One of the most common reasons an insured calls in is for an update on an open claim. If we can show an accurate and legible Claims Tracker, insureds can self-service instead of calling in.
Overview
The purpose of this study was to determine how to best display a Claims Tracker to insureds, focusing on the number of steps, naming of steps, and FAQs accompanying these steps. A Claims Tracker would show which stage/step a claim was in, to give the insured an idea of how much progress had been made, and how much still had to be done.
A Claims Tracker provides two potential benefits:
First, the user experience would improve by providing an easy self-service feature.
Second, this feature would reduce incoming phone calls from insureds inquiring about the status of their claim.
This study is based on in-depth interviews with 18 Amica employed Digital Specialists who have frequent contact with Amica insureds. The interviews were conducted between December 6th, 2022 and January 27th, 2023. This report has four main areas: key interview findings, internal language analysis, competitor analysis, and the proposed Claims Tracker steps.
Script Writing
Prior to interviews taking place, I wanted a script
touch on who t he digital specialists were (their departments), what u wanted out of the script, why u wrote it like u did, reference difficulties with some DSs but talk more in conclusion about this
Key Interview Findings
Across departments, one of the most common reasons an insured calls in is for an update on an open claim.
These calls increase when insureds are unsure of the next step of the process; for example, when insureds see their estimate has been written but they haven’t been contacted by an adjuster, they’re likely to call in.
Across departments, phone representatives reported laying out clear steps for the insured during the first contact.
If the rep doesn’t offer next steps, the insured will likely ask for it.
Many reps report insureds asking “What’s next?”, regardless of the current step of the claims process.
During each distinct stage of a claim, a set of commonly asked questions emerges.
Many phone reps feel their phone call load could be reduced by enhanced digital features promoting self-service, such as a Claims Tracker.
These key findings show the potential benefits of a Claims Tracker. If insureds are given an easy way to track their claim, and address their commonly asked questions, these findings suggest calls to phone reps will reduce.
Claims Steps: Version 1
During the interviews, the Digital Specialists were asked what questions insureds had during sixspecific parts of the claims process: claim filing, appraisal, adjuster/claim handler review, investigation, payment, and subrogation. Using these stages as early stand-ins for Claims Tracker steps, we can see common groups of questions emerging for each stage.
Below are the steps of the Claims Tracker (Version 1) with the most common questions at each stage, as reported by Digital Specialists.
Filing
What does the Amica claims process look like?
What’s the next step?
Is my claim covered?
What’s my claim number?
Auto Specific: Am I allowed to get a rental car?
When my claim is filed, do I automatically have an adjuster assigned?
When will liability be determined?
Appraisal
What is an appraisal?
Is an appraisal the same as an estimate?
My estimate is received but not paid. Why?
Auto Specific: My body shop and Amica gave me different estimates. What should I do?
Property Specific: My contractor and Amica gave me different estimates. What should I do?
Auto Specific: My car has been appraised, but I haven’t been contacted yet. Why?
How do I upload photos for a touchless appraisal?
How does the state I live in affect my appraisal?
I haven’t heard from my appraiser. Why?
Adjuster Assignment
What is an adjuster?
How can I contact my adjuster?
My estimate is received, but my adjuster hasn’t contacted me. What should I do?
Property: Can I begin demolition work before an adjuster comes to assess the damage?
What is the difference between purchase price and replacement cost?
What’s the difference between remediation and mitigation?
What is an independent adjuster?
Is an estimate my budget?
Investigation
Why is the investigation taking so long?
What am I covered for?
Why am I not covered for X?
Is the investigation still happening?
Did you talk to the witnesses?
Did you get a police report?
Is there any video footage?
Payment
How will I receive payment?
Optional: Subrogation
How will I be reimbursed for out-of-pocket rental costs?
Why isn’t my deductible being waved?
When am I going to get my deductible back?
Why isn’t the at fault party’s insurance company paying for my bills?
Version 1 of the Claims Tracker steps provided two key findings.
First, the naming of the steps would have to change. Many phone representatives pointed out terms like appraisal and subrogation were unfamiliar to users, who often needed these terms defined. By naming steps in an accessible way, we could help insureds know more about their claim’s status.
