|
Vendor Referrals
When an insured calls to report a loss, they often need help
returning their property to pre-loss condition or in locating
services such as towing, car rental, or auto body repair.
Usually with little or no previous experience from which to
draw, an insurer’s customers eventually find vendors
spread across spectrums of price and quality of service. The
Innovation First Notice vendor referral program offers insurers a way
to control these costs while simultaneously providing their
customers with a more consistent, higher level of service.
Most clients are aware—and attracted by—the potential
savings of a vendor program. Client savings, typically in
excess of $200 per claim, are gained by rapidly mitigating
high-severity losses and by managing costs through the use
of vendors that have willingly subscribed to specific cost-containment
practices. But clients also see the natural by-product of
better service. Their customers are given high quality, local
referrals at a stressful time when they often have no idea
where to turn.
Eligibility
One major component of the ClaimCapture vendor program is
the initial eligibility screening of claims for follow-on
action. As information is gathered during a call, the system
analyzes whether or not the caller qualifies for vendor services.
This process is based on the type of loss, policy coverage,
and eligibility rules established by the client. The other
major component is the selection of the vendor. The ClaimCapture
vendor module walks through and monitors a series of decision
points:
- is the caller eligible for a given service?
- is a vendor of the appropriate type in their area?
- are they interested in participating in the program?
- will they ultimately decide to accept/decline a referral?
- …if accepted, which vendor will by utilized?
- …if declined, what is the reason for declining?
Managing the Program
To increase success rates among its clients, Innovation First Notice
features a flexible, rules-based engine designed to meet each
client’s unique needs and to change as rapidly as conditions
do. Defining a vendor network, for instance, is as easy as
importing a client’s list or utilizing the network of
vendors populated by First Notice’s partners. A hybrid
model is also possible whereby clients rely on their own negotiated
lists for the majority of claims and only tap the Innovation First Notice
network to fill in areas where their own network does not
reach.
And ClaimCapture goes a level deeper, giving clients the
ability to tailor vendor selections to particular circumstances,
exclude problem vendors, insert new vendors, and prioritize
the rotation of vendors (or nested networks of vendors) in
each loss situation. It also provides reports to measure success
and improve performance on an ongoing basis.
Vendor referrals are a powerful service extension to add
to any claims program. Especially when they’re tied
to the first notice of loss. The whole process is streamlined
so more customers are directed to the network. And the more
customers that are serviced by high-quality, managed-cost
providers, the greater the savings. |
