A claims adjustment exec at Crawford & Co says it’s an exciting time to be involved in all sectors of the insurance industry, as businesses begin to catch up to the technological innovation drive of other industries.
Gary Gardner, SVP of business development at Crawford & Company (Canada), said it’s a watershed time at the company, as it changes and grows with digital innovation.
“The company has ventured outside of the traditional claims space into areas that are either claims-related or risk management-related and which are more platform-based,” he said. “You still need that solid claims expertise, but how you apply it looks different.
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“The company has been moving towards augmenting what is the traditional claims product – the thing everybody knows us for, the traditional insurance adjuster –with ancillary services, that align with market developments and the evolving needs of our clients.”
The company has developed a suite of services that use digital innovations for the claims and inspection processes, and compliance, which, taken as a whole, is its new “Crawford 360” approach.
“It is all about integrating digital innovations with enhanced service plug-ins, to expedite the claims process by supporting the progression of the file through each phase of the claims cycle,” the company explained.
“Our seamless, full-service claims management solution expedites the claims process through leveraging the appropriate experts, use of assessment and risk mitigation tools, data management and analytics capabilities and professional expertise.”
Gardner said: “The policyholder experience [is now] faster and more effective. If you’re filing faster and the policyholder is having a better experience, I think that’s kind of what this is all about.”
It’s not just Crawford, of course. Gardner said it’s evident throughout the industry that insurance companies are spending money to try catch up to other industries in terms of tech development.
“In the last year, maybe two, I’ve seen more changes and – and here’s the key – way more money coming out in that insurtech space,” he said. “If you look at some of the carriers and the things they’re doing … if you’d have told me five years ago that that [their innovation] was going to happen, I’d have told you, ‘no way’.
“[The industry] may have been slow to the dance, but I think they’re quickly catching up. There is a lot of development and investment in insurtech. I think there’s a real appetite in our industry to invest in it.”
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