Handling claims is one of the most critical processes within a property insurance company. Each case is unique, every customer has different needs, and your workflows constantly have to adjust to the changing demands of time.
Unfortunately, many property insurance companies tend to get stuck in older practices or processes. It’s understandable given the sudden shifts in the industry trends, especially during these times.
But there’s a way for insurance companies to keep up with these changes. Through process automation, they can reduce the steps of their claims process by half, operate more efficiently, and stay up to date with the latest industry practices.
Here’s everything property insurance companies must know about automating their claims processes.
What Is Insurance Claims Processing Automation?
Generally, automating an insurance claims process is about optimizing it using digital solutions. These days, automation for insurance companies usually refers to more advanced technologies such as Machine Learning, AI, Software Robotics, and cognitive solutions.
These technologies not only transform the company’s operations but customer experience as well. With automation, all transactions and stages of the claims process become this whole intuitive system that gets more and more insightful as time passes due to Data Analytics.
All documents and steps are recorded to make the system smarter each time. You won’t have to constantly figure out ways to solve complex claims. The system eventually becomes equipped with guidelines and data for you to follow.
How Does Automated Claims Processing Work?
Most insurance companies these days use Robotic Process Automation (RPA). It is a technology that enables insurers to configure computer software or a “robot” to mimic and integrate the actions of a human interacting within digital systems to run a business process.
What it specifically does for insurance companies is that it streamlines the entire claims process. It speeds it up by organizing everything within the system through a machine learning IQ bot. This bot extracts and transmits all data automatically.
It is a centralized system that enables insurers to track all claim information submitted to their multiple channels. Even manually saved data are collected.
Once all data are entered into the system, the claim automatically gets validated against the policy administration system, adjusted to evaluate the amount of settlement, and reviewed for fraud.
Property insurance companies deal with a lot of issues when handling claims. These problems can be significantly minimized by an automated system. Manual management of hundreds of documents obviously makes the company prone to disorganization and delays.
Hire a Third-Party Property Insurance Claim Company to Help with Your Transition
One of the underrated solutions for property insurance companies’ problems is hiring a third-party insurance agency to help with some tasks that are vital to scaling.
For instance, here at Accuracy Improvement, we take over a few major tasks like claims process optimization, training & onboarding, estimate creation, and claims quality review.
We can also help you transition into a whole new claims process system. Check out our services and contact us so we can discuss your needs and how our elite team of claims handlers can help you.
It’s been several years since the digitalization era began, yet many property insurance agencies haven’t fully adopted it yet. However, it’s the only way for them to accelerate their claims process.
It’s a much-needed step to ensure that you provide fast and high-quality services in this modern age. In 2017, Canon Business Process Services released an insightful article on how digitalization can advance claims processes.
We’ve gathered all five tips plus one insider hack to help you with the digital transition.
Digitize All Claims Upon Receipt
Mckinsey’s Digital Disruption in Insurance report predicted that “by the end of 2016, insurers leading in digitization will financially outperform slower digital adopters by 100%.”
At this point, the new normal has definitely increased that percentage by a lot. Canon suggests that insurance companies scan, digitize, and validate claims right upon receipt.
This is to minimize the many paper documents around and to cut about half of the operating costs and cycle times.
Smart data organization takes away most of the time and steps traditionally spent in the claims processes.
Automate Your Entire Insurance Claim Process
The top personal enemy of every property insurer when it comes to claims handling is inefficiency. Manual labor against a voluminous amount of claims is a trap.
It’s difficult to stay productive and sharp under such a condition.
It’s even worse if you have a digitized transaction processing system while your workflows remain unintegrated into any digital platform.
Automate all the way. Don’t leave an accounting or claims process behind.
It’s highly advised to do this full process automation, especially in this time when the pandemic still has industries on hold.
Use Your Claims Processing Software’s Auto-Classification Function
This is a pretty easy function to miss. We’re encouraging you to do full automation, after all. That means using (learning) several applications at once.
Auto-classification technology can be found in most claims processing tools. It does the following for insurers:
Separate document pages
Extract data
Validate documents
Drive capture-to-process applications
Enhances the quality of scanned images
It’s one of the best ways automated claims processing can boost your company’s efficiency and productivity.
Optimize Every Claim
Optimizing or cleaning claims will speed up the process of getting documents into the digital workflow.
