It could be said the claims process is arguably the ultimate litmus test of an insurer’s worth. Having a seamless claims experience reinforces the need for insurance as a necessary investment. And there’s good reason why.
Just look at the numbers. In 2018 alone, Canadian property & casualty insurers paid out $39.1 billion in claims. The impact of climate change and rise in severe weather events across Canada resulted in $1.9 billion in insured damage that same year. And the number of property claims as a percentage of total claims has significantly risen over the last decade.
The reality is that claims are increasingly impacting insurers’ bottom lines and existing claims submission and adjudication processes can be inefficient and time-consuming. As such, it’s become clear that the claims infrastructure of the industry as a whole could do with an overhaul.
As the newly created Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) pushes forward its mandate around consumer protection and increased transparency, it is likely to impact the level of detail insurers will have to provide customers around claims. The industry needs to adapt its legacy systems in order to adapt to customers’ evolving expectations – and the new regulatory environment.
Our solution: RSA Claims Point™
RSA made RSA Claims Point™ available to brokers earlier this year, to help simplify the process, allowing brokers and their clients to easily submit personal property, auto and Individually Rated Commercial (IRC) auto claims on-line at any time and from any device. Users can also upload documents and images in support of the claim including photographs of damage or receipts for contents and, for added convenience, check on the status of the claim at any time. And at the point when insurers will be required to provide claims history, our system is already set up to provide this information to policyholders.
The online status tracking allows users to search for claims by policy number, claim number, insured name, policy type, date range or claim status and by jumpstarting the claims process, it is more efficient than ever before. For instance, an adjuster is automatically assigned on the same day a claim is submitted and the process of getting our customers’ lives and businesses back on track is accelerated.
“During the pilot phase, RSA consulted with brokers on their experience with RSA Claims Point™,” says Jullie Hands, Vice President, Claims Technology at RSA. “Conversations with our broker partners were instrumental in helping refine the process in addition to generating lots of great ideas for future functionality.”
With their buy-in, the team at RSA felt confident opening up the system to customers. While RSA still sees a broker a first point of contact in the event of a claim, they also believe that a brokers’ expertise goes beyond processing a claim and encourage its brokers to direct their customers to the Claims Point™ customer portal after being notified of a claim. This enables brokers to further solidify their role as a trusted advisor for clients, freeing up their time to navigate complicated claims, find the best rates and services for customers, and manage evolving service expectations
“We wanted to make the submission of claims as seamless as possible in an attempt to improve transparency of the process, ensure that our customers receive optimal service, and start the claims process that much quicker,” continues Hands. “Brokers and Customers can still submit claims over the phone in order to seek reassurance from a skilled adjuster who can talk them through the process and ease any concerns they might have. However, we also process a high volume of smaller, more transactional claims where the ease of submission and speed of resolution are of top concern, and that’s where RSA Claims Point™ can play an important role.”
What’s next?
Building off the portal’s initial success, RSA Claims Point™ has recently been made available for some commercial brokers who can submit IRC auto claims. The team at RSA is exploring more ways to enhance the tool.
To learn more about RSA Claims Point™ and to access relevant resources, please visit rsabroker.ca/claimspoint.
