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Storm Management in The Cloud - ClickSoftware · 2019-05-22 · q ñ ë ë í Ü q q { w ë w u î...

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4 WAYS INSURANCE CARRIERS CAN RECOVER FASTER FROM A STORM A CLICKSTOFTWARE WHITE PAPER Storm Management in The Cloud
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Page 1: Storm Management in The Cloud - ClickSoftware · 2019-05-22 · q ñ ë ë í Ü q q { w ë w u î w Ü q ë ì x Ü w Ü ì Ü ë 2 Storm Management in the Cloud Events previously

4 WAYS INSURANCE CARRIERS CAN RECOVER FASTER FROM A STORM

A CLICKSTOFTWARE WHITE PAPER

Storm Management in The Cloud

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4 Ways INsURaNCE COMPaNIEs CaN RECOvER FastER FROM a stORM

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Storm Management in the Cloud Events previously labeled as “one hundred-year storms,” such as a bombogenesis have now become the norm rather than the exception across the globe. To effectively address the additional emergency workflows required by these storms and to efficiently and safely meet the demands of customers and regulators, insurance carriers need flexible systems and processes – including a cloud based Field Service Management (FSM) solution to complete claims in the safest, most efficient and timely manner possible.

Virtually all severe weather and oversize outage conditions require the coordination of multiple resources. Company crews need to be relocated from other divisions, existing work needs to be stopped (and rescheduled once back to normal conditions), and adjusters must coordinate with customers. A FSM solution in the cloud provides the speed, agility and ease of use that transforms field service from reactive mode to a more predictive attitude, enabling a smarter storm response. Carriers can leverage data with artificial intelligence to automate manual tasks and optimize every aspect of service restoration. A FSM automates functions across the entire Service Chain, from Capacity Planning before a storm arrives, to optimized Scheduling, third party management, Dispatch and Execution in real-time during outages and through Reporting and Analytics after service restoration to develop best practices.

1 CAPACITY PLANNING Capacity planning is the process of determining the total amount of field resource time and skills are required to meet projected demand. A planner starts by assessing all available resources against the expected work, identifies any gaps, and makes decisions on how to best meet the anticipated workload. Whether you measure capacity in points, quota, hours, or number of jobs, it’s important to know whether or not you have the bandwidth for the planned, forecasted, and unexpected work in the upcoming weeks. A severe storm will test any organizations response capabilities, but it gets easier if a field service organization is utilizing a single FSM platform that includes a view into scheduling, forecasting, and planning all in one solution.

clicksoftware white paper

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WHEN A SEVERE STORM IS FORECAST a planner can load the expected increase in demand into the capacity planning solution. With capacity planning functionality an organization can use this increased forecast demand to take action on things such as:

> Temporarily relocate field resources.

> Allow for additional overtime.

> Relax travel rules.

Capacity planning enables an organization to have the resources in place to handle the storm and speed a return to service. This helps carriers provide better customer service, even in the most trying conditions.

clicksoftware white paper

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2 MOBILE During a storm, adjusters receive information from multiple channels including mobile field crews, municipal agencies, weather services, news media, crowd-sourcing and other social and customer channels. All this information has the capacity to overwhelm a carrier with data regarding claims incidents, geographic conditions (e.g. road closures, flooding), structural damage, and customer sentiment. The carrier has to be able to process this information in real-time to immediately convert it into actionable scheduling, dispatch and crew management to respond to the most pressing incidents. A cloud based FSM solution enables carriers to react quickly to changing demands before, during and after a storm. In particular, a FSM can improve the response in the field through mobile workforce management (MWFM) capabilities, coordinate all of the required third party contractors and even improve the experience for customers.

clicksoftware white paper

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clicksoftware white paper

With a cloud based FSM solution, the application is available from any web connected device such as a smart phone or tablet. A mobile solution allows adjusters to submit onsite damage reports and open tickets. A mobile solution also includes wizard-driven completion based on pre-defined workflows and mandatory information and automatically captures many details so that they don’t have to be entered manually by the field service professional. Timesheets are automatically tracked, so the timeliness and accuracy of this information gives a real-time view of operational status, helping to speed claims payment.

In addition, by deploying a mobile solution carriers gain several key benefits during a storm response:

• Enable visibility of all available crews and monitoring the status of jobs—to allow more efficient deployment of adjusters in the field.

• Manage safety and reputation via communication with customers, and by integrating social media into core carrier processes (e.g. incident identification and assessment).

Providing adjusters with the right information at the right time is the key to better storm response and management. Smart phones and other connected devices are now the standard of leading field service teams and a must have during critical events.

3 THIRD PARTY MANAGEMENT During a critical event, carriers must respond to events and perform tasks that cut across existing organizational boundaries and IT systems. A key component is the ability to rapidly on-board contractor. The FSM solution should allow the carrier to quickly on-board all of the contractors by utilizing a mobile app to provision the solution directly on their mobile device. Once connected, the app can take them through a safety procedure video and the resource will accept/comply. The system now has the information to identify the resource, their location, what certifications the resource has and what type of work they can perform.

Once on-board, the resource immediately shows up as an available resource

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clicksoftware white paper

in the “home” application, allowing work to be immediately dispatched to the expanded field service resources. This capability changes the way contractors workers on-board by immediately putting the resources/crews to work rather than gathering in a staging area first. The result greatly reduces the overall time for a claim to be submitted.

This comprehensive view of demand and assignment yields unsurpassed insight into total task duration, adjuster. Job assignments are clearly delineated, drive time is optimized and hazard conditions such as road closures, restrictions, or rerouting can be accounted for by all users in the unified real-time platform.

4 CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Customer expectations have increased significantly over the past few years and insurance companies are no longer judged simply by comparisons with their competitors, but also with all service providers. Customers now expect the same level of service they find with companies like Uber, Amazon and Expedia when dealing with any service provider, including insurance adjusters and carriers. Customer expectations might soften a bit during a storm, but consumers still expect clear communications, rapid response and quick claim resolution. Therefore, it is important to move from “best practices” to “best customer engagement” strategies by embracing new technologies and enabling new ways to interact with customers before a storm arises.

An optimal customer experience requires specific technology

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in a FSM for:

> Website and mobile applications for personal communication to enable pre-storm warnings, follow-up scheduling, on-line bill pay, etc.

> Social media, texting, and IVR to keep customers up-to-date. Social media is playing a big role in customer communication during a storm as seen during Hurricane Sandy when in the five days leading up to, during and after more than 20 million storm-related tweets went out

> Customer analytics to better inform adjusters during post-storm outreach

It is critical to remove the customer frustration of “being in the dark” by keeping customers informed on the progress of the repairs and the expected payment. Customers understand that Mother Nature can impact a carriers’ claims process; however, they also want transparency and visibility into the claims process to manage the needs of their household. As such, meeting customer expectations should not be reserved for the good times, but, probably even more importantly, be an integral part of your storm response.

CONCLUSION The true value of a FSM solution for storm claims processing is realized when customer satisfaction can be consistently maintained at high levels, while simultaneously optimizing resources and investments with advanced technologies. The solution must support integrated processes and complete situational intelligence to achieve strategic and tactical storm preparedness and reduce claims processing time so payment is delivered as quickly as possible. It is imperative that carriers have the technology in place to speed recovery times to minimize the financial impact to the company. A FSM solution from Click that combines capacity planning, mobile, third party management and customer experience capabilities enable carriers to address the sophisticated challenges they face during storm outages.

For more information contact us at www.clicksoftware.com.


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