3 Ways to Manage Service Calls After Natural Disasters

By Mark Duffin, CEO at ServicePower

Robust cloud management solutions allow agents to quickly connect third-party contractors with core systems via a BYOD (bring your own device) approach.

Recently, record flood levels created havoc in the lives of residents and policyholders across the Midwest, reminding us that the insurance industry has to be ready to manage a sharp influx of claims requests on a moment's notice.

But managing the insurance-related fallout of a natural disaster isn't easy, especially in rural areas where service providers need to augment their full-time staff with independent contractors and third-party field workers.

To effectively serve policyholders, insurance agents require tools and strategies that allow them to manage a combination of internal team members and third-party field contractors dispersed throughout affected regions.

Cloud technology provides a ready-made management resource. Using a proven, cloud-based technology platform, agents can interact with remote field workers and rapidly create a streamlined communication channel for information about claims, customers, schedules, drive times and more.

Why the Cloud Makes Sense
Cloud-based technology has become a staple of office-based workplaces because it provides anytime, anywhere access to critical data and systems. For companies with multiple sites or telecommuters, cloud solutions play an important role in improving productivity, collaboration and operational efficiency.

Over the past few years, the use of cloud technology has migrated to other sectors of the workforce. Field service providers have started using cloud solutions to resolve budget pressures and to accommodate rising demand for essential services. The result is a win-win scenario in which organizations improve performance while simultaneously reducing costs.

As an extension of the field service sector, the insurance industry is beginning to see the value of cloud management solutions, especially when it comes to managing third-party resources after a natural disaster. With the right technology, agents can expand their remote management capabilities without investing in additional hardware or performing extensive technology training for new end-users.

As the agency's business demands increase, either organically or during a natural disaster, the technology can seamlessly scale to the management needs of additional adjusters, estimators and service personnel.

Uses and Benefits for Insurance Agents
For insurance agents, the real benefit of cloud technology comes into focus around the practical applications it provides in the days and weeks following a natural disaster.

Robust cloud management solutions allow agents to quickly connect third-party contractors with core systems via a BYOD (bring your own device) approach. Using their own mobile devices, internal team members and independent contractors can receive and transmit critical information from the field, creating a comprehensive view of the insurer's response capabilities and ensuring the effectiveness of the claims process.

Three ways the cloud can help:

1. Unified dispatch and scheduling. In the wake of disaster, the dispatch of full-time and third party workers can become a choke point in claims processing. Strong cloud management technology improves dispatch and scheduling by transforming the data received from field workers into operational insights. For example, some insurance companies use remote data capture to adjust the dispatch of adjusters and inspectors, resulting in more accurate estimates for service times and a more efficient scheduling process.
2. Quick and accurate claims processing. By allowing adjusters and inspectors to send and receive data from the field, insurance agents can leverage the cloud to create a faster and more accurate claims process. Many technologies have features that identify or eliminate the kinds of manual errors that lead to delays in claims processing as well as security protocols that minimize the potential for fraud. This allows agents to reduce the cost of claims processing and to assure policyholders that they will receive payment as quickly as possible.
3.  In-depth business intelligence. Cloud-based technology platforms also give agents and insurers access to vital business intelligence—data that can be harnessed as a driver of improved efficiency and productivity across the organization. For example, platform analytics monitor and identify aspects of the claims process that aren't functioning properly, giving decision-makers the information they need to improve response times, service quality and policyholders' experience with the agency.

Natural disasters are stressful situations for policyholders and insurance agents alike. Cloud technology reduces the anxiety surrounding a natural disaster by mitigating risk, facilitating third party management and providing policyholders with the best possible insurance outcomes.