Best Practices

Best Practices | Decision Support | Litigation Management | SPOT on Legal | SPOT on Ops | Strategic Planning

5 Fatal Flaws in Litigation Management: Why Immediate Change is Crucial
ByMarc Lanzkowsky January 13, 2025May 20, 2025

With over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, I’ve had the unique opportunity to see both sides of the litigation management equation—first as a defense attorney representing carriers, and later as a claims professional hiring counsel to protect insureds. Despite decades of advancements in technology and claims practices, one critical aspect has stubbornly…

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Best Practices | Claims Technology | Commentary | SPOT on Costs

Thinking About 2025: Driving Innovation in Insurance Claims Technology
ByMarc Lanzkowsky December 12, 2024

The U.S. insurance industry continues to exhibit its remarkable resilience, as underscored by its impressive financial turnaround in recent years. However, sustaining this momentum and preparing for future challenges demand more than just traditional strategies. As highlighted by the exceptional leaders featured in Insurance Business America’s Hot 100 2025, the road ahead involves fostering technological…

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Best Practices | Claims Technology | Decision Support | Litigation Management

Improving Litigation Management: A Data-Driven Approach
ByMarc Lanzkowsky November 18, 2024

Addressing the Challenges of Accurate Data The integration of data analytics and predictive modeling into litigation management can revolutionize how insurers handle claims, especially considering some of the new technologies hitting the market. For years the focus has been on billing data to help manage counsel and litigation. This type of information provided some insight…

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Best Practices | Customer Service | SPOT on Ops

Streamlining the First Notice of Loss (FNOL) Process: Best Practices and Technologies
ByMarc Lanzkowsky October 14, 2024

In the fast-paced world of insurance claims, the First Notice of Loss (FNOL) process is the critical first step that can make or break the entire claims experience. It’s the moment of truth where insurers have the opportunity to set the tone for the entire claims journey. Let’s dive into some best practices and cutting-edge…

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Best Practices | Decision Support | Reserve Practices | SPOT on Issues

A Nice Refresher: The Critical Role of Timely and Accurate Practices in Claims Management
ByMarc Lanzkowsky October 1, 2024

I hate to state the obvious, but accurate, timely and consistent reserving is the one truth that remains constant in the ever-evolving world of insurance. As a recent industry analysis pointed out, “This gap ultimately impacts claims and reserves, as carriers with outstanding cases will have to ensure they have adequate reserves to handle payouts…

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Best Practices | Claims Technology | Litigation Management

Taming the Claims Severity Beast: A Data-Driven Approach to Litigation Management
ByMarc Lanzkowsky September 23, 2024

In today’s landscape of escalating lawsuit costs and economic uncertainty, managing litigation severity has become a critical challenge for claims departments (see Social Inflation is up). The question is: how can we effectively address this issue without compromising efficiency or breaking the bank? Let’s explore a data-driven, technology-powered approach to litigation management that can help…

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Best Practices | SPOT on Issues | SPOT on Ops | Strategic Planning

Social Inflation has Commercial Casualty Losses up 11% Over the Last 5 Years: 3 Claims Department Strategies That Will Help You Navigate The Problem
ByMarc Lanzkowsky September 9, 2024

Swiss Re’s latest report on social inflation is a must-read for claims professionals. Their sigma No 4/2024 study, “Litigation costs drive claims inflation: indexing liability loss trends,” offers a comprehensive look at this growing challenge. The findings are sobering: the U.S. liability risk pool is expanding rapidly, with commercial casualty insurance sector losses growing at…

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Best Practices | SPOT on Issues

3 Claims Department Musts That Will Let The CEO Sleep Soundly
ByMarc Lanzkowsky March 23, 2015

There are many elements to a well run claims department. As with many areas of business it comes down to people, process and technology. Good people will drive the success of any department and working with defined efficient processes, as well as technology tools that support the organization, are basic core requirements to any well run department. Specifically what people, processes and technology make up a good claims department is a subject for another day. Regardless every claims department should be using metrics, performing audits and have a business continuity plan in place as a minimum. Take our survey too and let’s see what companies are doing on these three.

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Best Practices | Compliance | Due Diligence | SPOT on Issues

4 Keys to Managing a Successful Outsourced Claims Operation
ByMarc Lanzkowsky October 30, 2013October 30, 2013

All things being equal there are many fine TPAs in the market that will provide wonderful service to your insureds in a cost effective and comprehensive manner. Initially you think you have chosen a good one. However, as time goes on you realize you are not exactly getting what you expected from your TPA. So what happened?

It matters little what your reasons for outsourcing were. Bottom line is if you didn’t take certain steps to properly select and manage a TPA you are likely to end up with problems. The partnership you form with your TPA will be fruitful if you take key steps to select and manage them in a way designed to foster long term success.

Learn how in our latest post!

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Best Practices

Kindergarten Management: Getting Back to the Basics
ByMarc Lanzkowsky June 10, 2013June 10, 2013

Everything we know in life started back in kindergarten. Kindergarten is where we learned to socialize in groups, lived by rules, played well with others, managed time, took turns asking questions and listened to authority. Success and creativity were rewarded and failures became further learning experiences. The more I thought about this recently the more I realized that kindergarten is a perfect example of a well-functioning organization and management.

We can lean a lot by going back to kindergarten. Bear with me take a look how this would apply in a claims department.

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