Claims administration systems are being replaced at an increasing pace in the insurance industry, says Novarica, a research and advisory firm.

While many carriers have already upgraded and others are in the middle of a claim replacement project, Novarica’s research shows the majority of carriers are in the planning phase for a core claims system replacement.

Novarica’s new report, “Novarica Market Navigator: Property/Casualty Claims Solutions 2011,” is designed to help insurance CIOs navigate the marketplace of standalone claims software providers, profiling more than 30 vendors.  

“Traditionally, claims handling has been a very labor-intensive process for carriers with lots of paper, handoffs, and relationships to manage,” said Karlyn Carnahan, principal at Novarica. “Today, carriers have a broad choice of claims solutions available that support automated processing and management of claims functions.”

Generally, modern claims systems provide integrated workflow management and task or process management and most come with some level of document generation and document management, added Carnahan.

“User interfaces have dramatically improved with easily navigable screens and easy-to-find contextual help,” she said. “Adjuster portals, wizards to open new claims, scripting, and recursive questioning all allow carriers to create very intuitive processes and deliver consistent service. With these kinds of features, it is no wonder that we are seeing a continuing interest in replacing core claims systems.”

Based on a recent survey of members of the Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council, over 30 percent of respondents say that claims is one of the top three projects they are focusing on for 2011, reported Carnahan.

“This highlights the degree to which carriers are investing in new claims functionality,” she said.