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Tag Archives: Cost Savings

  1. Part 2 on Leadership: Developing a Strategic Transformation Team March 17, 2014

    Posted in Strategic Planning.

    Breaking from the linear approach to management is the key to leading Strategic Transformation. A standard organization will have a head of claims and then a variety of department heads to manage each line of business. Depending on the company there may be additional senior managers to handle various operational aspects of the group, which may include support staff, call center, technology and data analytics. Under this method, projects get initiated and managed within the same linear organizational framework. The result of this approach is a development process built in a silo that limits input and understanding of possible interdependencies that may exist outside the framework. In this post we will explore further how a strategic transformation team is formed and can be effective.

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  2. Leadership: The Change Process In Claims Requires A Different Approach March 10, 2014

    Posted in Strategic Planning.

    Successful organizations are always changing and adopting to improve their operations, lower costs and increase efficiencies. Claims departments are no different and have been under pressure to transform their operations and live by the mantra of doing more with less. Good claims organizations continuously evolve and adapt to ensure they add value to the overall business. Regardless, changing to meet the challenges of the marketplace is often fraught with problems and difficulties. Many initiatives fail to get off the ground or fail in the implementation process. Change can be very successful and if managed and led correctly. To change effectively there must be a strategic approach and a change in how these initiatives are led.

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  3. Insanity: Claim’s Departments Can’t Expect Different Results Without Changing Their Organizations May 9, 2012

    Posted in Commentary, My SPOT.

    Maybe I care too much about our industry or am just frustrated by the lack of attention to quality claims handling, but this is annoying. Why should claims make up half of the most frequent market conduct issues for the Property & Casualty industry as listed by Wolters Kluwer for the 5th straight year? As part of their review they track and analyze the results from state market conduct examinations. As with their prior studies, claims issues continue to dominate the list of state concerns. In my latest post I analyze the last 5 years of the Wolters study and find an upsetting trend – nothing is changing. This is a challenge to claims organizations to improve! Check it out.

    7 comments
  4. 2 Approaches To Early Resolution And Cost Savings For Litigation Guidelines September 19, 2011

    Posted in Mediation & Settlement, Negotiation, SPOT on Costs.

    We welcome Nancy Hudgins as a contributing author to the Claims SPOT. Nancy is is a national mediator based in San Francisco and will be writing on resolving claims. In her first post, she points to two methods to early resolution and ways they can cut litigation cost.

    5 comments
  5. Getting Creative And Reducing Claim Costs Without Sacrificing Quality – Part II December 22, 2010

    Posted in Litigation Management, SPOT on Costs, SPOT on Ops.

    Last month, Suzanne Ganier discussed the building blocks needed to reduce claim and litigation costs, while still maintaining a strong focus on quality. Those building blocks included:

    * collecting current data about your claims and litigation
    * evaluating the claim and litigation work itself
    * settling on a carrier claim and litigation handling philosophy

    In her follow up, Suzanne discusses how these building blocks create a foundation on which to build new processes and procedures that will reduce your claim and litigation costs, and maybe even decrease you volume as well. I refer this building process as looking at What I Have, What I Want, and What I See.

    3 comments
  6. 6 Steps To Reduce Expenses For Medical Experts As Suggested By The Expert June 17, 2010

    Posted in Medical Malpractice, SPOT on Costs, SPOT on Issues.

    The traditional method for preparing an expert is to send them the entire record and let them review for possible issues. Dr. Philip Lanzkowsky, a medical expert providing opinions and testimony on cases for both plaintiff’s and the defense, raises some practical questions and provides a series of suggestions as to how those expert costs can be reduced.

    Read more in this interesting post of expense reduction of medical expert costs as suggested by the expert.

    2 comments
  7. 10 Key Steps To Managing Court Reporting Costs Designed To Save Claims Expenses May 21, 2010

    Posted in SPOT on Costs.

    There are simple ways to lower costs so stop throwing money away As a consultant working with insurance carriers and the service and technologies who sell to them, I am often asked about new areas for improved cost management. While there are often many opportunities to consider, I often focus on court reporting costs. Why? […]

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  8. Cutting Costs Without Overloading The Claims Handler – Part 2 Of The Series April 6, 2010

    Posted in SPOT on Costs.

