The U.S. property and casualty (P&C) insurance market continues to rank among the most competitive in the world, and the competition is only getting stiffer. In an effort to differentiate themselves from the competition, many insurance carriers have turned to aggressive pricing in the form of lower premiums for policyholders. Still, others have tried to pull ahead of the pack with self-service claims models or other specialized insurance products.
Now in 2021, in a fiercely competitive market, insurance carriers are searching out the greatest opportunities for differentiation of the policyholder experience where they can build their brand through the delivery of an exceptional claims experience. Key among them is the utilization of a managed repair solution, particularly one that prioritizes innovation and a digitalized, data-driven approach to property loss recovery.
Managed repair goes well beyond traditional loss adjusting. When a loss is incurred, an insurance check is generally the policyholder’s final interaction with the insurance carrier. However, it’s really only the next step in a very long and tedious process for the policyholder — especially in the event of an extensive property loss. All told, from first notice of loss all the way through to finished repair, the rebuilding process could take weeks, months or even a year or more if a structured program is not in place.
Today, with policyholder experience and customer retention top of mind, insurance carriers have an opportunity to go beyond handing over a check and offer full support for the policyholder throughout the process via managed repair.
“Managed repair is a concierge level of service that links policyholders with contractors offering a wide range of services, from emergency services to general contracting and more that is integrated with the claims process,”
said Lance Malcolm, U.S. president of Contractor Connection.
“We estimate that between 15% and 25% of property claims are now handled by a managed repair solution — typically through an entity like Crawford & Company’s Contractor Connection managed repair — and we expect that number to grow to 50% or greater in the next 5 to 10 years.”
With a managed repair solution, policyholders are no longer on their own — they no longer have to research all the contractors required in order to make their property loss whole. They don’t have to worry about screening and credentialing contractors and managing their performance. When it’s said and done, the policyholder’s property is put back together more quickly and with less effort on their part than if they were given a check and sent on their way. In fact, Crawford & Company estimates that a policyholder is back on their feet faster using a managed repair solution than they would have been without it.
Why is this important? If a policyholder can reach the desired endpoint — that is, restoring or rebuilding what was damaged or lost — faster, with less effort on their part, and with a high-quality and warrantied outcome, they’re more likely to give high marks to their insurance carrier for satisfaction and experience. This, of course, translates to higher retention rates, a better brand reputation, an improved NPS score and more new customers for the insurance carrier. And, with social media the preferred method to spread the word these days, good news and reviews will travel far and wide.
Additionally, leading managed repair providers can add value through integrating proprietary technologies and industry-recognized estimating platforms to monitor and share contractor key performance measures. These providers also tend to have extensive networks of highly qualified contractors to provide coverage for all types of losses in all areas. All of this adds up to better performance management, reduced cycle times, improved estimate accuracy and exceptional customer experiences.
Finally, managed repair can serve as a cost-effective solution to handling high-frequency, low-complexity claims, allowing insurance carriers the ability to utilize claims adjusting resources for the higher complexity claims, increasing efficiency and reducing costs for the insurance carrier.
