Mitchell International and LexisNexis announced an agreement todevelop an expanded set of integrated product and service offeringsto assist insurance carriers with more effectively managing property/casualty claims.

Building on the foundation of their joint Medical Exposure Management collaboration, theorganizations have begun development of their next set of combinedofferings, which includes Mitchell’s Auto Physical damage data andworkflow and solutions aimed at medical provider fraud andabuse.

The extended relationship includes integration of MitchellDecisionPoint, a first- and third-party liability medical billreview and workflow software-with an expanded set of uniqueLexisNexis claims data and predictive analytics capabilities.

“The market-leading position of LexisNexis in claims predictiveanalysis data is the perfect complement to Mitchell’s medical dataand claims decision support solutions,” says Alex Sun, presidentand CEO, Mitchell International. “We share a passion for valuableand innovative solutions that combine the best of both ourorganizations to assist our customers to dramatically improve theirclaims performance on a real and sustainable basis and we lookforward to helping the industry address rising severity and medicalprovider fraud and abuse.”

Integrated solutions under development include tools to identifycollusion, methods to better identify disparities between accidentdamage and medical treatment, and an approach which focuses on theidentification of potential fraud and abuse in first- andthird-party medical claims within the P&C and workers'compensation markets.

The opportunity for greater efficiency through collaboration isespecially critical in the area of injury-related claims. Since thebeginning of 2008 through 2010, Mitchell data shows a 31 percentoverall increase in medical costs and utilization, more thanoffsetting an overall decline in claim frequency during this sameperiod. In certain “no fault” states like Florida the problem isparticularly acute.

The two companies began working closely together in early 2010to develop a solution to first address the issue of spiralingmedical costs in personal passenger auto. The resultingsolution, LexisNexis Medical Exposure Management powered byMitchell, addresses the challenges associated with the earlyidentification and handling of severe auto injury and otherdifficult and expensive special needs claims situations. TheMedical Exposure Management solution allows insurers to obtain thebenefits from early clarity and insight into claim book severity,enabling them to handle these claims more efficiently, effectivelyand with higher levels of customer service.

“In the face of spiraling medical costs, increasedregulation, high adjuster caseloads, claims litigation, a rapidlydiminishing adjuster work force, missed recovery opportunities andinsurance fraud, LexisNexis and Mitchell will work to provideinsurers with innovative new approaches to enable proactive,efficient claims handling,” says Jeffrey Glazer, senior vicepresident and general manager, insurance, for LexisNexis.