This is the second installment of a series detailing the five disciplines at the core of an effective data metrics program for claims litigation organizations.

In the first article in this series, I explained why metrics are so crucial to any claims litigation program and detailed the reasons why the first discipline, support from senior management, is absolutely necessary for success. Now I'd like to focus on the next two disciplines at the heart of an effective litigation program – business intelligence and commitment to maintaining data integrity.

Business intelligence

Business intelligence (BI) is a technology-based process for analyzing large amounts of data, shared via reports, dashboards and visualizations, to inform decision-making and evaluate performance. Effective use of BI is the single most important element in developing a strong data-driven claims litigation organization.

To generate BI for a claims department, you need:

• Digitally captured claims information — the more information per claim, the better
• E-billing information from electronic invoices
• An enterprise-quality reporting tool capable of combining claim and invoice information

With these in place, all claims information can be combined with respective invoice information, making claim details readily available for reporting. The focus should be on managing cost, loss and case inventory, all of which are based entirely on someone doing (or not doing) something. BI gives you transparency into all activity conducted by outside counsel, allowing you to carefully manage that activity.