Indemnifying your claimants is naturally an important responsibility for your insurance company, whether administering automobile no-fault or workers’ compensation claims. Yet insurance companies must look to longer term goals and responsibilities in addition to the immediate needs of claimants. In fact, improving claimant retention is a significant factor in improving the bottom line for insurance companies, and there are many routes to ensure you achieve and maintain solid retention rates.
First and foremost, it is imperative that your claims team members prioritize taking good care of their claimants. This sounds like a simple objective, but it can be difficult for adjusters and examiners to balance their daily administrative tasks with proactive claimant communication. In this case, it can be incredibly helpful for insurance companies to partner with an experienced durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and medical supplies (DMEPOS), pharmacy and ancillary service provider.
Once this partnership is established, the provider can then assist adjusters and examiners with claimant communications. This may mean that the provider you have chosen to work with offers a customer care line, which allows your claimants to call with any questions or concerns. It is important to ensure that the care line has knowledgeable team members who are also able to handle claimant communication in a way that’s sensitive to each claimant’s need.
Typically, claimants aren’t as familiar with the process of claims adjudication, which can mean they feel overwhelmed, especially after incurring a catastrophic injury in an auto accident or in the workplace. When claimants are able to speak with someone live, rather than having to listen to automated voice recordings, they feel cared for and tend to be more satisfied with their overall claims experience. Ultimately, this can translate to better claimant retention when it comes time for them to renew their policies.
It is also important that your insurance company partners with a network of quality medical providers, preferably those that offer a negotiated rate. Granting your claimants access to a network like this can mean the elimination of reimbursement paperwork in addition to the elimination of out-of-pocket expenses for claimants. When claimants fill a physician prescribed service within this network, the process becomes streamlined for them, removing common frustration points.
Ensuring claimants feel heard and encounter fewer frustrating moments during the entire claims administration process is part of proactively improving claimant retention. Of course, there are multiple ways to focus on improving claimant retention.
Northwood is a proven, highly qualified DMEPOS, pharmacy and ancillary service provider with over 30 years of experience caring for claimants. For a more in-depth review of the ways that Northwood can help you boost claimant retention rates and improve your bottom line, please contact Rosanne Brugnoni at 586-755-3830 ext. 3771.
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