Claims can be complex, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Claims download can help you securely and instantly provide your agency partners with critical claims details they need to assist their clients in their time of need.

What Agencies Are Looking For

Agents successfully write insurance policies because of the promise made to clients that they’ll be indemnified for the covered loss under their insurance policy. Agents have internal processes on how they will handle that promise when a loss of assets, an accident, or an incident that involves liability occurs.

For example, it could be that the agency may want to know about the claim and may be actively engaged in its resolution and interact with their client from start to finish. Some agencies have shared that their process is to let the carrier’s claims department or third-party administrator work towards claims resolution.

To make this process easier, agencies are looking for quality data, flexibility and cost savings – and Claims download can provide this value.

Quality Data

The agency ultimately wants quality, actionable, reportable data about the claim downloaded to the agency management system. They also want the ability to select what they want to download into the agency management system.

Flexibility

Independent agencies are independent businesses. They like flexibility. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. Agents want their carriers and agency systems to allow them to choose the download elements they feel will provide them with the best information for their workflows.

Cost Savings

Agencies enact workflows that enhance their efficiency, which results in cost savings. A more consistent offering from carriers that allows agency management systems to provide agents with choice is a key factor in convincing agencies to use Claims download provided by their carriers.

Examples of data that agents have said they want to download and have the ability to process in their agency systems include:

• A claim has been opened
• An adjuster has been assigned
• An adjuster has been changed
• Adjustor notes are added
• The claims status has been updated
• A reserve has been set or changed
• A claim has been closed
• A salvage or subrogation payment has been received

Calculate Agency Savings

Agents can share with their carriers how much time and money Claims download could save them. Ivans even has a calculator to help you calculate the savings for agencies.

The carriers providing Claims download assist their agents in eliminating errors and omitting information that occurs when a person manually enters claims information or any data into their management system. It also eliminates duplication of effort by both the carrier and agent.

Automate Claims Communication with Download

The more connectivity carriers provide agents, the more value and visibility they have from an independent agency perspective. Agents want choice of markets for their clients, and they want the relationship with carriers to be automated through their agency management systems.

Claims are an expense to both agents and carriers. Reports provided to the agency through their management system give the agency a consolidated view of their client. It helps them to know which clients are profitable or not profitable and which clients may need risk management assistance, in addition to insurance. Regardless of how the agency handles their clients’ claims, they need to know that a claim has been made and the amount that has been put in reserve or paid once the claim is closed.

The profitability of the agent’s relationship with the client may also be measured by how the claim affected the agent’s overall relationship with the carrier. Agents would like to have claims data that includes the producer or producer sub-code. This data allows them to analyze the overall impact policy sales by producers whose clients made claims, have had on the agency's resources.

Ivans and the AUGIE group have compiled implementation guidance for Claims download (PDF) to assist the carriers in providing good actionable data to their agents. Carriers that are not currently providing Claims download should reach out to Ivans.

What AMS Providers Need to Know

Agents continuously say they want their agency management system of choice to provide connectivity to all of the services that enhance their automation.

Agents would like their management systems to process carrier data so they can:

• Have greater efficiency in the service they provide their clients
• Enact the process their agency follows when handling their clients' claims
• Compile reports based on the data provided as a result of the loss

Get Started with Claims Download

Claims download helps all parties automate claims communication. Find out how you can do more in less time, provide timely customer service, reduce expenses and manage downloads in one platform with claims download.