The principal duty of claims leaders is to develop and execute a claims strategy to fulfil the sacred promise to their policyholders. A key piece of that puzzle is building vendor partnerships with firms who can deliver on that promise. An often-overlooked aspect of the vendor-carrier relationship is strategic discovery.
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without Strategy is the noise before defeat.” -Sun Tzu
What is strategic discovery?
Strategic Discovery should be the first step in any carrier-vendor relationship. This process is a structured approach for both teams to come together to understand the specific business problems present and develop a short- and long-term strategy to solve that problem.
Unfortunately, IA firm vendors are often seen as a commodity and therefor the strategic discovery process is overlooked. This can be detrimental to the insurer’s claims strategy, risk management and loss expense.
What should be accomplished?
Every IA firm can handle claims on behalf of the insurer; however, only a few IA firms have the strategic vision to truly align themselves to their client partner’s needs.
Through a strategic discovery process, carriers can better understand which firms can truly meet their intended goals and help solve their departments needs.
Here are the core questions every carrier should have answers to before entering into a vendor relationship with an IA firm:
Does the vendor partner share in your company’s values and culture?
Your product is delivered on the foundation of trust and loyalty of your policyholders. This is strengthened by the companies values and culture of customer-first experiences.
Does your IA firm share your commitment? Will they take the time to train their adjusters, hold their staff accountable, and ensure every one of your policyholders are delivered the claims experience that aligns with your values and culture?
Key Performance Indicators are important, but a poor-quality claim product turned around quickly does little to instill trust and loyalty with your policyholder.
Do they take the time to explore your short and long-term goals?
All firms can process claims to various degrees of volume and quality, but do they look beyond claims handling to see your vision and bring innovative products and services to meet your goals?
Are you trying to control your loss adjusting expense? Does your firm actively find solutions to deliver cost effective services while maintaining the quality your brand is built upon? Does your firm know what your department is trying to achieve in the next 3-5 years?
A firm should be a strategic partner and offer intrinsic value above and beyond baseline claims processing.
Are they agile enough to adapt to your needs?
The claims environment is evolving faster than ever before. Insurtech solutions and the incoming generation of tech savvy policyholders demand more from the claims experience than ever before.
Is your IA firm sizable enough to respond to your regional or national claims need but agile enough to actively adapt to the changing tech forward environment to offer you and your policy holder an efficient, seamless claims experience while delivering rapid, high quality settlements?
The firms of the future have a lean, centralized service offering and can quickly adapt to your ever-changing needs.
Do they offer a full claims solution?
Unless your company is a sizeable incumbent with the capital reserves to invest millions into technology innovation, your department may find itself struggling to keep up with the digital solutions many policyholders not only desire but expect from a carrier.
Regional and semi-national insurers need partners who can bring the insurtech solutions to the table which can not only reduce your overall LAE, but give your policyholders the claims experience they deserve.
Does your firm invest into human led, tech forward solutions which can provide the customer service your brand is known for while streamlining the claims process, all the while keeping the policyholder in the loop every step of the way?
Why Strategic Discovery matters
Your vendor selection matters, and you deserve a firm who organically cares about your goals and objectives. The strategic discovery process ensures both parties are culturally aligned, and the firm shares your values and vision as a quality insurer.
Through discovery, your team can determine if the firm you are partnering with can help you expand your claims offerings and execute on the promise you make to your policyholders.
If your team does not feel like the firms you work with understand your goals, reach out to Brush Country Claims. Our team of tenured insurance professionals will take the time to discover your pain points and bring innovative solutions to the table. We are committed to ensuring you have a partner who cares about your vision and can adapt quickly to the ever-changing claims environment.
