Before joining the Sprout.ai team, Natalie North worked as a property claims handler and at an insurance broker specialising in property, motor and commercial claims.
Today, she uses Sprout.ai’s technology to analyse different claims across multiple insurance lines, working out how to get the most accurate outcomes possible for our insurance customers.
Having worked as a claims handler, she can see exactly how Sprout.ai frees claims handlers from repetitive administrative tasks, creating a more customer-centric experience.
Hi Natalie, thanks for chatting! Could you start by describing your work as a claims handler?
As a property claims handler, a significant portion of my time was spent on the phone. My primary responsibilities included handling new claims calls, reporting incidents, coordinating with any necessary vendors, and overseeing the entire claims process from start to settlement, including processing payments and resolving any issues that arose during the claims process.
As a claims consultant, I acted as an intermediary between customers and insurance providers. Customers purchased their insurance through our brokerage, and we also managed the claims reporting process on their behalf. I primarily dealt with property claims but also gained experience in handling motor and commercial claims.
Read more: How Sprout.ai can help you unlock the potential of your claims department in 2024
What were the main challenges in those roles?
At times, it was undeniably rewarding. However, it could be quite challenging.
You had to handle all the administrative tasks, address any issues that arose, and ensure that everything ran as smoothly as possible, right from the initial stages through to the final settlement.
The main source of stress came from dealing with frustrated customers who were unhappy with the pace at which things were progressing. Many of the complaints centred around the time required to settle claims.
Quite often, policyholders had supplied all the necessary evidence. They then expected their case to be settled within a day. However, the claims handling process operated on a “first in, first out” basis, prioritising the oldest cases. Policyholders would often call to express their frustration, asking why their claims hadn’t been resolved yet.
When dealing with a human-driven process, the aim is to handle cases fairly for all parties involved. However, the sheer volume of claims could make this difficult at times.
What caused the delays?
My daily workload was made up of a set number of activities, usually around 30 tasks per day. These tasks were activities like processing payments and reviewing the evidence submitted by policyholders.
A significant portion of my day was dedicated to reviewing the evidence submitted by policyholders. It involved a lot of reading through documents and deciding what parts were necessary and what parts weren’t. As a claims handler, you had to review the entire document because missing something could lead to complaints, and accuracy was crucial. For instance, when dealing with a five-page report, it could easily take 10 to 15 minutes of careful reading to ensure that nothing important was overlooked.
The backlog typically extended back about a week from the current date. So, even though a claim had been submitted, it might take up to a week to reach the settlement stage. Policyholders often expected a much quicker resolution, which could understandably lead to their frustration.
How would Sprout.ai have made a difference?
If I’d had Sprout.ai as a claims handler, it would have saved me several hours of administrative work each day.
For instance, when you use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to extract figures from a report, it streamlines the process. Instead of claims handlers having to manually sift through the report and extract the data themselves, AI can swiftly and accurately perform this task. This not only saves a substantial amount of time but also leads to a smoother and more efficient workflow.
On top of that, we’re able to pinpoint the essential information required. This means we can quickly pinpoint the crucial details we need to move the case forward and reach a settlement.
What would you say to a claims handler who isn’t sure that they want to use AI?
What we’re doing with AI is enhancing the claims handler’s role and providing them with more time to address higher-priority tasks. This ultimately helps alleviate frustration and boost confidence from the policyholder’s perspective.
I’m confident that in a few years, AI will become as commonplace as the internet is today. Back then, people were hesitant to interact with it, but now it’s just the norm.
Right now, we are focused on ensuring even greater precision – we’re already at 98%.
Hopefully, this will build trust among insurers and our customers, assuring them that we’re getting it right, and ultimately dispelling any fears about AI.
Read more: AI and Claims Processing: What Customers Really Think
About Sprout.ai
Sprout.ai is an award-winning claims solution for the insurance industry, partnering with major insurance companies worldwide. Our vision is to make every claim better by using groundbreaking AI products to expedite the claims process while preserving the human touch. To learn more, book a call with us.
