The average consumer today has an auto accident once every seven to 10 years, offering auto insurer's limited interaction with consumers outside of potential policy questions, bill time, and sometimes through other services such as banking. However, the real moment of truth for the insurer is at the time of an accident, making claims handling one of the most significant opportunities for an insurer to retain or lose a customer. 

The ability for insurance carriers to advance their use of analytics to improve the customer experience is becoming a must, particularly as consumers demand the claims experience be as satisfactory as with any other service provider or retailer, for example.

Many claims organizations have made good use of analytics to help track performance and improve collaboration with business partners, including:  

• The use of electronic appraisal reviews and shared guidelines have helped to ensure business partners have the information needed to fulfill work in a transparent, compliant, and complete manner.  
• The use of management dashboards have helped facilitate claims performance reviews in a concise, targeted manner, enabling managers to address specific areas of performance, adjust levers,and evaluate the impact in real time. 

These tools are necessary and valuable, but they represent the tip of the iceberg. Advancements in technology have enabled the next wave of analytical tools that lead to more actionable information and less reliance on human interpretation of data. Today's tools also work to more directly enhance the customer experience.