This week, we at Celent released new and updated P&C claims systems vendor reports for four regions:
We also released a new report, So You Want to Buy A Claims System, which includes some information that typically had been included in our vendor reports before. But new this year, we’re breaking this definitional/glossary information out and adding some current context on what’s going on with this critical component of the insurance value chain.
If you are looking to upgrade claims administration right now, you probably have some good reasons. Claims cycle time and insurance premiums have risen practically in lockstep over the past couple years. Insurance customers are paying more for longer waits when they are in a car accident or if their house is damaged. And they’re paying more and waiting longer in other areas of their lives as well. For insurance’s “moment of truth,” where relationships between carrier and insured can be won or lost for life, that’s a tense proposition.
Unfortunately for insurers, there’s not much that can be done about the material reasons for longer cycle times in claims. The supply chain is squeezed and the labor market is superheated, making it harder for parts and labor to be brought to bear on a repair. The best opportunities to reduce those waits lie on the claims processing side.
That’s why we’re seeing the leading companies in claims invest in workflow and automation. The smarter a piece of software can be about routing tasks or automating things like fraud detection, the more minutes, hours, and days are clawed back from the extended repair process. Configurability tools that allow business users to customize workflows and menus are increasingly valuable as well, allowing IT resources to spend less time adjusting installed software and more time integrating and building value-adding tools.
Incremental improvements in processing time may not be the most captivating story to tell, but it’s one that’s in every insurer’s hands today. And remember – these things will stick around even if the repair market speeds up on its own. Making investments now could pay off in a bigger way later.
