Large-scale emergencies, natural disasters, and other unexpected challenges can throw a wrench in even the most thoughtful crisis management plan. This is especially true for housing authorities with diverse portfolios of properties and people they oversee and support.
Using Ventiv’s claims management software, however, housing authorities have been staying a step ahead of crises—via automated tools that simplify crisis prediction and preparation.
Streamlining Your Incident Management Processes
During an incident confusion and emotions can, understandably, complicate the decision-making process, but by using Ventiv’s claim management software, you can streamline your incident management systems.
Property managers and others on your emergency management team can report incidents from the field using simple surveys on their mobile devices. In this way, you get actionable data in real-time, which enables better decision-making.
You can also use Ventiv to create forms that make it easier to collect accurate data during and after an incident. For instance, suppose a few of your properties have pools and you want to create a system for easily reporting incidents involving swimmers or others who hang out in that area.
You can create a custom incident report that every property manager has access to, asking for incident details, such as:
- Date, time and location
- Whether it was an actual swimmer or someone who happened to be in the area
- Whether the incident was a result of slippery conditions
- Who was monitoring the pool at the time
- The date and time of the last time the area was cleaned
- The length of time between the incident and when any outside service providers worked on the pool or in the area
Not only does this information make it easier to process a claim, but you can also use it to prevent future incidents.
Performing Root Cause Analysis for Workers’ Compensation Claims
Workers compensation claims can hike up premium rates, especially for housing authorities that have many employees. But using Ventiv’s claim management software, you can easily investigate the root causes of injuries that resulted in workers’ comp claims and then reduce the chances of future incidents.
To illustrate, suppose you have three workers’ comp claims for the same property within a month. In each case, the worker suffered arm-related injuries. Using Ventiv’s claims management software, you can collect data regarding the context of each injury. Then, by analyzing this information, you can isolate common denominators.
For instance, perhaps each worker was cleaning a second-floor window when the injury occurred. Repetitive motions over several hours could cause rotator cuff issues, strained muscles, sprains, and neck and back problems. Leveraging your injury data, you can provide your staff with taller ladders or better cleaning tools, which may prevent future problems.
Using Geographic Information Systems to Predict and Prepare for Incidents
There’s no need to randomly guess what Mother Nature is going to throw at your properties next year, season, month, or week. Ventiv’s solution, which is powered by a geographic information system (GIS), makes It easy to predict which weather-related incidents each location is most likely to face.
With Ventiv, you have access to both current and historical incident data. With this information in hand, you can decide how to best prepare your staff, tenants, and incident response staff. For example, suppose the last time you had a category 1 hurricane hit one of your locations, your gutter system was ripped off the roof line and there was flooding on the first floor.
If a hurricane is in the forecast, you can use this data to:
- Better secure your gutter system or call a gutter company ahead of time so you’re first in their cue for service
- Provide first-floor tenants with accommodations higher up until the storm passes
- Advise tenants on how to prevent flood waters from damaging expensive items, such as electronics and personal devices, days before the storm hits.
In other words, your GIS-enabled software makes tenants safer and reduces the number of claims you may have to deal with in the wake of an incident.
Making Reporting and Claims Management Easier for Adjusters
Housing authorities have a unique risk landscape, especially because some incidents can easily impact several people simultaneously. Manually filling out forms one at a time can take a toll on any incident mitigation team, but with Ventiv, you can provide your staff with forms that streamline their data entry.
For example, you can have data they enter on one form automatically ported to another one used in a different facet of the claims process. If there’s a fire, for instance, you can automatically have the type of incident, the date, time, location, weather conditions, likely root cause, and images used as evidence shared between multiple reports. This saves your teams time and improves the accuracy of their reports.
Ventiv’s solution is an ideal fit for housing authorities, particularly in the context of their complex risk profiles. Automating processes with Ventiv’s system simultaneously reduces your cost of risk and empowers your employees and decision-makers. Chat with an expert to see how Ventiv’s claims Solution is right for your organization.
