Lately, primarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers had to significantly alter their services and adapt to new ways of operating and communicating with clients, including technology that enables virtual claims handling. Many industry professionals note this shift was ultimately inevitable, but it took a national emergency to push many companies to perform more efficiently.
Virtual claims handling does not involve any physical on-site visits – it is all done from the comfort of one’s home or an office. The client simply takes a picture or video of a damaged item, property or vehicle and uploads it online to a website/app for the insurer to assess. Once the process starts, there are other steps which can be done remotely and even automated as well: collecting required documents, forwarding images or videos to repair shops, making payments. Research suggests that there is a positive customer benefit with higher Net Promoter Scores (NPS) as the technology allows for faster settlement times.
Experts agree that this technology will become a new standard in the near future and add that businesses which do not provide such services may be disadvantaged.
Handling claims online can be highly valuable for the insurance company itself and the planet too, by reducing cycle times in excess of 50% on average and costs (by up to 50%), most importantly, cutting down the carbon footprint as expensive site visits are reduced to a minimum. Altogether, this creates a greater, smoother and more enjoyable experience for customers.
Related reading
Virtual claims handling creates the conditions for further automation across the settlement process, and one of the most material applications is in total loss triage. Once photo and video assessment is in place, the same data can feed machine learning models that identify total loss vehicles earlier and more consistently than manual review, directly reducing cycle times and indemnity spend. Our article on how insurers are using machine learning to identify total loss vehicles sets out how this works in practice, what the accuracy and cost implications are, and why early identification is one of the highest-value points at which digital capability can be applied in a motor claims operation.
How Procurato can help
The efficiency gains this article describes, cycle time reductions of over 50% and significant cost savings, are well evidenced, but realising them depends on selecting the right technology, integrating it with existing claims systems, and ensuring it performs consistently across the full range of claim types and customer journeys. Our Technology Implementation and Process Automation service supports insurers through exactly that process: from requirements definition and vendor selection through to implementation, testing, and operational handover. If you are assessing virtual claims handling technology or looking to extend existing digital capability into new parts of the claims journey, we are happy to talk through where independent advice would be most useful.
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