Removing Paper from the Claim INSURANCE USE CASE. Using Scanning Technology to Speed Insurance Claims Processing CANON SOLUTIONS GENERAL OVERVIEW

Transcription

1 Removing Paper from the Claim Using Scanning Technology to Speed Insurance Claims Processing INSURANCE USE CASE CANON SOLUTIONS GENERAL OVERVIEW Introduction This report discusses a typical case of a driver who has been involved in a car accident. The case walks through the insurance claim the driver makes, showing how, with the help of scanning equipment, the case can be managed in an efficient and timely way. Background Over the past few years the Acme Consolidated Insurance Company (Acme) has moved from a paper-based claim processing system to one that today is virtually paper free. Acme had been looking at process improvement for some time and as they revised their workflows, one of the quick-wins was to use scanning technology to remove paper wherever possible. Claims forms are still sent out to customers to complete by hand, and as many of those entities associated with a typical claim (e.g. repair garages, police, damage assessors etc.) still produce reports on paper, so scanners have been installed to convert the paper forms to electronic documents that can then be added to the existing case management system. Electronic documents can also be accepted into the case management system, but this remains an ad-hoc process.

2 Document scanners have been installed in a central location to create a digital mailroom to convert the bulk of the paper arriving at the insurance company. Other scanners are placed in various office locations to make it easy to convert additional documents and get them into the workflow for processing. Desktop scanners ranging from pages-perminute and might be better suited for this type of application. The Driver Following a car accident that resulted in a hospital stay and a badly damaged car, the driver contacted his insurance company, Acme, to make a claim. After taking some preliminary details to start the case in their system, Acme mails the driver a bar-coded claim form so he can provide the complete details of the accident. The driver completes the form sent by the insurance company, signs it, and mails it back, along with a copy of the police accident report. The driver claims that he lost control of the car as a result of poor workmanship by his local garage, which carried out routine maintenance on the car a few days prior to the accident. Figure 1: What would you say are the three biggest issues caused by paperbased processes in your organization? There are many reasons for looking at paper-free processes to improve business performance. AIIM research 1 shows some of the top issues with paper that such projects could identify as potential improvement areas.

3 CUSTOMER ISSUES Processing the Claim Following notification of the accident, Acme arranges to have the vehicle transported to one of their approved repair centers. The repair center assesses the car, takes photographs, and completes a repair estimate. The repair center has its own scanner and sends a document package via a cloud application to the insurance company, where it is routed through the front-end capture system. As the driver is claiming negligence on the part of another garage as a contributing factor to the accident, the insurance company also sends an adjuster out to inspect the vehicle. As an independent expert, the adjuster takes his own photographs to back up the results of his report. The adjuster completes his paper report and sends it with the photographs to Acme. As soon as the report documents arrive, they are immediately scanned in the digital mailroom. As they are scanned, capture software identifies that the forms are related to a car accident and routes them to the correct workflow. The capture software is capable of identifying the documents via barcode, when available, or searchable PDF. The case management software is then able to identify whether all the required documents are available and facilitate the claim process, highlighting that the driver s case is awaiting action. All of the paperwork has been scanned and added to the case management system, along with any related electronic correspondence such as , so the case manager is quickly able to assess all the details and come to a conclusion. The case manager also alerts the legal department as the offending garage has refuted their potential liability. The advising lawyer, based at the head office, is looped into the claim through the case management system. As all of the documentation is now electronic, the lawyer is able to offer a quick review of the case. She scans in a supporting document describing a similar case using her desktop scanner, and tags it into the case file.

4 CANON DELIVERS A SPEEDY SCANNING SOLUTION Due to the serious damage, Acme makes the driver an offer to write-off the car and pay him what they feel is the value. The driver is unhappy with the value the insurance company suggests so he does a web search for similar cars to his for sale. He prints off several listings for cars of the same make and in similar condition to highlight the difference in price and sends them to the insurance company with an accompanying letter quoting the claim number. When the document arrives in the digital mailroom, the claim number is recognized through OCR, the document is routed to the case file, and the case manager is alerted. The driver then waits a few days and calls to find out the status of his claim. The help desk agent is able to tell the driver that they have received the listings and that the claim is in the manager s workflow for attention the following day. Within a few days the driver receives a revised offer for his vehicle from the insurance company. As the revised offer is much closer to the amount he was expecting, they are able to agree and the case is settled. Once the case has been closed, an automated archive procedure is initiated. This ensures that the records management system is updated with a fully compliant (and searchable) electronic records set. Figure 2: Have you made any of the following processes capture-enabled or paper-free? AIIM research 1 shows that amongst the many processes that can be made paper-free, case-based claims processes are at 42%. This illustrates a mature use of the technology but with significant further potential.

5 SUMMARY The move from a paper-based claims process to one using scanning at various points to get all relevant documents into the case management system, could make the processing of claims more efficient while at the same time improving visibility and communication, both internally and with customers. While there are still further steps the insurance company could take to remove paper further down the claims process (electronic forms etc.), using scanners to get workflows paper-free helps enable many performance improvements. Alternatively In an alternative scenario, where the case system remained a paper one, the process could have suffered from a number of challenges requiring additional resource and resulting in poorer communications both internal and external: The case manager could have to manually check that all the required information was available. Internal and external enquires relating to a case could have diverted the case manager away from core work. Photocopying of case file documents could be inevitable, adding to costs, causing delay, and adding risk to the recovery process. Service response to the driver could have been much slower, and the overall processing time of the claim could have been longer, possibly adding extra hire car costs to the claim. The audit trail from documents received right through to the records archive could have relied on manual registration, followed by either scanning prior to archive, or yet more paper file cabinets. References 1. AIIM Industry Watch, July 2013, Winning the Paper Wars capture the content and mobilize the process troops CANON and IMAGERUNNER are registered trademarks of Canon Inc. in the United States and may also be registered trademarks or trademarks in other countries. IMAGEANYWARE is a trademark of Canon. All other referenced product names and marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged. Some items may not be available at this time; please check for availability. Products are shown with optional accessories. Specifications and availability subject to change without notice Canon U.S.A., Inc. All rights reserved.