Historically, the task of collecting data for insurance claims was a team endeavor fraught with tedious effort and error. A large multinational company might have four, five, or maybe even 10 managers around the world tasked with capturing renewal data. And what were they using as tools for this task? Spreadsheets, pencil and paper. If they were in international locations, they might enter the data in their different native languages and currencies. Yet another person would be responsible for consolidating these notes and spreadsheets.
Fast-forward to today and technology has pushed claims management in a totally different, digital direction. Enhanced data collection methods have transformed when and how much information is gathered. Armed with accurate and up-to-date information, the insurance claim processing timeline can shrink considerably.
Make Informed, Timely Decisions
A risk management system is a way to collect and store claims information but it can also help you make the right call using accurate information. Statistics gathered over a period can help expose trends and support future data-driven decisions.
For example, a robust risk management software that boasts built-in analytics capabilities allows you to change the standard scoring system to one that meets your unique needs. And this creates opportunities for proactive communication with executive stakeholders. In turn, these stakeholders can use the analytics produced by the risk management system to make informed, timely decisions.
Identify Hidden Opportunities
Having a cloud-based solution allows users to upload, view, and download critical information in almost real-time, which can make it easier to identify hidden opportunities. For example, if your system automatically collects data regarding the different types of claims made in specific areas, you can use this information to develop customized insurance packages that are more likely to meet the needs of businesses located in or near those places. In this way, you can use data to give new and existing clients the kinds of packages they need. But you also can ensure you have the staff in place to best support the claims those customers are most likely to submit.
Shine a Light on Problem Areas
You may have an idea of which kinds of claims tend to come with the biggest price tags, but can you quantify exactly how much of an impact each claim has on your profit and loss statement? You can use data to keep track of the cost of every claim and monitor the effect it has on your bottom line.
For example, you may have customers in two different topographical areas: Some have businesses in a valley while others are more elevated. The companies in the valley may be more prone to flooding incidents, and those at higher elevations may be more susceptible to the effects of ice storms. Using a data-driven system, you can quantify the effects of ice storms versus floods. Further, you can see how each event impacts your balance sheet. This can help you make data-driven decisions regarding how to accurately price your policies. As a result, the outcome of a claim is positive for both your clients and your bottom line.
Build and Support Your Strategy
Data-driven automation can be a powerful tool when it comes to building and supporting your strategy. A key goal when supporting your strategy should be to minimize the work team members have to do while maximizing their effectiveness. For risk mitigation and insurance teams, as well as claim organizations, data-driven process automation streamlines tasks that involve a lot of repetitive, manual work, such as pointing and clicking, getting external data, typing in information, and checking individual values. This not only saves teams time and resources, but it also produces more predictable and accurate outcomes.
For example, automated workflows across integrated systems make it far easier to collect and analyze data, which speeds up the decision-making process while also making it more accurate. For instance, with an automated system that gathers data from a range of different kinds of claims, you can make claims heat maps. These can tell you which kinds of claims are most likely to be filed in specific geographical areas. Using this data, you can make decisions about hiring claims staff or repositioning those you already have on your team.
Deploy Resources and Measure Results
When deploying an automated, data-driven system, your goal should be to both get the tools in the hands of your employees and decision-makers and to develop a system for measuring results.
After training your staff on how to use the system and completing the onboarding process, you can maintain metrics that measure the following benchmarks:
- How much money your organization saves as a result of your data-driven systems
- The positive impacts your implementation has on customers who go through the claims process
- How much time your data-based system saves claims personnel
You can then analyze your results and use them to fine-tune your system or provide more training to maximize its effectiveness.
With Ventiv’s claims management tools, you get all of these capabilities and more. Your data is centralized in a single platform, which makes it possible to provide users with everything they need to make reliable, data-based decisions. To learn more about how a claims management system can benefit your organization, check out Ventiv’s solution now.
