The way an insurance company handles claims influences the customer experience more than any other transactional interaction companies have with their customers. Policyholders are concerned about receiving their payments, on top of the stress caused by the incident itself which may include physical pain, medical procedures, property damage, or other loss; even death. Communications during this time is critical, yet many insurers struggle with their claims process and associated correspondence.

Corresponding with policyholders about processing their claims has typically been a semi-manual activity. Though insurance companies have deployed many tools to address this expensive and time-consuming task, the result is often a collection of unconnected solutions. Insurers have automated parts of the claims process, but we often see evidence of human errors, duplication of effort, delays, or conflicting messages.

This can cause confusion and discontent for customers who may not renew their policies because of an unsatisfactory claim experience. Insurers strive to offer excellent customer service and policyholders want a swift, fair and understandable resolution to their claims.

Customer Pain Points: Forms and Status Inquiries

Policyholders don’t like filling out forms. Being asked to provide the same information multiple times is especially annoying. Unfortunately, insurers frequently ask for information they already have. Because the forms come from standalone systems without access to customer data, policyholders interested in keeping the claims process moving must fill in the blanks – and they aren’t happy about it.

Lack of accurate status is also a pain point for policyholders waiting for their claims to be resolved. Calling the insurance company and finding the right person who can answer their questions about the status of their claim is a dreaded chore. Particularly disturbing for customers is learning one department or individual within the insurance company is waiting on another internal entity, neither of which can give the policyholder any updates or estimates of when a step will be completed.

Claims Process Automation Solves the Problems

Intelligent documents and automation solve these problems. Many insurers are turning to Experlogix Smart Flows to build and configure flows that automate correspondence at every step of the claims process.

When an insurer receives a claim, a Smart Flow generates and delivers an acknowledgement letter containing personalized customer information from the claim form and from the insurer’s CRM or policy administration systems. This communication assures policyholders their insurance carrier received and accurately recorded the information they provided. Customers no longer need to phone the insurance company to confirm the forms they filled out have initiated the claims process. Insurers save time and money while simultaneously putting customers at ease and furnishing them with accurate details about their claims.

Status changes trigger additional communications. If damages are being assessed by experts, the claim is denied, or payment has been processed, personalized messages sent to policyholders set reasonable customer expectations. Clear, unambiguous communications generated by automated Experlogix Smart Flows free staff members from tedious correspondence duties and provide searchable records of events should further clarification be required.

Automating the claims process yields many benefits for insurers and policyholders alike:

• Provides policyholders with clear and accurate information about the claims process.
• Establishes a documented chain of events.
• Centralizes data and document storage.
• Reduces customer service calls and inquiries.
• Facilitates a positive customer experience.

Solutions such as Experlogix Smart Flows allow insurers to take control of functions that typically rely heavily on manual efforts. Features such as intelligent forms, automated workflows and dynamic documents create an efficient, streamlined and consistent claims process, critical for achieving important corporate objectives such as customer retention and targets for net promoter score.

To learn more about Experlogix Document Automation solutions, visit our Products section.