Taking the stress out of the First Notice of Loss process in insurance

Whether an asset is lost, stolen, or damaged, sending a first notice of loss (FNOL) to the insurance provider is the first step to take during a claims process.  

Taking the stress out of the overall FNOL process without causing the consumer any discomfort or additional strain during this unpleasant time is very important. It determines how the consumer perceives the claims process. And the customer experience—whether positive or negative—will live on in the client’s memory, even after the mess has been cleared and the damage repaired.  

As an insurance provider, the FNOL process can make or break your relationship with the customer. Customer standards have never been higher, and in an increasingly competitive environment, better customer support is becoming mission-critical for insurance companies. How the FNOL process is managed greatly affects client retention and customer experience.

Efficiency for both the insurer and the insured

It is crucial for insurance companies—both operationally and financially—to capture the incident moment, claims request and details as early as possible in the process.

An efficient digital FNOL tool is also essential for the convenience of intermediaries such as individual agents or corporate agents, including banks and brokers, who handle incoming customer calls. Integration with a claims management system provides greater control and visibility over customer information with an accurate and easy-to-access repository for all details. And access to the customer information via a single customer view saves considerable back and forth communication between policyholders, agents and the insurer in the FNOL process.

Much quicker than the traditional method of calling in 

With a simplified, omni-channel solution that can operate seamlessly 24/7, insurance providers can not only capture the incident moment but also improve customer experience with personalized and instant communications, leveraging consumer data to offer a best-in-class consumer experience. That’s why insurance carriers are deploying new technologies, such as conversational platforms, to accelerate the claims process.  

Using these new platforms, policyholders who prefer to directly file claims through mobile or web instead of calling the insurance company or its agents, can simply use their phone to capture and submit photographs of damage following an accident and upload them easily. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), photos of damage can help the auto appraiser in writing a repair estimate and better detecting and preventing fraudulent claims.

Digitalization is here to stay

According to EFMA & Capgemini’s World Insurance Report 2021, more than 80% of customer interactions with insurance firms are digital and 95% of customer interactions are expected to be AI-enabled by 2025. Customers say that websites and mobile apps are their go-to channels for 24/7 availability and ease of access.

Take an existing tech-savvy customer of an insurance company, Kevin, for example

Driving a bit too fast to arrive in time for his business meeting in the morning, Kevin loses control of the car on a turn, and hits a tree. Thankfully, he isn’t hurt and luckily, he has his car insured and the insurance company app installed on his phone. He starts it and clicks on “Direct Assistance”, starting a chat session with a Virtual Claims Assistant (a chatbot) by typing in ‘had a car accident, need immediate help’.

Show empathy for what the customer is going through 

Using MS Language Understanding (LUIS) integration, the Virtual Claims Assistant captures the intent and urgency of the situation and initiates the claims journey flow. The Virtual Claims Assistant retrieves all customer information available, guides the customer and captures the basic input needed to create a claims case through a chatbot session. To speed up the process, Kevin is also presented with the option to upload pictures from the accident and the damage to his car. He quickly takes some pictures with his cell phone and uploads them directly in the app.

As Kevin is marked as a VIP customer, the Virtual Claims Assistant asks the customer if he wants to make use of the free-of-charge valet service including towing of his vehicle, and a replacement courtesy car for the duration of repairs offered to Platinum segment customers.

Since the damage on the car allows him to drive away and he needs to attend a business meeting, Kevin opts to use the free-of-charge valet service later after his meeting finishes up.

Create trust with customers

Using all data retrieved during the customer chat session, the Virtual Claims Assistant creates a new claims case, assigns it to the VIP pool and asks Kevin if he wants to select the repair shop now or prefers to be called by a claims consultant later in the afternoon. Kevin, in a hurry to catch his crucial business meeting, opts for being called later in the afternoon.

The Virtual Claims Assistant creates a call-out task for the related claims case and schedules it for mid-afternoon.

In the afternoon, the claims consultant checks the VIP pool in the CRM platform, sees the call-out task assigned by the Virtual Claims Assistant for repair shop selection, retrieves the single customer view of Kevin and sees the task to generate a repair shop proposal.

Incorporate intelligent automation into your customer support

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is used to fetch the best repair shop option for Kevin, integrating the repair shop details in CRM with core insurance systems even if they do not offer services for such needs. 

The claims consultant calls Kevin and suggests ABC Repairs & Co. to repair his car based on various criteria identified by the claims management system: its closeness to his office, a repair guarantee of 3 years approved by the insurance company, and a high rating history on both on-time delivery and the quality of the repair. Kevin agrees on selecting the proposed repair company.

Clearly state the next steps in the process

The claims consultant informs Kevin about the process and completes the call-out task.

Kevin receives an SMS containing the case number, assigned appraiser contact information, and the links to follow up the progress of the claims case via mobile app, customer portal, and via Virtual Assistant.

When kindly asked by the Virtual Claims Assistant if he has a few seconds to give feedback on his experience so far, Kevin selects “Excellent” as customer experience rating.  His positive sentiment for the resolution process is immediately registered by the system.

Guide customers with a steady hand throughout their journey

Omni-channel integration with the insurers’ systems enables customers to be better informed and involved in the claims process. With VeriPark’s omni-channel virtual claims process, the whole journey is set up to ease and comfort the customer, offering him all the flexibility like handling some matters later, to his convenience, via call centre or mobile app—anytime, anywhere—respecting his preferences and incorporating them into the process.

The ability to create automated workflows integrating CRM with core insurance systems allows insurers to offer services they could not provide before like presenting customers with an instant and perfect repair shop option.

Claims details are brought together in a single customer view almost in real-time, resulting in savings in operational resources.