Automating claims for drivers & insurers
Claims automation has already begun, and it is having an immensely positive impact on insurance.
At this point in time, it has become accepted that automation is either on its way to your industry or has already arrived. For many auto insurers, automation has not only arrived but has transformed the overall claims process for the better. It’s a win-win situation for both insurers and customers, with automation helping insurers do their jobs more efficiently and providing more convenience for their customers. Insurers who have effectively implemented automation into the claims process can possibly have huge benefits across the board, especially when it comes to reducing operating costs and increasing customer satisfaction.
So, accepting that automation is here to stay, it’s important to examine the most effective ways for insurers to implement it if they aren’t doing so already.
Balancing automation & empathy
However, automation is not something everyone embraces. The key for insurers is to understand this fear and balance it with empathy. Insurers that understand how to do that effectively will be the most successful in implementing automation into their claims. While consumers, especially millennials and Gen Z, increasingly demand self-service and digital access, there are times their biggest desire is actually human touch.
Our Future of Claims study has shown that throughout the claims process, customers want one-on-one human interaction easily accessible when they need it. In particular, to help consumers overcome these fear-based barriers, insurers should look to provide access to a live representative during important pre-claim phases.
More than half of consumers (52%) say they believe interaction with a live person is critical during the process of submitting the first notice of loss (FNOL) because they complain that self-service FNOL processes ask too many questions, whereas only 21% think a live person is helpful during the estimate submission phase. Talking to an actual person on the phone enables the representative to express empathy, which creates a closer customer touch and has proven to positively impact customer satisfaction. Automation can help insurers deliver this human interaction identifying when that appropriate time is in the claims process.
Let me give you an example of when customers prefer automation as it can conveniently simplify their claims. Beyond just efficiency in the claims-handling process, thanks to automation, insurers today have an opportunity to pay claims faster than ever before.
Setting the pace in 2016, Allstate formed a partnership with Mastercard to create an instant payment method called QuickCard Pay. In order to participate in QuickCard Pay, all claimants needed was a debit card and an email address. According to Allstate Chief Claims Officer Ken Rosen, “QuickCard Pay gave claimants an immediate and secure payment method that helped deliver on Allstate’s promise of a fast, fair and compassionate claims experience.” As a result, Allstate’s solution is currently one of the fastest claims payment methods in the property and casualty industry that eclipsed their previous industry-leading service, Fast Mobile e-Payment, which produced same-day payment with just an email address or mobile phone number.
Capturing the details
The key to striking a balance is having data integrated within the claims workflow to automate steps such as the claim payment and at your adjusters’ fingertips to ensure adjusters are well equipped for a meaningful and productive human touch where appropriate. This is possible today if an insurer integrates a data prefill solution early into the claims process. As insurers continue to effectively integrate more data prefill solutions into the claims process, it makes the self-service option as easy and painless as possible for customers and enables the insurer to further expedite the claims through automation.
Customers want to provide their insurer with all of the necessary details about their car accident in order to help ensure that their claim is accurate. And as a result of data prefill solutions, this entire process is able to be expedited from the FNOL because the carriers are able to electronically confirm each claimant’s information and focus any necessary conversations on additional details needed to accelerate the claim. As a result, automating claims both simplifies and speeds up the entire process and makes it a smoother experience for both the insurer and the customer.
When it comes to auto insurance claims automation, we are still relatively early in the process in terms of what’s possible given how cars and even traffic signals are becoming increasingly connected. However, early indicators show that automation can be increasingly beneficial to both insurers and consumers. Automation is not something the consumer should be afraid of, and if insurers can ease their concerns by coupling it with empathy and guidance at the right time during the claims process, it can lead to enormous benefits.
Claims automation is no longer the future, the journey has already begun, and it is having an immensely positive impact on the industry. The question then becomes, how can insurers continue to evolve their claims automation capabilities alongside connected cars and cars of the future.
Bill Brower (william.brower@lexisnexisrisk.com) is vice president, product management, claims for LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
To learn more about claims-related topics like this, join us at the America’s Claims Executive Leadership Forum & Expo in New Orleans, April 20-22, 2020.
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