Can you name a coverage that represents $25B-$30B in annual claim payouts, represents more than 90 percent of an average nine-month claim cycle time, yet has seen little-to-no investment in technology and innovation? You might not be surprised to find that this spend is on property claims. What may surprise you, though, is that this spend is not on structure, but rather on property contents. The long-neglected coverage for property contents is getting a great deal of attention lately from senior claim executives. Most argue that given 20-30 percent leakage in content (Coverage C) claims, it's long overdue.

Average cycle times for medium- and large-sized contents losses are between three and nine months, and the typical claim solution is to have an insured fill out a paper form for the items they've lost. In some areas of the country, this practice equates to inviting a public adjuster to define the rules of engagement on a loss — not the best business practice.

Forward-thinking claim executives have attempted to stem the tide by deploying adjusters or content specialists — armed with pen and paper — to proactively create the inventory list, and then value some or all items using a spreadsheet and the web. Most adjusters cite this as a tedious, unforgiving, and thankless task … one of the least favorite aspects of their job. Given all of the technology and innovation happening in the past decade, there has to be a better way.