Hurricane Harvey an 800-year storm that made landfall as a Class 4 has now been downgraded to a tropical storm. Millions will be impacted as Houston is the fourth largest city in the US. The losses could run into the tens of billions. This scale of loss creates huge challenges for the insurance industry.
But the world has changed pretty dramatically from the days when a carrier had to mobilize all employees to answer phones, physically go inspect every claim, and handwrite drafts. Technology today can help carriers provide a faster response, a more personalized response, and to do it with fewer people.
Carriers have invested in assuring a common user experience across multiple channels (web, phone, and mobile) with direct integration of intake solutions to the claims admin system. Today, carriers can take the first notice of loss via chatbots, video, live chat or online tools data entry. They can have the insured do their own video submission of the claim so an adjuster can see the damage without having to go onsite. Mobile apps offer the ability to capture information about the claim, FNOL submission, and location of service providers near the event location. Often these apps include photo capture and upload, sometimes with video or augmented reality (e.g., overlay of an automobile over the photo to line up the door handle).
