Just How Old Are Each P&C Sector's Claims Systems?

Among P&C insurers, claims systems and process capabilities vary widely, potentially affecting loss results, according to the "Novarica Claims Capabilities Maturity Model," which is based on a survey of more than 90 P&C insurers.

Personal lines insurers likely are using more sophisticated techniques to manage claims processes, closely followed by workers' compensation carriers, Novarica said.

Those results also are highly correlated with improved loss ratios, attributable to the high level of homogeneity across claims. In terms of technical capabilities, commercial and specialty lines carriers are lagging, except in workflow and document creation, but are not apparently experiencing inflated loss ratios, attributable to higher levels of automation in claim handling processes.

Part of the research identified the age of the claims system, which Novarica said is correlated with claims capabilities. The newer the system, the more likely the carrier is using modern techniques to manage the claims organization. More than 30 percent of carriers have systems that are 10-20 years old and almost 10 percent have systems more than 20 years old.