Visualizing the Claims Process
By Peter Zeinoun, Director Customer Support Products, LogMeIn
Insurance companies today are often time measured on two key metrics: positive customer experience and operating cost. Achieving these two simultaneously is not always an easy task. Regardless of whether you are the agent fielding an insurance claim or the customer placing it, the claims process can be frustrating, labor intensive and expensive. So the question remains—how can insurance companies create a more efficient and effective claims process while delivering the best possible customer experience? The answer: make it visual.
New technologies, including video claims processing, are emerging to help make this balance a little easier. There are lots of different ways insurance companies are implementing video—whether through pre-installed programs like FaceTime or through the company’s own app, companies are using the camera in the customer’s smartphone to visually assess the situation on the spot. There have been a number of successful pilots with this type of technology in both improving and accelerating claims.
Here are three ways video is changing the game for insurance companies:
Reducing Human Error
Reporting claims to insurance companies over the phone leaves a lot of room for agent misinterpretation and human error. The agent cannot see what’s being described and the customer likely has their own way of describing things. This leaves the door open for incorrect or unclear information to be relayed, both delaying and adding costly cycles to the process.
In addition, when agents are onsite it is imperative that the damage or loss is documented in its entirety. Though pictures are helpful, video provides a much greater level of detail—including varying perspectives—and provides an option for audio narration and annotation. Arming agents with video technology greatly reduces the typical inaccuracies that can take place when reporting a claim, shortening the process and avoiding frustrations for both the customer and the insurance company managing the claim.
Streamlining Costs
For insurance companies, the claims process is often described in one word: costly. The process is long, arduous and typically requires an agent going out into the field to assess damages and provide an estimate. This can result in multiple onsite visits, each with more paperwork and added costs associated with the visit, including fuel and vehicle maintenance expenses as well as the impact on the agent’s productivity. Not only does video remove the number of onsite visits necessary, it improves first notification of loss, as an agent can (literally) get their eyes on the damage or loss as close to when it happened as possible.
Bottom line: adding video capabilities to the process may eliminate the need to send someone to the scene altogether because observation and documentation can be covered simultaneously from a single location for multiple claims.
Quick Return to Normalcy
When insurance needs to get involved, regardless of the severity of the situation, the customer is likely feeling uneasy and eager to get life back to normal. Offering the option to use video capabilities during the claims process helps the customer get instant satisfaction that the situation is being handled right then and there. They get to experience a more personal connection with the agent, and the agent can better survey the situation while guiding the customer through it. Regardless of the situation, any time you can involve the customer in the process, the more confident they feel that everything is working as it should and ultimately have a better overall experience.
The insurance industry has come a long way over the years when it comes to customer service. Companies big and small are starting to recognize customer experience as a key driver to loyalty. As customer behaviors and needs evolve, the industry is beginning to adjust with them. Implementing video capabilities to the claims process is not only a way to introduce efficiencies and streamline costs, but is a way to appeal to customers and ultimately provide them with what matters most: a faster return to normalcy.