Three Reasons Why Your Claims System is Putting you Behind the Competition
In today’s world, where the full human genome sequence can cost $1,000 and where the price of solar and wind energy have fallen by 78 and 58 percent respectively since 2008, it is clear we are born into an era of massive, positive transformation. This is largely thanks to technological advancements and economies of scale.
At the same time, however, technology has also created a new set of global security concerns. Cyber crime and economic espionage is estimated to cost the world more than $445 billion every year. That’s roughly 1 percent of global income. And while it hasn’t happened yet, the fear that cyber attacks can spill over and trigger real-world conflicts remains an ongoing concern.
In such a world, in which many of today’s schoolchildren are given their homework via e-learning platforms, it comes as no surprise to learn that insurance customers expect the ability to submit a claim from any device and trust that there will be a fast and easy settlement process.
If you are tired of inefficient content systems and multiple application interfaces that radically slow down the time it takes to settle a claim then you’re not alone. London insurance market companies can relate to these setbacks and are understandably frustrated when their claims processing systems are holding them (and their customers) back.
So, why might your claims system be putting you behind the competition?
1 – Claims Content
The first reason boils down to the way that handlers receive content nowadays.
When it comes to consuming claims content such as photos, emails, faxes and forms arriving from a plethora of devices and in different formats, this places extraordinary responsibility on handlers to put the correct content in the correct location. This method of manual content ingestion often results in content being lost or misplaced.
Surely it would be more efficient to receive and organize claims content within automated capture solutions? Such solutions assign specific metadata to pieces of content according to predefined rules that automate content availability, resulting in time savings as well as error minimisation.
2 – Linear Processing
Linear or as it is sometimes called straight-through processing is another feature of some claims systems that slows insurance companies down. The issue with linear processing is that it processes content in a foreseeable pre-determined sequence, which in an environment like the London market where complex claims are unpredictable and exception-based, proves problematic.
An alternative to linear is parallel processing, which allows claims handlers to simultaneously complete independent tasks, rather than one at time. This gives insurance carriers the capability to complete more tasks faster and hopefully exceed customer expectations, which are growing exponentially. Why are expectations growing?
Mark Prensky who coined the phrase “Digital Native”, suggests that modern-day humans have grown up multitasking, whether it be watching TV while doing homework or listening to music while interacting with a computer. They are capable of parallel processing. Their brains simply support it unlike prior generations, which are not as adept and are much more comfortable with the linear form of information processing.
Because we have become quicker at processing information, it is important therefore that processing technology keeps up with our changing behaviour and expectations.
3 – Application Jumping
Another reason your current claims processing techniques may have you falling behind the competition is “Application Jumping”. This occurs when there are multiple applications containing partial information on a given claim. Many insurance carriers in London use multiple systems to access and process a claim. Jumping from application to application, claims handlers can spend large amounts of time searching for what they need. If they don’t find what they need, they re-create the information.
In such an environment a single interface can give handlers insights into content at diverse locations without hopping in and out of applications. As a result, insurers are able to avoid redundancy and loss of time, the time saved can then be devoted to building broker and client relationships, market development, brand strengthening etc.
We live in an inter-connected world where risk transfer is instantaneous, so it is a must for insurance companies to move faster. As a wise man once said -”The only constant is change” – Heraclitus
There is no doubt that of one of the biggest changes in our lifetime (risk/opportunity depending on how you look at) is that everything is interconnected. Global business largely relates to networks of connections. Customers that are continents apart now have higher expectations in relation to correspondence turnaround and claim settlement time.
If you are worried that the speed of your claims handling process is putting you behind the competition, please contact graham.sheppard@docosoft.com and he will endeavor to make sure you stay ahead of the competition.