Claims Adjusting is About People, Process, and Technology
A consistent theme of my blog posts both here and on our prior platform at Insurance Matters has been the importance of people, process, technology (and training) in the claims professional.
Yesterday Christopher Tidball authored an excellent piece entitled "Gaining a Competitive Edge Through Innovative Claims Processes" with the sub-heading "Using People, Process, and Technology".
The authori provides specific examples of areas that can advance the claims process in both a clear and concise way that while basic, is an important starting point for the profession.
Earlier this year my colleague and I gave a presentation at the PLRB Claims Conference in Nashville, TN that highlighted many of these same points. Ironically, the feedback from many in the audience was that they believed that they were already doing these things and that there wasnt alot of "innovation" in thee concepts.
I'm here to tell you that reality could not be further from the truth. I hear this every day as I speak with claims professionals. A common refrain is "we are already doing that stuff". Bottom line is that I'm not sure that many claims executives are being intellectually honest with themsleves about this - and I'm not sure it is really their fault.
Claims is often an afterthought among C-level initiatives. I hear all the time that "we want to focus on the revenue side" - underwriting, agent or policyholder based systems and intiatives. While I get it - I'm not sure its entirely logical. If claims consumes 70% plus of every premium dollar, where are you going to get more bang for your buck, increasing premiums by 3% or reducing claim costs 5%, and which is more realistic?