The Dallas Mavericks pulled off what many thought to beunthinkable in beating the Miami Heat for the NBA championship.Throughout the series, Dallas often seemed to be down, but withtheir fourth-quarter surges proved that they were neverout. To the contrary, they exuded characteristics of successby giving it their all until the final buzzer. It is this typeof focus and commitment to the optimal outcome that ultimately gavethe Mavericks the slightest edge in their quest for thechampionship.

This type of focus can also take claims organizations fromordinary to extraordinary. From the beginning of the claim to finaldisposition, not losing site of an accurate outcome is critical ingiving organizations a competitive edge in themarketplace.

During my tenure in various claims capacities—ranging fromadjuster and manager to quality assurance and leadership roles—gapswere often identified in the process. Just as I have found coachinga variety of sports over the years, these types of deficiencies canlead to improbable outcomes.

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The only sure way to win is to field a talented team whorecognize and have the tools to achieve accurateoutcomes. Just as a basketball team can get worn down come thefourth quarter, so too can a claims organization if the processesand workflows are not optimized.

There is no room for error. From first notice of loss tofinal disposition, each “i” must be dotted and each “t” must becrossed. While not quite on par with the complexities of rocketscience, claims does have its own unique set ofchallenges.

From conducting timely investigations and writing accurateappraisals to identifying joint tortfeasors and subrogationopportunities, there are a myriad of opportunities to leave money on the table. In thesubrogation arena alone, more than 15 percent of claims are closedwith a missed subrogation opportunity, costing the P&C industrymore than $15 billion dollars annually.

Add to this such things as overpayments on injury claims,estimate overwrites, missed opportunities on LKQ or aftermarketparts, lack of rental control, and missed fraud indicators and thedollars really start adding up.

By recognizing the opportunities and developing workflowprocesses to address any potential gap, claims teams can be assuredof improving results all the way through final claimdisposition. Of course, the entire organization benefits asthe result of a smooth transitional and transparent process thatwill improve cycle time, reduce claim costs, and increase customersatisfaction while ultimately driving up quality andretention.