Every part of the insurance lifecycle is changing in the digital age, including the handling of claims. Agents and brokers play important roles in the digital claims management process, from educating policyholders on loss mitigation to helping insureds file claims and work with their insurers.
Data shows about 6% of homeowners filed a claim under their homeowners insurance policies during the five years ranging from 2018 to 2022. Knowing how to help these policyholders throughout their claim can be a helpful service agents can offer their insureds. Learn more about best practices for successful digital claims management to implement at your agency.
Best Practices for Digital Claims Management
Helping an insured after they have suffered a loss can be challenging. Agents need to remain empathetic while guiding the policyholder to the right solutions quickly. Digital claims management tools are offered by most insurance companies now, so helping policyholders with their claims has become a more streamlined process than it was in the past. In some cases, you can service most or all of the claim through the insurer’s digital portal.
Insurance companies often design their customer portals with the customer experience in mind. This means it should be simple to use and easy to accomplish routine tasks — making it a valuable investment of time to learn the basics of customer portals. 87% of customers reported their claims experience affects their decision to stay with their insurer or not, which means this is a critical aspect of the value chain for carriers.
To best help your policyholders through the claims process, try these best practices:
- Explore the FNOL and claims management systems your insurance company partners use to familiarize yourself with the platform before you need to walk a policyholder through it. Since many insurers use the same platforms, you may become an expert quickly.
- Communicate with your policyholders before they have a loss to share resources and offer your help. You can make sure your customers know that helping them file their claims is a service your agency offers.
- Provide simple ways for your policyholders to submit documents for their claims. Insureds will likely need to upload documents to support their loss, like an inventory of damaged property or photos of the claimed loss. Make it easy for your insureds to send these documents to you for uploading to the insurer’s portal.
- Follow up regularly with your insureds who have had a loss. Answer questions and offer information about the next steps proactively.
- Find the answers to routine questions for your policyholders. You can search for information in the insurer’s portal or keep a list of FAQs handy. You can also ask questions on the insurer’s portal using their chatbot.
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External Links:
- https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-insurance
- https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/claims-in-the-digital-age
- https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_gl/topics/insurance/insurance-pdfs/EY-claims-in-a-digital-era.pdf