Automation enables insurers to examine claims the first time they’re received to see if they need improvements before the digital integration.
No manual claim checking, shorter lead times, and a lot less operational costs.
Outsource to Stay Competitive in the Industry
Outsourcing claims processing services can innovate your operating performance, reduce expenses, and ultimately increase customer satisfaction.
Here are the essential claims handling services you can outsource:
Records management
Retention strategy
Another advantage of outsourcing is that you would have less training and transitions to spend on and worry about.
The independent professionals out there are already adept with claims handling technology.
They also have in-depth knowledge of the industry from working with several property insurance companies. That will keep your agency up to date with all the industry trends and demands.
Hire a Third-Party Property Insurance Claim Company to Advance Your Process
Now, we know the technological terms above are a lot to process. For the record, we’ve tried to simplify them as much as we could.
Don’t worry, here at Accuracy Improvement, we offer assistance to property insurance agencies when it comes to quality reviews, adjuster onboarding and training, and claims process optimization.
Contact us today and let’s discuss your digital transformation needs.
As an adjuster, knowing the trends in property claims can help sharpen your estimate creation skills.
These trends also shape the property insurance company’s claims handling process and other operational strategies. Oftentimes, common property claims are also staged as a scam.
To avoid these tricks and to make sure you handle these problems the best way possible, here’s everything you need to know about the most common types of property claims.
Leaks
For bathroom leaks, it could be an overflowing tub or a leaky shower with a drain that doesn’t work properly. Or just any bathroom water damage that can cause a damaging flood in the house.
As an insurance company, you should have a list of trustworthy plumbers you can recommend to get to the sources of such leaks before they get out of hand.
Same for leaking dishwashers or washing machine hoses. Pipes and hoses leak for various reasons. There’s damaged fitting, corrosion, and plain wear and tear.
If you have to cover the replacement of a damaged hose, consider metal-reinforced hoses to avoid recurring issues.
Fires
Cooking fires are the top cause of house fires. BBQs, electrical installations, and cigarette butts are also extreme fire hazards.
So a huge portion of the 85% of homeowners in the U.S. who have insurance is likely to experience such disaster at some point.
In claims involving such a devastating loss, you must be able to produce a quick yet accurate estimate within 30 days upon receiving the claim.
Factor in some discussions about the policies and requests of the clients as well. For a fast and smooth process, consider hiring a third-party property insurance company like us.
Here at Accuracy Improvement, we can produce high-quality and accurate estimates just within 24-48 hours after receiving the order.
Theft
Theft is always a traumatic experience for homeowners. Losing expensive items and sentimental things is just disheartening, both financially and emotionally.
As an adjuster, it’s important that you study how to handle these claims without adding to the frustration of your clients and while sticking to the insurance limits.
Accuracy Improvement offers insurance teams customized training that includes claims handling techniques, estimate creation, communication skills, catastrophic claims handling, and empathy training.
Your company will surely benefit from our technical and social courses whether it’s for new adjusters or a refresher program for existing employees.
Natural Disasters
Adjusters must always be prepared in handling these large-scale claims. Hurricanes, violent winds, and other natural calamities can ruin homes in a lot of horrible ways.
You’ll also be dealing with scared, hopeless, and frustrated claimants. Again, in this case, you need to be quick in solving the problem and sensitive in communicating with your clients.
It helps to have emergency contractors for common natural disaster-related house damages such as roof issues.
For instance, Tarpers offers affordable, non-invasive emergency tarping services for roofs. They don’t use nails to avoid unnecessary additional damages.
This protection will reassure your claimant and keep their house safe while waiting for official roof repairs.
Handling Common Property Insurance Claims
Handling the common property insurance claims above require fast problem-solving skills, sincere compassion, and careful but quick estimate creation.
As an insurance agency with a bunch of claims and tasks to handle, it’s best to get the third-party help available out there. Avoid the hassle, keep your claimants happy, and spend your resources wisely.
Clients expect a lot from their adjusters. Sometimes, if those expectations aren’t met, clients tend to hold their adjusters accountable for whatever loss they may experience.
As an insurance agency or adjuster, professional indemnity insurance will help protect you from those situations. One of its advantages is making sure you afford the legal costs of defending your position.
Here’s everything you need to know about professional indemnity insurance for adjusters and insurance agencies.
What Is Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Also known as professional liability insurance or PI insurance, it covers legal costs and expenses spent in your defense.
