Technology. Innovation. Even in 2016, when “technology” and “innovation” are oftentimes brushed aside as clichéd buzzwords, technology and innovation can still be daunting to many of us. Even more daunting is implementing technology in your insurance company to transform your claims and legal department.
By breaking down innovation into the two simple steps described here, using technology to spur innovation becomes a lot less daunting. In fact, using the technology described here, you can achieve breakthrough improvements in performance while simultaneously decreasing expenses.
- Document Automation
Automating legal documents is a simple way to use technology to improve processes and save money. Claims and legal executives at insurance companies know that pleadings and other legal documents full of the same old legalese are par for the course. No matter the case, claims and legal executives see the same pleadings containing the same content time and again. Nevertheless, attorneys continue to charge for each legal document, and insurance companies continue to pay for each legal document. Even more troubling, these documents typically have little to no impact on the pending litigation, and they are impossible to manage.
The solution is legal document automation. Imagine if you had a robust library of hundreds of automated legal documents including pleadings, discovery, letters, notices and motions at your fingertips. These standardized forms allow for stricter quality control and instant access to top-shelf legal documents. Insurers do not pay for the same document twice, leading to huge financial savings. Perhaps most important, a software-based platform aligns with changes in strategy, case law and legislative change to ensure these are captured in every legal document. Taken together, automation allows insurers to take control of legal outcomes.
Legal documents are the toolbox of every legal department and attorney handling a case. If you are not busy and are not trying to profit, go ahead and use a hammer and nail to litigate. But if you looking to innovate and transform your department, why not use a power drill?
- Analytics
Insurance company executives handling claims and litigation have data. Lots and lots of data. Turning that data into intelligence is no easy task, but it is crucial in this rapidly changing insurance industry. You must move your business from yesterday’s hard data environment to today’s efficient virtual platform. Real-time intelligence, including descriptive and predictive analytics, will take your claims and legal department into the future.
Descriptive Analytics
Descriptive analytics answer one simple question: “What happened?”
Using software to capture yesterday’s hard data, your claims and legal department can transform latent data into actionable descriptive analytics, allowing you to answer many of the important questions:
- When is the claims process most likely to break down?
- Which adjusters and engineers realize the least overall cost, including indemnity and expense?
- Which attorneys achieve the best combination of results and expenses?
- What are the emerging issues and how can we mitigate them?
Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics answer another simple question: “What might happen?”
For example, predictive analytics could provide a range of the number of times an insurance company may be sued next year based on data trends from last year.
Predictive analytics allow a claims and legal department to:
- Allocate resources
- Reserve
- Produce effective and efficient settlement values
- Identify potentially fraudulent claims
- Identify potentially large losses
- Manage expenses
- Analyze emerging issue trends to aid the underwriting process
Technology can capture yesterday’s hard data and makes it searchable, sortable and reportable. Further, using a customized collaboration tool with the right fields accessible to the right users, you could automatically collect the most pertinent financial data in real time. This technology allows access to descriptive and predictive analytics and gives insurers the ability to evaluate expenses and outcomes on a real-time basis, as well as obtain efficient resolutions.
By focusing on these two simple steps, insurers can turn claims and litigation expenses into valuable assets. Gone are the days of zero return on investment. Implement these two steps, and your litigation costs will produce countless opportunities to reduce expenses and write better business.
