Wireless Technology Speeds Customer Service

In the auto physical damage arena, it takes a lot to arouse the excitement of seasoned claim appraisers and handlers. After Hartford introduced its new Claim Expediter wireless mobile system, however, positive feedback started pouring in from our appraisers and claim handlers.

"Our insured woke up this morning to find that someone had sliced through her convertible roof with a razor or knife," wrote one of our appraisers, shortly after being equipped with the new technology. "She called in the claim this morning. I received the assignment [on my laptop] driving in my car at 9:30 a.m. I made contact with her and was able to hand her a check and copy of her estimate for the repairs at her job at 1:30 p.m."

The increasing availability of wireless technology in most major areas of the country, combined with The Hartford's determination to improve customer service, is what has made Claim Expediter possible. What makes it unique is the complete and total integration of all estimating sources. The Hartford's field appraisers, network body shops, and independent appraisers receive new assignments and transmit completed estimates, total loss evaluations, and digital images via the system, thereby creating a single repository of data for all estimating sources. Claim-handling staff can gain access to the system in order to view the status of all appraisal assignments, which streamlines and enhances our ability to respond to any customer or internal inquiry on a claim.

We equipped more than 180 of our auto appraisers in all six regions with rugged, waterproof laptops that feature touch screens and built-in, wireless modems. These powerful tools allow our staff appraisers to receive assignments within minutes of our receiving the loss report, and to send completed estimates, total loss evaluations, and digital images back to our claim system immediately upon completion – all by wireless transmission. The system is built upon a customized version of CCC Information Services' Autoverse web-based platform, which has been integrated with our claim dispatching and handling systems.

Although it is early in the process, we estimate that Claim Expediter has the potential to remove days from claim cycle time. We also anticipate a reduction in vehicle rentals by more than one day, and a reduction in storage costs for total losses by more than two days.

The Process

Traditionally, field claim appraisers would have to connect to a land line, either in the morning before starting their days or in the evening when they returned home to receive new assignments and send completed estimates. Claim Expediter makes possible experiences like that of one claim field appraiser, who received an assignment wirelessly and was able to inspect the vehicle and complete the appraisal within two hours of its being reported by the insured. Upon reviewing the completed estimate and digital images on her system, the inside claim handler noted the time the loss was called in and contacted the field appraiser, asking how it had been possible for him to have completed the estimate so quickly.

"The claim handler was blown away when I responded that I'd just received the assignment," said the field appraiser. "And I, in turn, was blown away when I heard that The Hartford could track cycle time by the hour and that my cycle time on this claim was only two hours."

The process is simple and straightforward. When a customers calls in a claim, one of our customer service representatives matches the customer's ZIP code with an estimating source. The customer can use either a Hartford network body shop or choose to work with a Hartford-trained appraiser. Appraisers receive the claim details wirelessly via Claim Expediter. With all the information right on their laptops, appraisers can go to see vehicles, take digital photos, write on-site estimates, and send the information back to the insurer — all before returning to their offices. This completely eliminates the need for appraisers to connect to land lines to receive new assignments and submit completed ones. In most cases, Claim Expediter allows adjusters to complete estimates or total loss evaluations, provide customers with copies, and write checks on the spot.

Such service can be of significant benefit to our customers, especially if they are traveling, as evidenced by the following example. "Our Vermont auto field appraiser received an assignment on Friday at 1:30 p.m," said one supervisor. "The insured was traveling from Vermont back to his home in Florida when he had an accident." A field appraiser went to the vehicle, appraised the damage, sent the total loss evaluation request to CCC via wireless, and instantly received the actual cash value figure. "The entire process was completed by 4:30 p.m., which enabled the insured to make critical decisions on how he would complete his travel itinerary back to Florida," the supervisor continued.

Claim Expediter also allows our claim handlers to track each individual claim, through each step of the process. In addition, the system's on-site digital photo capability is a real advantage, saving time and money associated with having to download images to discs and mailing them into the office.

Rave Reviews

So far, Claim Expediter has been a complete success. The program has been in development for the past three years, and has come in on time and under budget. More importantly, however, The Hartford and its customers are realizing significant benefits in customer satisfaction, improved productivity, expense reductions, and indemnity since the system's introduction. We are seeing savings in internal processing, postage, and administrative costs alone; and because our claim cycle times are being reduced, there are indemnity benefits associated with lowered rental and storage costs.

These dollar-and-cent estimates are only one side of the story, however. The following feedback from some uncharacteristically excited claim appraisers across the country is a more eloquent illustration of how the system is benefiting our claim handlers and field appraisers, as well as our policyholders:

"I have gotten assignments while on my way to one appointment and was able to see both vehicles," reported one user of the system. "This is very helpful while at a frequently visited repair shop. There is nothing worse, in an appraiser's world, than to go back to a shop or a residential subdivision that you visited the day before. It's nice to be on the cutting edge of technology."

"Last week I received two claims and was able to complete both in about one hour," related another. "The first insured was out of town for the week, but she chose to use our Customer Repair Service Program, so I was able to contact a participating repair shop and arrange for them to pick up the vehicle and get started – all within the first hour. I received the second assignment at 8:54 a.m., contacted the insured and completed the estimate at his home at 10:05. Both of these claims were in the outskirts of my territory, and this technology saved me about 100 miles of driving that day. If I hadn't caught them right away, I could not have completed them until the next day."

"I was driving to an assignment and was stopped at a red light when I received a new assignment," said a third appraiser. "I looked at it and realized I was stopped right in front of our insured's residence. The only thing that stopped me from seeing the vehicle in one minute instead of the five minutes it took me was that I was past the driveway, could not back up because of traffic, and had to go around the block."

This technology has initiated a cultural transformation among our claim staff to think of cycle time in terms of hours rather than days. It clearly positions us to provide customers with the kind of claim experience they deserve.

Martin J. Iverson is vice president, auto physical damage at The Hartford.