A Smarter Way
How MSB is using smart systems to free up insurance clients to focus on weightier issues.
Claims adjusters and underwriters can save time and energy by using smart systems, said Jonathan Kost, senior vice president at MSB. He explained that such systems build in key information to the underwriting and claims processes, which allows for more automation, especially on simpler claims. He said this results in decreased loss-adjusting expenses, higher customer satisfaction and increased productivity.
BEST’S REVIEW: Could you give an example of how a smart system would work?
KOST: On the underwriting side, smart systems really help you build in the intelligence about institutionalized practices such as the decision to accept, reject or refer policies for more detailed review before binding. As time goes on, they allow you to streamline and allow more of the policies to go through without direct manual intervention. It decreases the touch points and it’s just proven to be a real benefit from a cost savings and a performance perspective.
On the claims side, the intelligent systems really work more from the perspective of helping guide people to what would be considered the right answer at the end of the estimating function. It can give the adjuster the benefit of knowledge that takes years to accumulate on an experiential basis.
The other thing that these smart systems do is make up for any knowledge gaps in construction—that can be a result of either a lack of experience or lack of training on the part of the adjuster—to help guide them to things that they might have missed. So in the case of removing something from a structure for repair, the smart systems will guide them to make sure they’ve actually replaced the item. If it notices that there’s an item that has been replaced—say it’s a door—it would also recommend, “You might want to think about a lock set for the door, or a doorknob assembly,” to make sure that the estimate that goes out is complete.
BR: So, would a smart system eliminate jobs?
KOST: The smart system shouldn’t eliminate jobs. What it would actually do is allow the carriers and all of the workers to focus on the job functions and estimates that really require intervention.
BR: And what advice would you give to someone who’s evaluating the smart system?
KOST: The key thing is to look for is a system that has flexibility. There are many systems out there that have some degree of smarts built into them, but the smarts or the intelligence that’s built in, is kind of an “off the shelf” type of smarts. It’s not able to be customized to the needs of your business. That becomes problematic, because every business has core competencies and you have to make sure that these systems will allow you to adapt them to fit your specific needs.
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