A claim is the moment of truth between industrial and commercial customers and their brokers and insurers. On the one hand, there is the good business relationship: the customer expects fair and fast processing of claims. On the other hand, there is often a dilemma between processing quality and processing time. One of the challenges here is claims leakage. It refers to all avoidable expenses incurred by industrial and commercial insurers in claims processing.
This is an excerpt from the topic dossier 19/2021 of Versicherungsforen Leipzig. Read the full article here in German language.
How does claims leakage occur in industrial and commercial insurance?
In practice, the main cause of claims leakage is erroneous decisions resulting, for example, from complex claims situations or – due to time constraints – from a lack of revision opportunities. Various aspects and construction sites play a role here, the most important of which are:
- Lack of system integration
- No IT-supported process guidance
- Complex wordings
- Lack of data quality
- Lack of claims history
- Frequency losses
IT as an important supporter in claims leakage reduction
What do tried-and-tested approaches to reducing claims leakage look like? A modern IT environment makes it possible to increase efficiency in various ways.
- Precise search filters to identify the contract
- Check cover automatically
- Transfer contract data with exact key date
- IT-supported damage description – complete and systematic
- Integrate external data sources and use them automatically
- Enable digital damage history
- Increase efficiency with automated task management
Conclusion
Minimising claims leakage makes an important contribution to profitability. At the same time, customers are more satisfied if the insurer processes their claims quickly and to a high standard. The causes of claims leakage are manifold and can only be eliminated through a holistic approach – isolated solutions are not enough. In particular, the (technical) interdependencies between the claims department and underwriting play an important role.
Check out the podcast “Industrieversicherung Digital” (in german language only) for more detailed approaches to digitally supported claim verification.
Versicherungsforen-Topic Dossier
This article was first published in Themendossier 19/2021 by Versicherungsforen Leipzig erschienen. Read or download the full article in german language here.
