Technology has been helping the insurance industry to
speed up dealing with claims for losses arising in the aftermath
of hurricanes that hit Florida in August.
Wireless laptops, satellite systems and utomated claims
processsing systems have all helped to deliver speedy decisions and
payments to insurance customers who have suffered losses. And
insurers are also making increased use of catastrophe modelling
systems and predictive analytics to help forecast loss costs for
particular regions after a disaster, according to Jamie Visker, an
analyst TowerGroup.
After the most recent hurricanes, to locate customers in
hard-hit areas who were stranded without power or telephones,
claims adjusters for The Hartford Financial Services Group used
Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies to pinpoint home
addresses.
Information about damage was gathered and entered into a
Panasonic CF-29 laptop computer, along with an insurance claim and
digital photos of damaged vehicles. The computer, equipped with a
wireless modem, transmitted the details to one of the group's
claims offices for processing.
The claim was then sent via land lines to CCC Information
Services to help prepare a repair estimate. Once the estimate was
received and processed, The Hartford Group then sent back an e-mail
with approved coverage to the adjuster, who could write the
customer a cheque on the spot - all within a matter of minutes,
said Martin Iverson, vice-president of auto physical damage for the
insurance company.
The Hartford Group, which rolled out the wireless-enabled
laptops en masse to 187 field appraisers in June, has used
technology "to help to enhance our ability to respond to these
events", said Iverson. He said the company had handled thousands of
auto-related claims in Florida following hurricanes Charley and
Frances.
Insurers, who are keeping a keen eye on hurricane Ivan as it
moves along the Gulf Coast, have made similar investments in
emerging technologies to speed claims processing for homeowners and
other policyholders in hurricane-ravaged areas.
"As the speed and memory capacity of laptops increases and the
costs have dropped, insurance companies have looked at [laptops] as
a pretty good investment for their adjusters. They can do
estimates, request checks - they are almost an office unto
themselves," said John Eager, senior director of claims at the
Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, an association
of 1,000 property and insurers.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, 135,000 commercial
insurance claims were filed by businesses in Florida and the south
east, accounting for $2.7bn (£1.5bn), or 40% of the estimated
$6.755bn in total damages from the storm, according to the
association.
State Farm Insurance, the largest insurer of homes in Florida
and across the US, has deployed about 1,200 wireless modems
nationwide for its claims adjusters in the past eight months. And
it has bought another 1,000 wireless cards for independent
adjusters contracted to help out during disasters such as hurricane
Frances, said Mark Winland, director of claims automation and
procedures.
"The [wireless] coverage has become much better, and it's much
less cost-prohibitive with carrier plans which offer
all-you-can-eat data transmission plans," said Winland. "This has
allowed our claims reps to be more productive for our
customers."
In parts of Florida where mobile phone masts were damaged or
destroyed, State Farm deployed 13 satellite-equiped mobile claims
units, said Winland.
Thomas Hoffman writes for Computerworld