Legacy Transformation: Incremental Steps to Move Beyond Customer Experience

As consumers’ expectations continue to evolve, insurers are under increasing pressure to modernize their operations and provide a seamless, omni-channel experience to their policyholders and claimants. However, outdated legacy systems and manual processes can’t support the demands of today’s consumers.

To stay competitive, carriers of all sizes must focus on digital optimization of their claims and servicing operations with an eye on their long-term claims and servicing transformation goals. In this blog, I’ll share some thoughts and actionable next steps on how insurers can transform their legacy systems and provide exceptional experiences that modern customers demand.

Moving Beyond Customer-Facing Self-Service Tools to Impactful Digital Claims Automation and Next Generation Claims

Digital transformation discussions need to move beyond customer-facing self-service tools and focus inward. In today’s data-driven world, access to usable information is essential for insurers to manage claims and servicing more efficiently. They also need automation to facilitate the processes, advanced analytics for informed decisions, and offer omni-channel communication preferences and transparent status updates.

Given the prevalence of siloed legacy systems and lots of manual processes, data inconsistencies, errors, and delays make it difficult for insurers to accurately assess risk and provide timely, efficient services to their customers

As consumers’ expectations continue to evolve, insurers are under increasing pressure to modernize their operations and provide a seamless, omnichannel experience to their policyholders and claimants. However, outdated legacy systems and manual processes can’t support the demands of today’s consumers. To stay competitive, carriers of all sizes must focus on digital optimization of their claims and servicing operations with an eye on their long-term claims and servicing transformation goals. In this blog, I’ll share some thoughts on how insurers can transform their legacy systems and provide exceptional experiences that modern customers demand.

Assessing Current Claims State with a Comprehensive Needs Assessment To Determine Digital Insurance Claims Optimization Opportunities

Assessing the current state of their legacy systems, data needs, and processes is a crucial first step for insurers looking to improve their customer and claimant experience. This is where I work with my carriers through a comprehensive assessment to develop a scalable plan that serves their acute and long-term needs.

Legacy systems and siloed Policy Admin Systems (PAS), and Third Party Administrators (TPAs), can make it difficult to streamline claims and servicing processes, but insurers can start by mapping out the current claims journey and identifying areas where they can simplify or automate tasks. For example, automation can process routine tasks, such as data entry or document scanning. Implementation of certain self-service options could allow beneficiaries to upload documents directly increasing staff capacity. I partner closely with my clients during the assessment process.

Here are some prompts to help get into the mindset needed to begin the claims or servicing automation initiative:

• • Define Claim Platform Goals
    Start by identifying the specific outcomes you hope to achieve through a legacy transformation. Do you want to improve customer satisfaction, reduce claims processing times, or enhance data analytics capabilities? Defining your goals will help you focus your efforts and ensure that your transformation efforts are aligned with your business objectives.
  • Conduct a Comprehensive Claims Inventory
    To understand the current state, you need to conduct a comprehensive inventory of all legacy systems and processes. This includes documenting all existing policies, procedures, and workflows, as well as identifying any manual processes that may be slowing down operations.
  • Data, Data, Data
    Once the current state is documented, data analysis is critical to identify areas for improvement. This includes reviewing claims processing times, customer satisfaction scores, and other performance metrics to identify any bottlenecks or pain points in your current processes.

Gaining access to usable data is critical. Its supports customer experience, improved processing times and enables advanced analytics and informed decisions. Carriers can gain valuable insights into trends, track performance, and make data-driven decisions with the right tools. Carriers should seek analytics tools that help identify trends, track performance, and make data-driven decisions. Carriers can improve efficiency and quality of servicing and claims processing, resulting in better customer experiences.

• Develop a Claim Automation and Digital Platform Roadmap
  After identifying priorities, carriers should develop a roadmap that outlines the steps required to transform legacy systems and processes. This roadmap should include specific milestones, timelines, and resource requirements, as well as metrics for measuring progress. A roadmap provides a prioritized approach that helps carriers keep track of their progress and adjust their plans as needed.
• Engage Stakeholders
  Key associates, policyholders/claimants, and third-party partners all play important roles in the policy servicing and claims processing ecosystem and soliciting their feedback and input can ensure that your transformation efforts are aligned with their needs and insurance carrier goals. Building a culture of innovation can help create an environment where stakeholders feel empowered to contribute to the transformation process and can lead to more effective outcomes.

With the partner and intentional planning carriers can embark on a legacy transformation journey that supports their growth and improves the customer and claimant experience. Remember, taking the time to assess your current state, identify areas for improvement, and develop a roadmap for transformation can be the difference between a successful transformation and one that falls short of expectations.