Insurance claims are complex enough without the added frustration of delays. Yet in high-volume environments, whether at a small independent agency or a large commercial firm, delays tend to stack up like dominoes, one problem leading to another. And delays are becoming more common.
According to a J.D. Power study released this year, homeowner satisfaction with insurance claims is decreasing. Mark Garrett, director of insurance intelligence at J.D. Power, summarized the findings, saying, "Customers are, in essence, paying higher prices for slower service. The average claimant does not receive final payment on a claim until 44 days after the first notice of loss, and unless insurers are communicating frequently and clearly along the way, customer satisfaction suffers."
The good news is many of these delays can be prevented, starting with how claims are documented.
The root causes of delays
The tactical reasons insurance claims are delayed will be very familiar. But what may be less apparent is that many delays in claims processing can be traced to one of three main causes—complexity, inefficient internal processes, and incomplete or inaccurate documentation—or a combination of these factors.
While insurance adjusters can't make complex claims simpler, nor can they single-handedly solve inefficiencies, they can address the problem of incomplete or inaccurate documentation. Poor documentation at the start of a claim almost always guarantees setbacks later. In fact, it can trigger a domino effect of delays, including the need for repeat visits to a site, additional inspections, poor communication among the parties, and even potential coverage disputes.
Documenting claims accurately isn't easy
The importance of claim documentation isn't a new concept. Any number of insurance guides encourage policyholders to document claims to ensure accuracy and minimize disputes later. But for both insurers and the insured, accurate documentation can be harder than taking a few pictures.
Even a high number of digital images doesn't always capture the right shot, and images may miss small details that restoration contractors need to know to restore a structure to its "before" state.
Accuracy of measurements is another challenge in damaged spaces. Hand measurements are time-consuming and prone to errors, which makes them open to dispute. Claims are delayed when multiple trips are needed to a site to confirm measurements or to obtain a missed measurement.
Once the documentation is gathered, there is also the challenge of combining it in a single place where all parties can easily access it, including adjusters, contractors, insurance firms, and policy holders.
Property capture technology simplifies documentation
While one solution can't solve every problem, property capture technology is proving to be an effective tool to improve the accuracy and efficiency of property damage assessment, thereby ending the domino effect of other delays.
In simplest terms, property capture technology combines LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) scanning with 360º photography to capture spatial and visual records of a property in a single site visit.
Using time-of-flight LiDAR scanning, property capture technology provides highly accurate spatial data using laser-based distance measurements that are quick and non-invasive. For example, a residential home can often be scanned in less than 15 minutes. The technology, such as that offered by iGUIDE, can capture thousands of precise measurements in minutes with measurement uncertainty as low as 0.5% or better for distance measurement on a floor plan and 1% or better for square footage.
The 360º photography provides a complete visual record with high-resolution still shots, as well as a 3D virtual tour so all parties have a complete visual documentation record in a single visit, eliminating the need to make multiple site visits.
A smarter claims workflow
With property capture technology, adjusters never have to worry about not having the right shot or errors in manual measurements.
Certain property capture technology platforms feature additional user-friendly features that aid the claims documentation process. Some automatically generate floor plans from the collected data and provide an automatic integration with Xactimate®, the leading property estimation software. This tool is enormously helpful for contractors, enabling them to prioritize and plan how best to restore the property.
Select platforms also feature a real-time tagging feature that lets adjusters add photos, videos, descriptions, and other documentation on-site, streamlining the process and reducing post-processing time while giving a more complete picture of the loss. For example, rather than make a written record of a moisture meter reading, users can create a tag with an image of the reading when documenting the property, so it appears automatically in the generated output.
The combination of these features on a centralized platform with 3D virtual tours and detailed floor plans facilitates smoother communication and collaboration among all parties.
Breaking the domino effect of delays
Insurance companies will always have to contend with claim delays for various reasons, but poor documentation need not be one of them. Property capture technology can help avoid the domino effect of claim delays to ensure accurate and thorough documentation from the very beginning of every claim. It is a proven documentation method that leads to faster claims settlement for improved customer satisfaction and happy, returning clients.
