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NSW insurer icare has reported the early success of its new workers' insurance claims model, posting nearly 9,000 claims lodged, plus an additional 3,500 “injury only” notifications in the 60 days since the new model has gone live on Jan. 1.
Particularly well received were the new model's online portal, where employers, workers, or their representatives can lodge their notification at a time that suits them, and the 'How You Going' (HUG) phone call every injured worker receives regardless of the severity of their injury, the insurance and care provider said in a statement.
“The general feedback from employers is that they are pleased with the new system and so far, 70% of lodgments are being made through the portal,” said Beth Uehling, acting group executive for icare workers' insurance. “This is better than anticipated: on a single weekend over 100 lodgments were made. Our new claims support centre has extended opening hours from 7am to 7pm, and has been very busy during peak times and is yet to meet expected service levels. In the first eight weeks, the Centre handled 50,000 inbound and outbound calls, which include our HUG calls to injured workers and employers.”
Uehling said icare is currently improving its self-service, “with further system enhancements on track to be delivered in October.”
“We will provide smarter client service through a single contact point as soon as people get in touch,” she said. “We will also implement consolidated reporting mechanisms for claims across multiple service providers by late March to reduce red tape for our customers.”
With the help of icare partners, the insurer continues to refine its system, particularly to reduce call wait times at peak hours.
“I am confident we will have resolved these issues by the end of March,” Uehling said. “We also have additional resources coming on board according to plan, and are confident we’ll be able to provide an exceptional experience for our customers.”
