Technology Helps Carriers Quickly Impact Bottom Line Despite a Sluggish Economy
Stamford, CONN. – November 23, 2009 – Over the last 12 months, the number of insurance agents using claims download technology grew 165%, according to industry reports from IVANS, Inc. As property-casualty carriers compete in a lackluster economy with increased regulatory oversight, claims download technology is providing a welcome avenue for quickly impacting the bottom line through improved customer service and operational efficiency.
Today, carriers are sending more than 41,000 claims download transactions per month using IVANS communications platform. This volume reinforces the 80% growth rate that IVANS has seen over the last year in the number of carriers implementing claims download. Activities that can trigger a claims download transaction include: notification of new claims, assignment of a claims adjuster, and updates made to claims status or information. By automating the distribution of property-casualty claims information between insurance carriers and agents, both are able to respond more quickly to claims, increasing customer satisfaction. Claims download is also delivering operational benefits, reducing agent calls to carriers� claims departments and making claims information more accessible for other uses.
MiddleOak, a carrier for auto, home, umbrella, business, flood, watercraft and specialty insurance, and a member of the COUNTRY® Financial group, recently implemented claims download to help its agents enhance customer relationships and service levels for their agents using the Applied Management System. Sean Sweeney, VP of Business Systems Delivery at MiddleOak said, “When we looked across our portfolio of potential technology investments, claims download made a lot of sense. Working with IVANS, the implementation timeframe would be fairly short and we believed we could quickly realize the benefits of our relatively-modest investment. We rolled out within just three months, and agent feedback has been very positive. Agents appreciate having the latest claims information to serve their customers and are no longer spending hours manually updating claims information in their Applied System�s agency management software. MiddleOak appreciates the opportunity to work more closely with our agents and the efficiency we�ve gained from having a faster claims workflow. We are now in the process of rolling out IVANS claims download to all our agents who use Applied Systems.”
“Despite the economic slowdown, insurance carriers have continued to invest in technologies that improve customer service and enhance efficiency,” said Maggie O�Hara, Group Vice President of Product Management, IVANS, Inc. “We have been seeing similar growth in the use of commercial lines download and online auto liability insurance verification. Companies that can respond to customer and market needs more quickly are better-positioned to excel in the current economic climate.”
For more information about trends in claims download, including first-hand experience from MiddleOak, visit ivans.com/claimsdownload to listen to IVANS on-demand webinar.
About MiddleOak
Headquartered in Middletown, CT, MiddleOak provides auto, home, umbrella, business, flood, watercraft and specialty insurance in selected states through Middlesex Mutual Assurance Company, formed in 1836, and Holyoke Mutual Insurance Company in Salem, founded in 1843. A member of the COUNTRY® Financial group, MiddleOak is rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best and is one of the nation�s 50 largest property-casualty companies. Visit: www.middleoak.com.
About IVANS
IVANS Inc. provides the property-casualty insurance and healthcare industries with fully managed network, electronic data interchange (EDI) and agency-company interface solutions to help solve complex business issues. Headquartered in Stamford, Conn. and a CMS approved vendor, IVANS serves over 600 insurance and healthcare organizations, more than 30,000 independent agents and 135,000 healthcare providers. With over 25 years of experience successfully managing networks, the company also offers its clients relentless customer service, security solutions, reliable, and accessible technical helpdesk support and expert enablement. IVANS, which was formed by 21 insurance companies, also has offices in Tampa, Fla. and Cincinnati, Ohio. For information, visit www.ivans.com.