Professional indemnity insurance covers damages/costs billed on you if your advice, services, or designs have caused your clients to lose money.
It’s just something professionals in the insurance industry must have, especially in this time of crisis.
Why Does an Insurance Company Need Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Protection is first and foremost, the main reason why insurance agencies need professional indemnity insurance.
No adjuster intentionally puts their clients at risk, but when outcomes go wrong, this insurance would be a nice way to defend them and clear their name.
Doing so is not only beneficial for the adjuster themselves as it also saves the company’s image.
Claimants naturally get emotional over insurance losses, which leads to unpredictable reactions that could hurt the company’s reputation.
There are also times when the adjuster or the company itself may have done something wrong or neglected certain parts of the claims process.
In that case, having professional indemnity insurance can help them get the best legal defense they need. Cases like this come wih astronomical costs.
How Much Does Professional Indemnity Insurance Cost?
Costs for professional indemnity insurance vary depending on the industry. It may be higher for property insurance companies compared to graphic design companies due to the difference in risk levels.
Professional insurance indemnity costs as low as $20 to several hundred dollars per month according to Cover Wallet. But it’s generally inexpensive for industries where having this insurance is a standard.
There are plenty of companies out there offering affordable professional indemnity insurance for property insurance companies. You just have to find which one best suits your needs and budget.
How to Avoid Losses by Hiring a Third-Party Property Insurance Claim Company
Staying on the safe lane and getting a professional indemnity insurance is a must in the property insurance industry.
So is making sure your claims and estimates are of high-quality to avoid conflict and losses. But with your company’s many operations, it’s easy to overlook these little important things.
Good thing is that you can always hire a third-party property insurance company to review your claims.
Here at Accuracy Improvement, we have an elite staff of experienced claims handlers who can do the following for you:
Create high-quality estimates within 24 hours of receiving the order
Review the quality of claims
Help optimize the claims handling processes of property insurance companies
Conduct customized training for property insurance adjusters
Having an organized insurance claim process helps in producing quality estimates. Unfortunately, many property insurance companies don’t have efficient procedures in place.
It’s a common problem in the insurance industry. Claims handlers got used to following general steps instead of optimized standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Now, we’re not here to list out the processes you should follow. Each property insurance company comes with its own protocols, styles, and strategies.
But we’ll give you a few tips on how you can continuously improve your insurance claims process and identify your important SOPs.
Consider Automating Your Property Damage Insurance Claims Process
Claims handling is one of the most critical processes in the property insurance industry. It generally takes time and is prone to clerical mistakes.
These days, there are tools or software that can streamline this process for you. Fewer errors and no time-consuming manual checks.
Instead of manually typing the claimant’s data into the system, a claims management software organizes unstructured data on its own.
Most of these platforms use machine-learning enabled systems that can detect and categorize data. No need to go through a hundred documents and notes to create the right estimate.
It also speeds up the whole process, which is crucial in most property damage insurance claims.
This will give you enough time for negotiations and other consultations. Sometimes, rushing these phases only leads to misunderstandings that increase major estimate revisions.
Get a Third-Party Company to Review Your Property Insurance Claim Estimate
Creating a high-quality estimate could take time, especially if you’ve gone over various discussions about the claim.
So there’s that pressure of finishing a perfect estimate as soon as you can. Imagine your adjusters and estimators dealing with a bunch of claims, each under the same pressure and urgency.
The good news is that there are third-party insurance companies that have a dedicated team for rush estimate creation.
They give unbiased terms and ensure that your company complies with industry policies and regulations.
Here at Accuracy Improvement, we can create an estimate within 24 hours upon receiving the order.
Hire Third-Party Property Insurance Claim Experts to Optimize Your Claims Handling Process
Part of our services as a third-party property insurance company is that we help companies optimize their claims management process.
We do it by reviewing the quality of their claims (from daily to catastrophic claims)
During this process, we get to know more about the company’s claims cycle. That enables us to point out the levels where they’re struggling and what they could do to improve them.
Since we’re third-party claims handlers, you can expect us to give only honest and unbiased feedback about your existing processes.
Hiring Accuracy Improvement
We offer a range of services for property insurance companies. We review claims quality, create estimates, and provide customized training for adjusters.
Our main goal is to help property insurance agencies stay efficient and current. Learn more about our services here and contact us to get an estimate.
