If you pause for a moment to shine light on your commercial contents claims handling process, then you might be surprised at what you find. Even a casual examination will reveal inefficiencies and inaccuracies the industry has been more or less sweeping under the rug for years now. This is remarkable and even a bit alarming when you consider that commercial contents claims have a natural complexity that make them ideal candidates for improvement. Rather than standing still, some innovative carriers are beginning to implement new approaches that dramatically improve accuracy, efficiency, and the customer experience for commercial contents claims.

A Patchwork Approach

Let's consider the wide range of businesses and enterprises that can sustain a loss—retailers, manufacturers, hospitals and other health care facilities, educational institutions, libraries, religious institutions, and museums. The variety is endless. Without personal knowledge of each type of business, how can you quickly and efficiently get the business back up and running? What are the costs of materials, equipment, supplies, and finished goods? In trying to answer these questions, adjusters and carriers have traditionally relied on a patchwork approach, blending together a variety of resources: salvors, perpetual inventories, forensic accountants, engineers, insured's lists, and so on. In addition to being cumbersome, this approach most often leads to redundancy, inconsistency, and inaccuracy in settlements.

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