Best Practices - Weather

Objectives

  • Provide pre and post loss control information quickly and inexpensively.
  • Advise of changes to contact and claim information.
  • Minimize drain on staff time for routine claim updates.
  • Survey clients after catastrophe event and after claim settlement for changes in risk and changes to insurance program.

Process Components

Set Up

Many catastrophe events are seasonal in nature. Examples include hurricanes, blizzards and flood, hail, tornadoes resulting from violent storms. Alert@Fluent allows your agency to advise clients in advance of storm seasons about performing routine preparation via check lists and articles. These same check lists and articles can be launched from the cFluent administrative console when a weather event has been forecast. The email should advise customers and others to monitor their email and your web site during and after the storm for further updates.

As your carriers prepare for the event they may designated special claim toll free numbers or other related information. These updates should be posted to your web site as it becomes available.

Claims

The Claim Manager component of the cFluent Agent Tool Set should still be used when a claim has been initiated. The claim should be designated as a catastrophe claim so that the milestone timings for catastrophe events are used. Launching the Claim Manager will take an extra moment to set up during a time when your agency may be flooded with catastrophe claims. But using the Claim Manager will save time since it will automatically update your clients on settlement progress.

Using the Claim Manager will also allow you to measure and objectively assess your carriers' performance in handling catastrophe claims.

Follow Up

Many of your customers, even those who may not submit claims, will make changes to the real and personal property that will necessitate changes to their insurance program. Survey@Fluent contains a Post Storm Survey to check on these changes. Responses to this survey will help you decide whether to recommend changes to your customer's insurance program, follow up for more information, or perform a physical property inspection. The automated power of a web survey and email will help your agency triage customer situations so that your staff focuses their time efficiently.

Agency Management System Synchronization

No special considerations.

Branding

Using the Claim Manager to handle low level inquiries and monitor carrier performance will also help build performance metrics which can be used later to promote agency service in advertising and sales campaigns. The Post Storm Survey will also develop some specific measurements regarding satisfaction with pre-storm planning and notification; testimonials will also result from some surveys.