Survey: 4 Out of 5 Insurance Execs Say It Takes More Than 30 Days to Close a Claim

How efficiently do claims departments run? To what extent do they use innovative technologies? And how does your company stack up to the competition?

If questions like these are on your mind as a claims professional, you’re in good company – and with good reason. While the insurance industry has long had a reputation for taking its time to embrace new technologies, the central role that data plays in claims management makes this field especially ripe for intelligent automation. The ways claims departments now approach the challenge and opportunity of digital transformation can have a major impact on their overall performance.

To shed light on how effectively claims departments run and the role that technology plays in their operations, we recently commissioned a survey of 100 senior property and casualty (P&C)  insurance executives in the U.S. The study was carried out in recent weeks by independent research firm Global Surveyz.

You can download the full report here.

While the results indicate that a widespread lack of automation results in significant inefficiencies and long processing times, they also show a notable openness to technological innovation. Taken together, they point to both serious room for improvement and a broad awareness of technology’s ability to drive that improvement.

Key takeaway: Slow and time-consuming processes

One central finding from the survey is that claims departments typically do not enjoy the benefits of automation as much as they could. Just 38 of the 100 respondents answered that their company uses a software solution to assign claims to adjusters automatically, and just 16 said they have automated processes for reserve setting and coverage opening.

In light of that lack of automation, the slow and inefficient processes reflected in the survey results should come as no surprise. Some 82 of 100 respondents said their company’s claims adjusters typically take more than 30 days to close a physical damage claim. And a whopping 90 respondents answered that their company’s loss takers typically take at least 11 minutes to create a new claim – a process that these companies could automate instead.

Meanwhile, all 100 of the respondents said their company’s closing ratio for physical damage claims is 100 percent or less, meaning that they open claims at least as often as they close them.

But while those findings might be unsurprising, they are remarkable – and so is their inevitable impact on insurers’ loss ratio, loss adjustment expense (LAE), and customer experience.

Encouraging signs for the future

While the survey results point to inefficiency, long cycle times, and a lack of automation, they also provide some reason for optimism about the future – including the near future – of claims management.

Notably, out of the 84 respondents who answered that their company does not currently have automated coverage opening and reserve setting, 78 indicated that their company plans to acquire those capabilities in 2023.

And one of the most encouraging findings was not primarily about claims management or automation, but rather about the use of digital payment solutions: Some 77 respondents said their company already uses a digital payment solution. And perhaps even more remarkably, all 23 of the remaining respondents said their company plans to start using a digital payment solution in 2023. In other words, 100 percent of respondents indicated that their company intends to have started using a digital payment solution by the end of next year.

While this does not tell us how soon most insurers will start using intelligent claims management solutions, it does show a real eagerness to adopt innovative technologies in at least one critical insurance process. If these companies embrace innovation in their claims management as heavily as they do in their payment processes, that could be a game-changer in addressing the inefficiencies and long processing times reflected in the survey’s key findings. And that could have a powerful impact on their KPIs across the board.

For a closer look at how effectively claims departments perform and the role that innovative technologies play in their operations, download the full report here.

 

Five Sigma - AI-Native Claims Management

Five Sigma offers an AI-native claims management platform (CMS) and Clive, our AI Claims Adjuster, which streamline every step of claims handling. 

Clive™, the insurance industry’s first AI Claims Adjuster, offers unparalleled automation and insights on top of any CMS! Clive adds AI capabilities to any existing system to automate routine tasks, dynamically plan claim handling, and advance the claim automatically according to the insurer’s operating procedure (SOP). Clive drives artificial intelligence, efficiency, and accuracy in claims handling. Adjusters are freed to focus on complex decision-making and better customer service.

Five Sigma’s CMS platform empowers adjusters to excel, speeding up claims handling and improving customer satisfaction with 360° claim visibility, advanced automation, a user-friendly interface, and useful insights.

For insurers, MGAs, and TPAs, Five Sigma is a risk-free solution that unlocks unprecedented benefits quickly. Insurers gain unparalleled visibility into their claims and operations, resulting in a significant reduction in Loss Adjustment Expenses. Five Sigma is a future-proof platform that is always up to date for the benefit of all its customers and gives insurers the agility to handle any claim faster, add new Lines of Business in less than a day, and accommodate new business models easily.

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