The bright future for digital claims

First notice of loss is great, but the process being triggered by that notice is still the same regardless of the size of the claim, claims executives say. For less complex claims, straight-through digital processing from first notice to adjustment to payment can be achieved.

“This year we’re tying together a lot of specific digital capabilities into a comprehensive, beginning to end, straight-through processing for simple claimants,” says Pat Gee, SVP of claims of Travelers. “The way we're trying to build these mechanisms is, even if they start in the digital channel and they get part way, if they then determine that they want to speak with someone, or they wanna step outside the straight-through processing.”

With the volume of technology implementations over the past few years, Farmers is also looking to more tightly and logically integrate them on the back end.

“A big part of the digital experience is to ensure that our customers aren't having a siloed experience,” says Samantha Santiago, head of claims strategy and automation for Farmers. “We want our technology to be able to talk to each other. A photo should be pulled straight into the management portal seamlessly. That integrated technology experience is what we're looking for.”

As Gee of Travelers notes, nervous claim consumers tend to step out of a digital process at certain points in the process. Martha Frye, SVP of personal lines claims for Nationwide, says that insurers need to use the data at their fingertips to identify those times and use their available interaction mechanisms to provide the most commonly requested information.

“We need to recognize times to send a message to the customer that something crucial has happened or even just a reassurance that their repair is happening, or if it’s taking longer than expected we’ve automatically extended their rental,” she says. “The trick is really bringing that data and analytics and the learnings of the customer journey, and when it is the customer starts to feel unsure, pushing the right information at the right times that reassures a customer that they don't need to call us.”

Ramon Lopez, VP of claims operations for USAA, says that the industry can use the data at their fingertips to give a better picture of what customers can expect from their claim right after FNOL. He likens it to the purchase suggestions on an e-commerce site, “something like ‘people like you who have claims like this can expect this kind of experience’” and give them a timeline with clear next steps.”

“‘For other people who've had accidents like this, here's the process and experience” delivered in a very tailored and personalized way,” he explains. “That way there's no surprises and less likely they will experience surprise costs.”

As more insurance products are designed around a connected car or home, the relevant data for the claims process will skyrocket, claims leaders predict.

“We have KnowYourDrive and [a partnership with] Hedge for home security. How can we harness that information and use it to ease the burden for the customer?” says Lynn Bostedt, director of the digital claims team at AFICS, a subsidiary of American Family Insurance. “Usage-based insurance is a good program that sort of picked up in the pandemic a little bit, cause people weren't driving as much. People are maybe more willing to release that data and allow that to be used when they're getting a benefit on the other side. So it really has to be an end to end package.”

USAA’s Lopez agrees. His company recently went live with crash detection in its SafePilot app. He says the connected insurance product is also helpful in bringing the predictiveness and certainty to customers that he talked about.

“The advanced analytics that exist now, to be able to say with certainty that this claim that just happened – at this miles per hour, at this geographical location – often goes like this, whereas maybe that would not have been as personalized,” he says. “You wouldn't have as much data up front before, and we can understand that better and begin personalizing that experience at the onset."