With the incredible influx of claims flowing in every day due to current global circumstances, following claims handling best practices to ensure the proper handling of customer issues can be a critical factor that determines the success and profitability of your business.
We all want to do our best for our customers, but at times the claims industry can become extremely busy, which can result in a poorer service than usual. The overwhelming amount of claims being handled can leave you with unsatisfied customers and an unwanted burden on your finances.
There is tons of information out there in the forms of guides and articles that can help you improve your company’s handling of claims, but often we forget to seek advice from the industry experts.
In this article, we will go over the best practices — and some precautions and essential factors that you should consider enforcing when facilitating clients in claiming their premiums and policies. As always, the golden rule for the claims industry is to deliberate, scrutinise and examine each aspect thoroughly at every step of the process. Discover how you can help your clients while taking the best stance for your business!
What Defines Claims Handling Best Practices?
When you consider claims, different organisations work with different goals. For some, helping their clients work their way around policy restrictions to increase their chances of claiming is the driving factor. For others, creating a balance between those clients that deserve the returns and those that are at fault is the main issue.
The best practices we discuss in this article will focus on how to create a balance between the growth of your business, the proper handling of claims and the facilitation of deserving clients.
Best Practice #1 — Understand Your Industry
Most claims companies rely on the services of customer care representatives who are instructed to guide your clients and obtain critical information that can determine the success of their claims.
Often, a workforce has a script to read from and standard forms to fill. It’s all a bit robotic and soulless. As a result, the quality of your services and operations may suffer.
Ensuring that your teams and staff are fully versed in the intricacies of the services they are offering will enable you to filter out possible dead-ends and prioritise prospective clients from the outset, resulting in more opportunities.
Best Practice #2 — Focus on the Details
Frequently, a single factor can determine the progress of a claim and immediately disqualify the client. Obtaining the most accurate and detailed information from your clients from the start allows your executives and staff to filter out non-qualifying clients and, instead, focus their energy on those with better prospects.
As claims policies can get highly intricate and selective when it comes to the fine-print, determining critical info and factors early on is essential. It will help you create a funnel towards a specific task, rather than wasting any time trying to clarify data that should be apparent at the start of the process.
Best Practice #3 — Never Miss a Chance to Upsell
For the sake of the growth and progress of your company, it’s important to spot opportunities to upsell your clients or convert them to more beneficial policies if their present selection fails to cover their requirements.
The best practice above becomes essential, as harvesting information at the initial stages will help your staff determine how to handle the client best and benefit both the organisation and the customer in the long-run.
Best Practice #4 — Follow the Funnel
The claims industry operates on a predetermined funnel, designed to ensure efficiency across the board. Trying to circumvent this funnel results in issues that could have been resolved long before, creating an unnecessary mess that becomes difficult to untangle and manage.
Enforcing a clear and concise sales funnel for your staff ensures that each department can focus its energy on a specific stage of the process and facilitate a more fluid operation. This helps save time, costs and resources while helping your organisation resolve issues faster and with more clarity.
Best Practice #5 — Create a Stable Digital Framework
If you have not already invested in the digital transformation of your operations, now is the time to consider doing so. Using efficient and business-specific software to support your staff and clients by providing a stable digital framework for your operations has become vital to success.
With a well-developed software suite that caters to the individual requirements of your organisations — while providing a flexible framework that supports each stage of your operations — you can process cases faster, ensure greater accuracy and enforce a more fruitful allocation of resources!
With many modern frameworks offering a robust range of features, you can study the market to find a provider that fits the bill and guarantees a more sustainable model of operations for your business.
Best Practice #6 — Streamline Your Operations
Following a standard funnel does not mean there is no space for innovation. With the right tools for the job, you can identify key problem areas and directly address issues. This helps to create a more streamlined approach to your operations.
By taking on suggestions based on the experiences of your teams — and through data analysis and interpretation — you can determine the stages that require more immediate attention. This will help your teams to create strategies that result in more significant progress and growth for your company.
Best Practice #7 — Choose Your Battles
As a leader, your goal is to ensure significant expansion and growth for your business. But when it comes to handling claims, you should choose your battles carefully. By refining the niche, category or nature of the services you offer, you can help clients with a more specialised approach, reducing costs and expenses best utilised elsewhere.
Being selective with the burden you take on can help you avoid hurdles in the long run while creating a more lucrative process for the present.
Best Practice #8 — It Is Better to Be Blunt
Sometimes, it’s better to be blunt and straightforward rather than beating around the bush, as this helps your client fully understand their present standing while enabling you to help them convert their policies for maximum benefits in the future.
Never undervalue the progress and growth of your organisation, and avoid taking on cases that can put your operations at risk of loss.
That is why it is essential to adequately train and update your staff to handle emerging scenarios and circumstances with a knowledgeable approach.
Equip Your Team and Handle Claims like Never before
There is no one strategy to handle a claim. But you can ensure maximum benefits for yourself and your clients by following a few simple guidelines designed to provide the most beneficial outcomes for all parties.
Equipping your team with the resources and tools they require is an important factor that can impact the whole range of operations your company offers.
Investing in a robust and comprehensive suite that can support your operations and provide a stable framework for maximum efficiency, productivity, and convenience enables your organisation to tackle emerging issues and handle high frequencies of claims more quickly.
