claims processing in the future.
Technology Handles the Mundane
Despite discussions about the benefits of touchless claims processing, technology doesn’t mean having to sacrifice all human touchpoints between the insurer and the insured. Rather, it allows insurers to interject touchpoints where they add value, or where sentiment analysis suggests the need for human interaction. Technology can also be used to free up adjusters from burdensome caseloads where the introduction of a human adjuster has no impact on the ultimate settlement of the claim. This allows adjusters to focus on more complex claims while letting technology deal with the mundane.
AI at the Forefront of the New Claims Experience
The prominence of Artificial Intelligence vendors at the conference confirmed that insurers are serious about things like Straight Through Processing and Virtual Claims Handling.
Straight Through Processing has already established itself as an ideal method for handling simple claims such as windshield repair, and rental and towing reimbursement. As AI algorithms continue to become more sophisticated, more claim types are becoming candidates for this kind of touchless automation.
In addition, over a third of insures are already leveraging Virtual Claims Handling. Virtual Claims Handling is the use of AI to determine damage estimates based on photographs or videos submitted by the insured. The elimination of the need to send an adjuster out to physically view the damage is reducing claims turnaround times from 10 to 15 days, to just 2 or 3 days. That is why 95% of the top 50 carriers are already leveraging Virtual Claims Handling. It’s clear that technology has a major role to play in expediting claims processing and delivering better accuracy and business results in conjunction with delivering a better customer experience.
Read about the Future of Claims Management here >
Claims Remains Content Intensive
But despite all the technology advances in claims processing, it remains a process heavily reliant on content, most of which must ultimately reside as part of the claim file. An analysis of market conduct exams reveals that year after year, improper or incomplete documentation of claims files remains on the top 10 list of compliance findings. Not surprising since most find it difficult to locate and access information scattered across the organization. Multiple repositories, point solutions, mergers and acquisitions, and executive mandates, all contribute to the explosion in the volume and types of content stored across multiple information silos within the organization. Without proper access to information, the best innovation can only limp along.
The Single Most Important Factor
At Nuxeo, we’re helping insurers get a handle on the critical information needed to support the technology initiatives targeting claims processing. Because after all, the fastest car in the world won’t run without fuel, and information is the fuel that drives insurance organizations. Let us show you how Nuxeo can help you deliver information-rich, state of the art claims processing using the most modern content services platform on the market.
83% of customers will switch insurers after a poor claims experience. Andreas Kleiner, the CEO of American Modern Insurance Group, said it best when quoted at the conference as saying:
Claims is the single most important factor that drives sustainable customer loyalty in the insurance space.
Bring the information to the forefront that your claims processing initiatives need. Learn more about content management for insurance >