This includes offering options over their preferred contact channels.
For example, in the US, EvolutionIQ’s clients have spoken of how claims staff can be empowered to pinpoint urgent claims earlier in the process for tailored support, in turn expediting the process to help injured workers recover and return to work sooner.
A common thread through users’ experiences is the speed at which technology frees up claims professionals to focus on the cases - the people - who require closer attention.
At the heart of this is the way AI–powered claims guidance differs from traditional triage, by providing support throughout the entire claims lifecycle.
It can analyse and synthesise unstructured data at scale, mimicking the way humans process information, but without the manual effort. The result is that both providers and claimants benefit.
Case study
To pick out one example, a major individual disability US carrier that uses EvolutionIQ’s Claims Guidance solution observed a 35 per cent increase in sick or injured people returning to work.
These claimants were also returning to work 3.5 months sooner on average compared to when legacy processes were used for claims handling.
A key factor is that claims examiners were no longer wasting precious time reviewing or investigating stable claims that were not yet ready for examiner attention.
The insurer slashed the amount of wasted effort by 36 per cent, which meant more time could be spent helping claimants return to work.
At another insurance provider, Claims Guidance led to a 73.5 per cent increase in attention being directed to at-risk claims that
needed adjuster investigation and actions in the first week.
Benefit for customers and adjusters
There are other measures that evidence AI’s impact on underlying performance, but it is important to remember how such outcomes can benefit both customers and adjusters.
Customers are helped more effectively in their journey back to work, their careers, passions and livelihoods – they will remember how this made them feel. For claims professionals, they are empowered to play a pivotal part in that journey.
By removing the arduous process of trawling through old medical documents to identify key points and enabling them to engage with customers in a more meaningful way, AI can be the catalyst for adjusters to focus on the aspects with most impact on someone’s life.
It guides and informs their focus on aspects of the role which can be most rewarding.
But, for all its benefits, new adopters of AI solutions can understandably be cautious about the operational changes and adjustment required, particularly when income protection claims are at historically high levels.