    In part 2 of this series on cutting cost without overloading claim handlers I given an example of hiring a part-time employee to review legal bills. As noted, sometimes specific types of work, such as legal bill review, subrogation and anti-fraud, can best be handled by dedicated resources. Hiring a part-time employee that can focus on an area of claims is sometimes the best way to get results. Overworking claims handlers with additional tasks not part of their core job function – to evaluate and settle claims – can result in some aspect of their job suffering. Key cost cutting initiatives, such as Anti-Fraud and subrogation recovery, get put aside by the handler and never get the fullest attention needed to be successful. Take a look at the latest example of solutions that work.

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  9. 2 Cost-Cutting Solutions To Get Work Done Without Overloading Claims Handlers March 31, 2010

    Posted in SPOT on Costs.

    Too Many Tasks, And Hiring New Staff Is Not An Option? (Part One of Two) Not every company can afford to hire dedicated teams to focus on cost-saving initiatives such as subrogation or Anti-Fraud. Sometimes there is simply not enough work to justify a full-time position internally. Regardless, failing to focus on cost-saving programs can […]

    1 comment
  10. The 5 Essential Components of Defense Attorney Reports That Can Improve Claims Costs and Outcomes March 14, 2010

    Posted in Commentary, My SPOT, SPOT on Costs.

    Why are Attorney Evaluation Reports sometimes so light? I was recently conducting an audit of claim files and had the opportunity to review a significant number of Attorney Evaluation reports from a variety of law firms. Like many other things in life, some were better than others. What seemed to be most glaringly consistent was the inability of counsel to truly provide an assessment of exposure and what the case is worth. Every counsel evaluation report should contain 5 basic components that I outline and attorneys should be required to provide their actual valuable opinion. [More…]

    7 comments
  11. Saying “I’m Sorry” Can Reduce Exposure to New Claims March 5, 2010

    Posted in Commentary, Medical Malpractice, My SPOT, SPOT on Costs.

    It may seem counter intuitive, but with the right technique a heartfelt apology can help lower claims costs and exposures There is a wave of civility sweeping through the world of risk management as a way to lower exposure and reduce costs: Apologize. Maybe mom was right when she stood there and said “now say you’re sorry.” In fact, there are some very impressive statistics in the area of medical malpractice around the simple use of an apology. Regardless, there is a proper way to apologize while protecting rights and some policy considerations to consider.

    3 comments
  12. Thinking Outside The Box: Litigation management program initiatives can substantially lower costs February 25, 2010

    Posted in Litigation Management, SPOT on Costs.

    Managing litigation is an easy way to save extra expense costs on claims files. A strong litigation management program designed to help foster improved communication, and streamline defense of insureds, benefits all parties involved. As I wrote about the cost savings benefits of out-of-the-box claims handling, using new and forward thinking strategies for litigation management is an excellent way to save money. Using specialized vendors, claim handlers can further control legal costs as well as enhance their defense.

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  13. Improve bottom-line outcomes on claims by thinking outside-the-box! February 9, 2010

    Posted in Best Practices, SPOT on Issues.

    Claim handling is just as much an art as it is a science. Synthesizing facts and investigating losses requires, not only following process and procedures, but also the ability to look at new ways of solving established problems. Following best practices is of course an effective way to achieve consistently good claims results. Regardless, the […]

    1 comment
  14. 5 expense reduction opportunities insurance CEOs should not overlook January 27, 2010

    Posted in SPOT on Costs.

    Increased profits come from efficient claims operations: Take a look at that annual reports of the top performing insurance companies and you will see a similar message from their CEO’s. Expense management and efficiency is a principal driver of profitability.In a tight market do less with more without sacrificing quality and significantly customer service is the edge needed to be a top performer. The claims department is the perfect place to lower costs and improve the customer experience at the same time. Here are 5 key areas that should be looked at for cost savings.

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  15. A checklist of the 8 critical issues to be concerned about when self-managing claims January 25, 2010

    Posted in SPOT on Ops.

    You self-insure, but how well do you manage claims? Companies make decisions to self-insure their risks for a variety of reasons from financing to claims control. Regardless of the reason, when handling claims in-house it is important to manage those claims in an organized manner to protect company assets. Insurance and reinsurance companies use loss experience to determine what to charge for coverage as well as how much coverage is needed

    1 comment