Technology has long been an incubator of innovation and efficiency. But it was the invention of the first silicon junction transistor in 1954 by American chemist Morris Tanenbaum – when he solved the cooling constraints – that digital innovation really started to heat up. It was a moment that ultimately led what we know today as Silicon Valley – the rest, as they say, is history.
Fast forward to the 90s and the birth of Amazon. Jeff Bezos’ business focused on how to deliver products quick and reliably. And it was this pursuit that created todays ‘next day delivery’ model that we all enjoy, a model that was inconceivable before digital technology came along. The key was that Jeff Bezos recognised speed was what customers wanted, and it was technology that was going to enable quick distribution at scale, and unlock the efficiency required to make it cost effective.
So where does claims management fit in?
It’s simple, the principles behind human behaviour remain unchanged – consumers want things done fast. In fact, with all the instant satisfaction and gratification we experience with the rest of our digital lives, we now expect things faster than ever before. And this mentality is now stretching far beyond fast food and fast delivery; if we experience a slow service at any moment in our lives, regardless of industry, an underlying sense of dissatisfaction builds that’s getting harder to suppress.
It's these behaviours that are propelling insurers towards digital technology throughout the entire claim lifecycle. It started with policy generation and price comparison websites, but consumers can no longer be fooled by this ‘wizard of oz’ digital engagement when it’s time to make a claim in their moment of need.
This is where the amazon model is having such an impact on claims, and there are three significant destinations that all insurers are looking for…
- Automation
Whilst a claim may have a few more variables than an Amazon purchase, workflow is still predetermined and, as a result, automatable. Instead of robots picking packages, technology can triage claims immediately after FNOL, pushing them to the relevant next steps all the way through to settlement.
Naturally, a percentage of claims are more complex than others and require specialist claims handler expertise to progress, but advances in technology are helping these to become the exception in many perils. This means that insurers can distribute resource where it adds the most value: providing empathy and resolving complexity, leaving technology to automate everything else.
Crucially, automation can largely deliver no-touch claims, slashing the operational cost of claims management and opening the door to Amazon-style scaling.
- Speed
Arriving hand-in-hand with automation is speed. Stripping the claims lifecycle of notoriously slow human intervention breeds accelerated outcomes and reduced costs. Leading insurers are starting to deliver near instant settlements in some perils when certain criteria are met. Sound familiar? It sounds like an Amazon level of service to us.
But speed isn’t just about workflow processing, it’s the entire interaction with the policyholder. When ordering on Amazon, two clicks and you’ve got an order confirmation email. Now, whilst lodging a claim is obviously slightly more complex, customers don’t want to be asked irrelevant questions that cause confusion and waste time. Amazon have been able to take this to the extreme, and leading insurers are using dynamic forms that only present relevant questions and information to the claimant, altering the customer journey depending on their previous answer. The result, an average lodge time of 8 minutes compared with the equivalent call centre conversations that lasts over half an hour (not to mention the waiting time for a representative!).
Less wasted time equals happier customers and reduced costs.
- Transparency
Circling back to consumer behaviour, as well as speed we’re addicted to reassurance and being updated. It’s like that sinking feeling you get when placing an order online with a new supplier and not instantly receiving the order confirmation email – did your order go through? Will the item arrive? Has the item been dispatched? Amazon set the standard here with order, packed, dispatched and delivered notifications and confirmations. Customers can even track the delivery vehicle.
With predetermined workflows, automation and categorised claim stages, leading insurers can and are providing the same level of transparency to claimants. With claims specifically, they’re often a distressing and emotive time for the claimant, so having the reassurance that the claims is progressing each time it enters a new stage, or that it’s being worked on, brews satisfaction, even when it’s taking a longer than the claimant expected to settle the claim.
So, what does all this mean for insurers?
Technology is driving both the service consumers want, and the efficiencies that insurers want. It’s a fact that claimants who have a positive experience are far more likely to stick with the same insurer at renewal. It’s a fact that delivering a positive experience requires automation, speed and transparency. And it’s a fact that technology is the key to unlocking these attributes whilst simultaneously slashing operation expenses.
At 360Globalnet, delivering on these principles is driven from the heart of the business. But instead of 2-click orders we have dynamic claims forms, instead of robots picking products our technology automates processes, instead of dispatch notifications we provide status notifications and instead of scanning boxes, we 3D laser-scan buildings.
But 360Globalnet goes far deeper than creating the most efficient claims journey – our no-code digital claims architecture takes speed into the next dimension. Not only do our clients reap the rewards of customer satisfaction and slashed operation cost, but they can also pivot and adapt to sudden changes at a moments notice. A complete bespoke customer journey for an incoming storm for example can be designed, built, tested and deployed in days, not weeks and months.
It's this speed that is the key to success. It’s the route of Amazon’s success and its why insurers are striving deliver it in claims.
If you’d like to find out how 360Globalnet can help you succeed, get in touch today.