In a crowded field, competitors have to do what they can to stand out from the next guy. In the insurance field, that typically means making the claims process as painless as possible for policyholders. Taking the pain out of claims today means more than having the right technology in place. For personal line insurers, a system to handle acceptance of first notice of loss along with the ability to perform workflow functions is just as important as having the right business processes in place. For commercial carriers, particularly those covering long-term claims, being quick isnt as important as being organized, especially when a single exposure can mean hundreds or thousands of claims.

The end point is to be customer centric, says Ramana Gurzada, head of information systems and strategy with United Insurance Co., located in the United Arab Emirates. To achieve some of their goals, property/casualty insurers in the personal line field are investing in new claims management systems that will improve that customer relationship. The technology world may be undecided about the value of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, but Kimberly Harris, research director for Gartner Group, believes a claims system can be part of a CRM system and deployed through a carriers call center. But it could also be some specific claims first notice of loss technology that the insurer or a third-party administrator is looking at to increase its ability to enter the data, says Harris.

Workflow SolutionsHandling the initial calls from personal lines claimants is step one in the process. Step two is using that information to get the claim moving. That is where workflow comes in, according to Harris. Once the claim comes in, [insurers] start processing it, and the steps need to be taken internally with the staff and externally with service suppliers, she says.