Top Initiative for 2013: Improve Claims Processes and Systems

Lowering costs by improving claims processes and systems is the top initiative for insurance claims professionals, according to 93 percent of respondents in “Insurance Claims Survey,” by Trillium Software. And while insurers have been reluctant to touch reliable claims systems, three-quarters of Trillium survey participants said their current claims systems would be able to support them for fewer than five years. After claims, process-improvement initiatives include staff training, software implementation and reorganization are the next priorities, Trillium said.

Insurers and claims professionals specifically will continue to leverage technology to improve claims processes and more efficiently deploy staff in efforts to cut costs and improve the bottom line, Trillium said. But 40.7 percent of respondents said their claims units don’t yet utilize analytics, despite their potential to improve reserve accuracy, shorten cycle times, mitigate loss dollars and lower operational costs, Trillium said. That is a significantly higher level of analytics usage than indicated by Towers Watson's "Property & Casualty Claim Officer Survey," which found nearly 80 percent of insurers are not yet beyond "initiative exploration of claims-related predictive analytics."