If the quote journey is the shop window to the most competitive insurance policies, then claims departments are surely the product experience – as well as the make or break at renewal. How a claim is handled is an extremely important part of the insurance experience, giving insurance providers an opportunity to prove the value of insurance.

Numerous factors can play a part in whether a claims handling experience is deemed successful by the customer, from helpfulness of staff to whether they feel they have been kept suitably updated. However, the part that data plays in contributing to a positive user experience cannot be overlooked. With the market’s first cross market claims database launching in early 2024, the opportunity to vastly transform the claims process is there for the taking.

Individuals want their needs understood. Naturally, if insurance providers can quickly identify the customer and whether they and/or their home or car has had a claim before, they will be in a far better place to deliver an effective and empathetic claims experience.

When a claims professional receives a First Notice of Loss (FNOL) they immediately need to assess and determine a claims strategy as quickly and fairly as possible, always with an eye on potential fraud. A customer who has just been involved in a road traffic accident (RTA), or one who has come home to discover a flood damaged property, needs gentle handling. So, the greater the amount of information a claims handler can gather in real-time on an individual or asset, the smoother and speedier the claims process is likely to be. After all, no insurance customer wants to repeat information their insurance provider should already be aware of, or information their insurance provider could easily find out through the use of internal and external data sources.

Advances in linking and matching technology to deliver a single customer view means that claims handlers can now gather additional behavioural insight, pulling on all past contact with the individual from across the business. They might see the customer has recently had a renewal notice, or they are in the midst of another claim with a different line of business. They may also have a motor policy with another brand within the group. That cross-business view is crucial to understanding the customer and their lifetime value.

A cross market view is just as valuable. A recent customer will have little to no history with the business, so a cross market view of their claims history in motor and home, gained from industry-contributed claims data, could uncover important facts. This could include whether the individual has had a series of escape of water claims with a number of different insurance providers, or whether there has been one past non-fault claim in motor and none at all for home. It might also reveal that the property has been the subject of a number of claims prior to it becoming the policyholder’s home.

Transforming the claims process through use of data is set to take a great leap forward. Deeper insight around claims history is coming early in 2024 through LexisNexis® Precision Claims. It will be the general insurance market’s first claims contributory database to allow a cross market view of home and motor claims history, as well as the claims history of the home or vehicle for use across the customer journey. Just imagine how much easier it would be to support customers who have had the trauma of a series of thefts, or to identify when a policyholder has been victim of an induced accident. This will give essential knowledge to improve the customer experience, but it will also help to mitigate fraud losses through a better understanding of associated claims activity at a more granular level.

Claims data gathered from across the market will also enable insurance providers to join the dots when underwriting fraud is at play, helping to prevent instances of an additional premium being charged through non-disclosure of a prior claim at point of quote. In more extreme cases, it might even prevent the policy being made null and void if an undisclosed past claim would have put the risk outside of the insurance provider’s underwriting criteria.

As complaints about buildings, car and motorcycle insurance reach a five-year high[i], there’s no arguing that cross market claims data can help transform the claims process. Decisions can be reached faster, reducing friction and helping to ensure that the claims experience brings customers back at the point of renewal.

[i] https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/news-events/motor-and-building-insurance-complaints-hit-five-year-high

Content provided by Samantha Marsh, director, product management, UK and Ireland, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Insurance