As insurers undertake digital transformation programs, many rightly turn to the claims function. Claims is a very good candidate for such initiatives because of its importance to the relationship between customers and their insurers. Claimants and insurers both want speedy and fair resolution, based on clear lanes of direct and personalized service. A data-driven, analytics-enabled claims process can satisfy the objectives of all parties.
Continuous improvement to customer experience in claims is critical to any strategy. After all, claims are a real “moment of truth” for insurers, with meaningful impacts on outcomes and customer loyalty. Insurers that craft the right strategies and deploy the right mix of digital technologies will be able to turn their claims operations into a source of competitive advantage, market differentiation and brand perception. While advanced technologies such as
robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) are very much part of the long-term transformation story, there is much insurers can do that will generate immediate benefits.
What matters to claimants — and how to deliver
EY’s insurance consumer research confirms that speed, efficiency and transparency are among the most important characteristics of a quality claims experience. Better data and analysis can help streamline steps in the claims process, setting the foundation for an enhanced experience. Those analytics also set the foundation for the future where many claims will be resolved via “no-touch” processes.
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Insurers seeking to automate their claims processes or to achieve straight-through processing for basic claims have multiple options, including:
- Advanced telematics data (including video imagery) can be instantaneously captured during an automobile accident and downloaded from the cloud to automatically trigger a first notification of loss (FNOL) entry. Underwriters can “score” the data to determine the extent of loss relative to the automobile’s current value.
- Drones and satellites can survey damage and collect information about property damage to initiate claims before a homeowner makes contact.
- Via intuitive apps or other interfaces, insureds can submit photos of damage to their homes or vehicles to initiate the claims process, provided there is no sign of fraudulent behavior (which analytics programs can evaluate).
- Property and casualty (P&C) insurers may use historical repair data to dramatically decrease estimating times for different types of vehicles and homes. They may also better manage repair costs and quality based on deeper analysis of these data sets.
- AI may be used in combination with social media and other data to scan claims for the likelihood of fraudulent behavior.
Insurers also have good options when it comes to personalizing service, which include:
- Voice analytics that can assess customer sentiment during phone calls, with appropriate classification and prioritization of resolution.
- Behavioral analytics that can be applied to model likely customer needs and identify high-value policyholders or those likely to dispute a claim.
- Analyses of customer records that can identify claimants facing renewal as well as good candidates for purchasing additional products.
A redesigned claims experience can pay immediate dividends (e.g., lower processing costs, improving claims resolutions or higher renewal rates). In all of them, insurers can engage at key points during the claims life cycle, with accurate and consistent information delivered on a timely and transparent basis. At the same time, claims teams can focus on high-value interactions, high-risk claims and other exceptions.
The path toward a better claims experience
No matter where insurers fall on the maturity curve today, there is much they can do to transform the claims process. The path to success begins with a series of well-thought-out steps designed to produce useful learning and incremental value. Huge investments in new technology or large teams of data scientists are not required for substantial improvements. Organizational and cultural factors are also part of the claims transformation equation.
Insurers should endeavor to integrate third-party data (such as medical claims, consumer credit and weather data) with existing records. They also have the opportunity to pilot the use of automated notifications via
chatbots and to encourage customers to submit photos of damage. While taking these initial tactical steps, they can begin building the business case for, and perhaps even pilot, more advanced capabilities, such as “no-touch” claims handling for specific products, regions, claims types or payments.
Insurers in the intermediate phases of their digital transformation journey should consider expanding automated claims handling to more claims types and larger amounts, broaden their use of chatbots for communication and seek to integrate more external data sources. They can also deploy drones as “adjusters” and establish analytics Centers of Excellence in claims.
More mature organizations will look to leverage new data storage and management technologies as the basis for advanced analytics and real-time visualization. They may also strengthen antifraud efforts by implementing machine learning. The most forward-looking insurers may build out data science teams to probe large and diverse data sets stored in analytics ecosystems. Similarly, they may expand claims volumes handled via RPA-enabled straight-through processing and evaluate medical treatments or repair effectiveness against leading practices.
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As claims organizations become more digital, the benefits of additional data and more effective analytics should extend beyond the customer experience. Machine learning and visualization techniques can help assess and predict claims risk with greater accuracy and certainty. They also provide a consistent claims handling approach relative to unbiased reserving, litigation, subrogation and other claims processes.
It is worth noting that technology enhancements alone will not produce a claims organization for the digital era. A cultural willingness to embrace change also matters. Many insurers must overcome risk-averse cultures to encourage experimentation and “fast failures” in the spirit of learning what works best for their culture and customers.
How do they do that? Test-and-learn approaches are a good start for insurers with limited digital capabilities. Pilot programs for automated claims processing and bot-driven notification systems are an ideal place for many organizations to start.
Customer experience is everywhere
In the digital era, where customers have been trained to expect real-time access to data and personalized service, the stakes for the claimant customer experience have been raised. Insurers must learn to deliver what customers want and expect — and deliver it efficiently, accurately and quickly. Digital transformation makes it possible, while offering insurers significant upside in terms of lower costs, increased customer loyalty and reduced risk of fraud.
