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

Building on the foundation of their joint Medical Exposure Management collaboration, the organizations have begun development of their next set of combined offerings, which includes Mitchell’s Auto Physical damage data and workflow and solutions aimed at medical provider fraud and abuse.

The extended relationship includes integration of Mitchell DecisionPoint, a first- and third-party liability medical bill review and workflow software-with an expanded set of unique LexisNexis claims data and predictive analytics capabilities.

“The market-leading position of LexisNexis in claims predictive analysis data is the perfect complement to Mitchell’s medical data and claims decision support solutions,” says Alex Sun, president and CEO, Mitchell International. “We share a passion for valuable and innovative solutions that combine the best of both our organizations to assist our customers to dramatically improve their claims performance on a real and sustainable basis and we look forward to helping the industry address rising severity and medical provider fraud and abuse.”

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

The opportunity for greater efficiency through collaboration is especially critical in the area of injury-related claims. Since the beginning of 2008 through 2010, Mitchell data shows a 31 percent overall increase in medical costs and utilization, more than offsetting an overall decline in claim frequency during this same period. In certain “no fault” states like Florida the problem is particularly acute.

The two companies began working closely together in early 2010 to develop a solution to first address the issue of spiraling medical costs in personal passenger auto. The resulting solution, LexisNexis Medical Exposure Management powered by Mitchell, addresses the challenges associated with the early identification and handling of severe auto injury and other difficult and expensive special needs claims situations.  The Medical Exposure Management solution allows insurers to obtain the benefits from early clarity and insight into claim book severity, enabling them to handle these claims more efficiently, effectively and with higher levels of customer service.

 “In the face of spiraling medical costs, increased regulation, high adjuster caseloads, claims litigation, a rapidly diminishing adjuster work force, missed recovery opportunities and insurance fraud, LexisNexis and Mitchell will work to provide insurers with innovative new approaches to enable proactive, efficient claims handling,” says Jeffrey Glazer, senior vice president and general manager, insurance, for LexisNexis.