ISO Identifies Eight Key Techology-Enabled Areas for Effective Management Of Personal Injury Claims

Insurance Services Office (ISO) Limited, the UK’s leading provider of ‘next generation’ personal injury claims and anti-fraud insurance services and solutions, has identified an eight-point strategy where technology now exists for the effective management of claims through improved visibility of the claims process, establishing Best Practices and the more accurate assessment of injuries and recovery implications.

Statistics from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) have shown an increase of 50 per cent to £8.5 billion in 2003 in the total payout for personal injury claims made by British insurers in the last ten years. There has also been pressure from the Lord Chancellor’s Office to stamp down on the claims culture in the UK, expedite genuine claims quickly and efficiently, and quash unjust claims at an early stage. “We need to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the [personal injury claims] system for those who have a genuine claim…and say ‘no’ to misplaced claims on wrongheaded issues.” Lord Falconer, March 2005

THE EIGHT KEY AREAS:

1.    Identifying Industry Trends
Powerful tools are available to provide real-time company-wide and industry-wide benchmarks for the cost of personal injury claims
2    Visibility of the Claims Handling Process
A number of new techniques in tracking claims activity enables handlers to produce more accurate and consistent settlements, empowers them in the negotiating process and assists management in providing needs-based training for staff
3    Comprehensive Management Information
Detailed management information enables supervisors to monitor claims handler activity so that Best Practice is adhered to and the management of claims remains efficient
4    Granularity of Injury Assessment
Injury identification based on easy entry, an integrated medical encyclopaedia and ICD coding allows for a more accurate assessment of an injury’s severity, recovery and rehabilitation prognosis
5    Detailed Medical Protocols and Recovery Profiles
Linking likely treatments to injuries helps ensure very accurate settlements and identify unnecessary treatments. Coupled with responsive severity ratings, organisations can create updatable recovery profiles to enhance the accuracy of claims estimates
6    Impact of Rehabilitation
Accurately measuring the effectiveness of rehabilitation ensures its full benefits can be analysed and accounted for
7    Accurate Loss of Earnings Estimate
Integrating national earnings statistics and incorporating more factors into claims assessment processes makes estimates more precise
8    Automating CRU Processing
This saves valuable time and ensures 100 per cent accuracy

ISO has worked with many major insurance companies to help them design best practice in personal injury claims settlements. In the UK ISO’s Claims Outcome Advisor solution is used by major insurance companies including Admiral Insurance Group, Highway Insurance, Chaucer Insurance, Zenith Insurance, Zurich Financial Services, and Link Insurance. Link has achieved over £1/2 million in savings.

ISO Claims Outcome Advisor™ (COA™)
ISO Claims Outcome Advisor™ (COA™) is the industry's personal injury claims management solution that manages the multiple dimensions of organisations' personal injury claims portfolios. COA understands the severity and recovery implications of over 18,000 injuries, treatments, complications and preexisting conditions and 14,000 occupations and creates an historic database for all the injury claims of an insurer. ISO COA helps claims handlers, managers and actuaries manage the unique and complex medical, legal, and occupational issues presented by personal injury claims, and helps ensure appropriate financial arrangements are agreed to and implemented. Claims handlers can manage all aspects of a case from the first notice of loss to return-to-work plans, rehabilitation and damages.

About ISO
Insurance Services Office Ltd, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Insurance Services Office, Inc. –  a leading provider of products and services that help measure, manage and reduce risk. ISO provides data, analytics and decision-support solutions to professionals in many fields, including insurance, finance, estate agency, health services, government and human resources. Professionals use ISO's databases and services to classify and evaluate a variety of risks and detect potential fraud. Around the world, ISO's services help customers protect people, property and financial assets. ISO's customers in the UK include Admiral Group, AXA Insurance, Chaucer Insurance, Highway Insurance, Lloyd's, Zenith Insurance and Zurich Financial Services.

For more information please contact:

Mark Strang, ISO
Tel: 01252 761055
mstrang@iso.com

Manuela Whittaker, IBA – PR for ISO
Tel: 01780 721433
mwhittaker@iba-europe.com

ISO128A

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