“The insurance claims process is evolving. Expectations of policyholders are evolving. And, one of the key challenges that insurance carriers are experiencing now is that the claims adjuster workforce is changing.”
John Hatcher, Hancock’s Senior Vice President of Carrier Relations and Business Development, said these were the top themes heard throughout the Connected Claims USA 2022 conference. The conference was held Nov. 2–4 at McCormick Place in Chicago and drew over 700 top leaders, executives, and innovators in the personal, home, and auto insurance industry.
On the second day of the conference, John spoke on the panel, “Adapt to an Evolving Industry”, alongside Sean Serafin, Vice President of Property Claims Operations for USAA, Andrew Leeds, Vice President of Claims for Plymouth Rock Home Assurance, and John Barrett, Senior Manager at Allstate.
Alongside his fellow panelists, John shared his expertise and perspective on the following topics affecting the property and casualty insurance industry:
- The impact of technology on the future of faster claims handling.
- How to adapt to the present environment and remain resilient while staying relevant to customers’ needs.
- How to use preventative technology to answer policyholders’ needs and achieve the most positive claims outcomes.
The panel was well received for its lively conversation, which echoed the top concern of insurance carriers and claims adjusters: How can we provide a simpler, faster, and more personal customer claims experience while also controlling our expenses?
Here is a look at the top three takeaways from the panel discussion and how Hancock Claims Consultants is uniquely positioned to respond to these industry challenges.
1. Insurance Carriers Are Evolving Their Claims Model
Traditionally, insurance companies would hire new claims adjusters and provide them with mentoring support and gradually increase claims scope, starting with simple claims handling and, over time, have them tackle complex claims across the full claims lifecycle. Typical adjuster activities included meeting with the homeowner on-site, inspecting the loss, documenting the claim, estimating damages, and managing the policyholder restoration process in order to properly close the claim.
According to the overall sentiment at the Connected Claims conference, this model is no longer sustainable. Replacing retiring adjusters has proved challenging, and new adjuster recruits have different expectations for work than their predecessors. Yet insurers still need them to be able to handle complex claims practically from Day 1. Additionally, the expectations of the policyholders have changed. The claims cycle times of the past are no longer acceptable. And all the while, insurers are challenged to reduce loss adjustment expenses.
2. The Role of the Claims Adjuster Is Changing
As the expense of sending claims adjusters out in the field continues to rise and the workforce expectations evolve, the field adjuster role is moving more toward a desk-oriented model. Carriers have recognized that a claims adjuster’s two most important priorities are to adjudicate the claim and to manage the relationship with the policyholder throughout the claims process. Rather than serving as both the boots on the ground and the brains behind the desk, today’s claims adjuster needs to be able to steer a claim from start to finish, using appropriate supporting resources to inform and support their claims decision and restore the policyholder and property to pre-loss state.
To properly support desk adjusters in embracing this new claims model, the need for reliable third-party partners has become evident. Hancock Claims Consultants is well aligned with this industry shift, providing services including inspections, contents, engineering, estimating, and repair. Hancock helps carriers nationwide support every aspect of the claims lifecycle from start to finish.
3. Carriers Have Three (Often Competing) Challenges
Until recently, insurance companies could prioritize only one or perhaps two of the three following business objectives–there wasn’t a way to achieve all three at once.
- Elevate the Customer Experience: This refers to both the policyholder experience and the carrier employee experience. How can you put the customer at the center of everything you do, provide differentiated service options to match customer preferences, and also maintain manageable processes and job satisfaction for your staff?
- Shrink Cycle Times: A positive customer experience partially depends on the speed of claims handling. What once took weeks or months is now expected in hours or days. A faster, precise claims process results in better outcomes for both the customer and the adjuster.
- Reduce LAE: Loss adjustment expense is the cost that a carrier incurs just to administer and handle the claims process. Traditionally, companies had to sacrifice LAE in order to improve customer experience or reduce cycle time. Or, if (and it always is) LAE was the priority, one or both of the other priorities suffered.
With fast-moving advancements in claims technology, policyholders expect a simpler, faster, and more customized experience. Insurers who provide a best-in-class experience to their policyholders have generated, on average, two to four times MORE growth in new business. These days, winning insurers must aim for excellence in all three areas, but especially customer experience.
Investing in customer-facing technology to improve communication with policyholders is a great place to start to achieve all three objectives. Carriers can build rapport and an accelerated service experience with policyholders by offering multiple channels of communication, meeting them however they want to be met. To cut the cost and time of administering claims in the evolving claims environment, insurance companies are partnering with reliable, forward-thinking claims service providers like Hancock Claims Consultants. Hancock invests heavily in proprietary claims technology as well as tight integration with industry-leading solutions in order to:
- Streamline communication between all parties across multiple channels
- Automate workflows for adjusters and our service personnel
- Expedite the process by efficiently assigning resources and providing real-time routing, quality checkpoints, and automated document submission
- Corral scheduling, logistics, and claim documentation into a single tool that seamlessly integrates with a carrier’s internal systems
Hancock Is Right Where the Insurance Industry Needs Us to Be
As the claims industry evolves, you need a trusted partner to help you achieve all three key business objectives and support your claims adjusters.
Hancock provides full claims lifecycle support Under One Roof. With one partner, your claims adjusters can be supported from claims intake and decision support to policyholder restoration with reduced cycle time and less frustration. And, our embedment and leverage of the latest claims technologies help you stay agile to the need for fast and accurate reporting, dynamic customer communication expectations, and simplified nationwide scheduling.
From decision support to full policyholder restoration, learn about Hancock’s full suite of claims lifecycle support services, all available Under One Roof.
