Claims handling can be a complex and labour-intensive process and many firms choose to outsource to a third party in a bid to reduce costs and save resources. However, outsourcing has its drawbacks and in many cases your in-house team is better suited to take on the task. They just need the right tools.
How dedicated software can help
Specialist claims handling software will allow you to maximise your returns – both financially and operationally. These applications are designed to assist with the main tasks that are routinely carried out by a claims management team and ensure each step of a claim is handled efficiently and within appropriate time constraints.
The application will capture accurate claims data from relevant sources, preventing duplicate information and helping to avoid mistakes.
It will provide alerts and prompt communication with relevant stakeholders.
Claims management software can help build better relationships with third parties like loss adjusters, investigators and solicitors.
The software will provide detailed reports and analysis of claims data to assist in decision making and claims administration.
In addition, specialised claims handling software can make processes more efficient, improve turnaround times and provide the tools you need to keep the claims management function of your business in house.
The benefits of in-house claims handling
Depending on your situation, outsourcing the claims handling function of your business might seem like an attractive option due to possible cost savings and potentially greater efficiency of an outsourced expert.
However, these perceived savings don’t always work out the way you might expect. In most cases, outsourcing results in less choice, flexibility and decreased control – all of which can be problematic in the long run.
On the other hand, in-house claims handling can bring with it a number of benefits.
‘Local’ knowledge – Existing skilled personnel within an organisation’s insurance team are usually the ones who deal with the first notification, so enabling them to carry on with the claim makes sense – especially since their ‘local’ knowledge – of the company, products, processes and trends – can mean greater efficiency when processing claims.
Reduced need for oversight – When outsourced agencies are involved, somebody at your company must still oversee the work they do. By keeping the claims handling in-house, this additional oversight is not necessary.
Ownership of data – By retaining ownership of data, you are less reliant on third party representatives. In-house claims handling also helps to avoid conflicts of interest – especially when outsourced teams are more interested in fast turnarounds rather than accuracy or fairness.
Historic information – Historic claims information can be extremely useful when processing claims and can also be an important tool in risk management, with the potential to reduce claim values and premiums.
Independence – Why give away valuable data or rely on an external firm when in-house teams are perfectly capable of carrying out the necessary work?
What to look for when choosing an application
Every business will have different requirements when it comes to their claims management software – so a system that can be customised and scaled to their specific needs is ideal.
One of the most important aspects of a claims management system is its reporting and analysis tools, enabling you to generate underwriting reports, loss control and risk management reports, best value reports and workflow and task analysis reports. With JCAD LACHS, all reports include visual representations of the data and they can be saved, emailed, searched and exported into your choice of format – Excel, PDF or HTML.
Some of the other functions you may want to look out for include:
- Workflow tools
- Diary functions
- Correspondence generation
- Electronic document storage for a paperless office
For further details on our claims handling system, LACHS and its additional modules, please email us at marketing@jcad.co.uk or call 01730 712020 to request a demo.
