As enterprise risk becomes more complex and multifaceted in the face of global uncertainties, companies and corporations are increasingly pooling their risks for collective protection against catastrophic and geopolitical exposures. These efforts may help decentralize/de-concentrate risk by distributing it amongst pool members, but members in turn require the necessary claims management platform to support their operational activities and collective risk management processes. As the insurance talent gap widens, digital tools are even more crucial for risk pool members to remain competitive.
In this article, we’ll explore how claims management software can help risk pool members streamline insurance workflows and close their operational gaps in the face of these challenges.
A Shortage of Human Insurance Operators
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the insurance industry in the United States is facing a shortfall of skilled workers, with estimates of around 400,000 workers lost by 2026. This shortage is due to a myriad of factors, including an aging workforce and a large segment of insurance professionals nearing retirement. Risk pool members are subsequently challenged to “do more with less” when it comes to human talent; to achieve this, automation is required to enable pool members’ staff to focus on high-impact/high-worth tasks.
A claims management solution can help automate many of the functions necessary for proper risk management and timely service delivery. For example, pool members traditionally keep track of and manage loss control initiatives via email or spreadsheets. This results in a high likelihood of data integrity issues, errors due to members’ manual data entry efforts, and late claims reports with missing, crucial information. With a claims management platform, firms can avoid the typical two or more calls/emails to clarify the details of a reported incident, reduce errors, and provide immediate feedback to insured parties with online intake forms and portals.
Improving Pool Member Agility
Because a digital claims management solution allows members of the risk pool to automate manual efforts, firms can reduce wasteful data entry cycles and focus on initiatives to improve service levels. Claims software centralizes all relevant claims and policy data on a unified platform, providing members with the tools for keeping up with technological change, regulatory shifts, and evolving customer preferences. With less time spent on data entry, pool members can focus on efforts that make a direct impact on operational agility.
The Power of Self-Service
Pool members aren’t the only beneficiaries of agility; all parties in the insurance value chain—including the insured—stand to realize newfound agility. According to a recent insurance customer survey conducted by Bain & Company, insurers cite more risk-prevention services and convenient digital channels as high-priority needs/preferences. Claims management software allows risk members to integrate their channels more tightly and leverage advanced analytics and other digital tools to meet insured parties' needs and priorities—when and where they need it the most.
These automations extend across the policy and claims workflow. For example, member contribution statements are often difficult to understand and/or don’t contain enough supporting information. Additionally, insured parties regularly experience delays when requesting insurance ID cards, certificates, or information on a particular claim.
On the admin side, member contribution premiums are time-consuming to calculate and difficult to adjust. A policy and claims management solution automatically provides members with up-to-date information about their policies/claims, while enhancing communications with members by providing self-service tools—eliminating these superfluous processes.
For risk pools looking to leverage the power of AI in their insurance processes, a claim management software solution can provide a fast track to intelligent machine automation. According to McKinsey & Co., insurance processes like underwriting will cease to exist in their current form for most personal and small-business products. Risk pool members can get ahead of the curve by implementing a claims management platform to incorporate the necessary automation.
Improved Communication and Collaboration
Effective communication and collaboration are essential for the success of risk pools; to this end, members require the proper software for facilitating seamless data sharing/transfer; claims management software fulfills this function by improving coordination and ensuring that all stakeholders are on the same page when it comes to risk assessment and mitigation strategies. With the competitive landscape of insurance continuously increasing in complexity, risk pool members can better position themselves to face these challenges and uncertainties by adopting a claims management platform.
Contact Ventiv today to find out how claims management software can bring new levels of resilience to your risk pools.
