From Concept to Reality- The Proof is in the Pudding
The fact that Castek’s InsuroCity has proven to
be so successful in a live claims environment should come as no surprise given the
product’s roots. This is not a product developed by software people for the Insurance
industry, but rather, quite the opposite. It was developed by claims professionals for
claims professionals. Prior to even starting to build the product, focus groups were held,
involving some of Canada’s top insurance executives, and the questions were asked,
“What are you looking for in a communication tool, how would it work, and what would
it look like?” As a result, a prototype was built, and after two tests handling real
claims at Canada Life and AXA, InsuroCity is now in full production mode and part of the
claims process at HB Group Insurance.
InsuroCity approaches the core claims handling process with a focus based on three critical elements- increased
efficiencies, better management information, and a reduction in severity. This
multi-faceted approach was one of the critical requirements emphasized by the insurance
community, meaning that they were not interested in looking at a system that only provided
them with a limited area of focus or efficiency. They wanted a single product that they
could rely on to handle all their communication needs and, in addition, bring to light
further areas of control, additional measures, and cost savings. To achieve this, a
product has to move beyond the scope of the telephone, fax machine, or email. A
structured, rules-driven, and collaborative method of communication is required. One that
can be monitored, archived, and reported on in real-time. It has to be customizable to
each department or company’s own particular needs and, most importantly, require no
duplicate effort while allowing the adjuster to seamlessly communicate with all parties in
any type of claim; all from a single site with one login and password. To top it all off,
this product has to integrate with existing claims and policy systems, impart little
impact on already strained IT budgets, and require minimal upfront cost to both the
insurance company and the supplier. It sounds like a tall order, but Castek’s
InsuroCity has now proven that this concept, originally born in the minds of forward
thinking claims executives, can be achieved and is, as expected, very effective in a
claims environment. In fact, the numbers after several months of usage are starting to come in and are
extremely impressive for a product that was in the concept stage only two short years ago.
Perhaps, one of the most striking stats is the analysis of the
initial claims call process, where there is an immediate and dramatic impact. In the past,
the average time required to take an initial claim call in a telephone adjusting
environment and distribute the assignments for a typical auto physical damage loss was
approximately 20 minutes. The call had to be taken, details captured, suppliers agreed
upon and selected, and then the combination of faxes, emails, or phone calls are sent out
to alert the suppliers to the new claim. With InsuroCity, due to the vendor selection
efficiencies, the collaborative communication, and the pre-loaded forms, the time required
to handle this same initial claims call drops to about 12 minutes. However, in addition to
the time savings, the use of InsuroCity has allowed the adjuster to provide faster
customer service, more accurate information due to a rules-driven process, and quicker,
more accurate, information delivery to the suppliers. Savings are also being realized in
the remainder of any additional claim communication required as the adjusters have
reported that on average they experience 48% less calls to suppliers, 60% less voice mail
from suppliers, and 30% less time deciding on suppliers with the policy holder.
Additionally, collision repair shops have reported that on average 94% call the adjuster
less often, 75% state they have an increased knowledge of the claim, and 94% say that
InsuroCity is good to excellent when compared to other communication methods.
InsuroCity immediately presents the insurance
company’s list of approved vendors based on the convenience of their location to the
policy holder, as well as providing the exact directions, using local terminology,
required to find the supplier. As a result, the policy holder receives an enhanced level
of customer service that turns into a 7-10% average increase in referrals to approved
suppliers. This increased referral rate coupled with the new found speed of delivery has
numerous benefits, with two of the most tangible and immediate being a 1-2 day rental
reduction on the average auto claim and lower appraisal costs due to more assignments
ending up in approved photo-imaging enabled locations. Again, these results are achieved
through quicker control of the claim, involving the right people at the right time, and
adhering to a systemized, rules-driven process, that encourages the adjuster to follow
corporate programs. In addition to the elimination of communication difficulties such as
voice mail and faxes the supplier must now make a commitment to task completion dates,
which is recorded and actively monitored automatically by InsuroCity. This provides the
adjuster with an increased ability to really proactively manage the claim cycle time and,
correspondingly, gives management the tools required to measure vender performance against
agreed upon corporate programs, access to detailed information on adjuster performance
measures, and produce reports, or monitor claims, from anywhere at any time.
In Summary, InsuroCity has provides a whole host of proven
efficiencies to the claims handling process including more efficient selection of approved
vendors, the once-and-done concept where all claims participants are connected to the
information they need, and accurate always available information. No more missed voice
mails or lost faxes. In the end, all this increased and readily accessible information
adds up to a better use of the policy holder’s time. On the management side, the
increased real-time information has allowed the supervisors and managers to develop a more
complete and thorough understanding of their claims process and create measured and
directed training for their adjusters, helping them to take full advantage of their new
tools and corporate service provider relationships.
