While the insurance industry has years of experience providing quality customer service with tested methods, companies must leverage new technologies to eliminate manual processes, automate claims, optimize workflow and improve overall customer service, and they are having a hard time keeping pace.
AI can help insurance providers automate job scheduling and keep numerous requests organized so that downtime and unnecessary travel are eliminated. Completely customizable schedule optimization software can help organizations map to their personal key performance indicators (KPIs) and account for factors such as geography, workloads and skillsets – enabling quick determination of which adjuster is most appropriate for the job.
Furthermore, insurers can democratize scheduling and increase adjuster productivity and efficiency by empowering adjusters to leverage domain knowledge that improves job prioritization. Schedule optimization technology allows providers to create job dependencies that streamline a succession of work orders based on priority and order functionality. Therefore, companies can reduce cycle times from first notice of loss (FNOL) to investigation and increase adjuster utilization, helping their bottom line.
Optimize claims processing
Historically inefficient tasks that plague the insurance industry are the dated forms of claims processing. Field service solutions tailored to insurers can define the intelligence for automating the closed-loop claims process to create an end-to-end claims management solution. Companies can improve operational efficiency by automating claims adjudication, validation and auditing with configurable logic, enabling workers to focus on exceptions rather than contractor payments. Additionally, insurers can optimize reserves and reduce claims costs with automated solutions by leveraging warranty management adjudication logic to validate service rates, job information and manufacturing, parts and contract information to ensure only valid claims are eligible for payment.
Likewise, real-time claims validation reduces the time contractors spend waiting on claims status and payment, while simultaneously identifying fraudulent activity by checking claims against personalized business rules and flagging ineligible claims before payment. A fully integrated, configurable claim management system can be used to protect the integrity of claims processing. Those who incorporate a unified, end-to-end field service management (FSM) platform are better-equipped to combat fraud, reduce claims process friction, optimize costs and improve customer satisfaction.
See also: Good, Bad and Ugly of Going Digital
Digitize customer interactions
Due to the pandemic, 90% of insurance claims are now processed virtually. According to a J.D. Power Satisfaction Study, the way an insurer handles FNOL makes up 25% of an insurance customer’s satisfaction level. Insurtech software provides helpful tools to simplify the claims process, allowing customers to connect to company-specific consumer portals to access details regarding their claims. Portals allow clients to upload relevant information and photos of their claim and provide adjudicators with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) tools to corroborate claims and increase accuracy and efficiency when analyzing damage off-site.
Agent-guided service and self-service customer portals allow a modern, user-friendly claims process without common complexities. Through customer portals, policyholders have the autonomy to self-select appointment times and access real-time status updates from FNOL, resulting in a 27% improvement in net promoter scores and a 30% improvement in customer satisfaction ratings. When outlining customer service protocol in insurance, companies must keep in mind that clients have likely experienced a recent loss or damage to property, and a superb, responsive and navigable customer journey should be a top priority to maintain retention and build client loyalty.
Move to modernize
Although an established industry that has reigned supreme in business for centuries, the insurance space is changing. There are an estimated 1,500 insurtech startups around the world – startups that will transform the industry by leveraging digital, AI and advanced analytic technologies to improve efficiencies and drastically cut costs, while increasing the ability to implement innovative solutions faster as market forces evolve. Today’s consumers have more choices, lower prices and greater control than ever. To meet evolving customer expectations and revive adjudication and claims processing standards, insurance companies must take advantage of field service and insurtech tools to remain competitive and profitable.