Second, if we pursued a Claims Tracker without also answering these frequent questions, we would likely not meet our goals of improved user experience and reduced phone call load. As mentioned in the first point, insureds were unfamiliar with certain terms, as well as broader questions regarding the entire claims process. If insureds are currently calling in with these questions, it’s likely that providing a Claims Tracker with only a status - no attached text or FAQs - would not reduce call volume. Because these common questions are now identified, we can present insureds with existing documentation, or create new articles, which predict and answer their questions.
Many of the questions posed by insureds are answered by Amica.com pages, and others could be easily searched on the internet. However, given that insureds continue to call in to ask them, we can assume insureds want a different, easier way to see this information.
Because many of these questions are currently answered by Amica.com pages, the next step of this project was to see what kind of language is already being used internally to describe the steps of a claim.
Internal Analysis
Amica.com explains the different steps of a claim primarily within our Insurance Claim FAQs. We name the stages of a claim on this page as follows:
Auto
Reporting a claim
Deductibles
Payments
Liability
Home
Reporting a claim
Damages
Repairs
Payments
Underneath each stage of the claim, we provide multiple FAQ drop downs. These drop downs answer some, but not all, of the questions from insureds mentioned before.
The most straightforward approach at this point would be to adopt the names here for the Claims Tracker steps. However, I noticed we use certain terms, like deductible and liability, that the Digital Specialists had mentioned as terms they had to define for insureds. Looking at the Deductible stage, within an Auto claim, the very first drop down is, “What is a deductible?”. The names we give to stages should provide context to the insured, without needing immediate definitions for terms. With this in mind, I looked at how three of our competitors describe the steps of a claim to their insureds.
Competitive Analysis
For the competitive analysis, I looked at the overview for Auto and Home claims from AllState, Progressive, and USAA. Images of these are available in the index at the end of the report.
In the absence of access to post-login claims trackers from these competitors, I relied on pre-login claims overviews which show how these companies explain the steps to their insureds.
AllState
Auto Claim
File and track
Get damage inspected
Receive your estimate and start repairs
Receive claim payments
Smile, you’re done!
Home Claim
File and track
Get damage inspected
Review estimate
Get your home repaired
Receive claim payment
Progressive
Auto Claim
Submit your claim
Inspection and repair options
Schedule your repairs
Your car is repaired
Home Claim
We help connect you to your insurer
Your insurer creates an estimate
Your insurer sends you a payment (for the estimated amount)
Your home gets repaired
USAA
Auto Claim
Tell us what happened.
Get an inspection.
We’ll send payment.
Get your car repaired.
Home Claim
Tell us what happened.
We’ll evaluate the loss.
We’ll send the payment.
Repair or replace items.
There is a clear difference in how we introduce the steps of a claim, and how our competitors do. Our competitors have more detailed steps that use approachable and descriptive language, often humanizing the approach by utilizing “you” and “we”. Contrasting this, our claims overview page relies more heavily on internal insurance terms, with little to no descriptive language. Taking notes from competitors, using this type of descriptive language helps add context for our insureds.
Claims Tracker: Version 2
After competitive analysis, the names and number of steps in the Claims Tracker Version 1 were edited. While the wording has been changed to be more descriptive and accessible, the actual contents of the claim steps in V2 cover the same information as the steps in V1. This means that the questions from insureds in V1 can be translated over to be FAQs underneath the new steps. For each of the new steps, I have noted which set of questions from insureds should be included as FAQs. There is some overlap in the FAQs, which prototype testing with Digital Specialists could help improve (Next Steps).
Additionally, the steps have two versions: a “Before” and “After” version. As mentioned in the key findings, one of the most common questions from insureds is “What’s next?”. This, combined with phone representatives frequently laying out the steps of a claim on first contact, shows that clear and linear steps improve the experience for insureds. In this version of the Claim Tracker, the linear nature of the steps is highlighted by language that changes depending on the status of a claim. Past tense is used when an action is completed, reassuring a user that their claim has progressed from that stage, and future tense is used to describe stages not yet completed.
Below are my proposed steps of the Claims Tracker.
“Before” Language:
File your claim.
The FAQs for this step should consist of the set of questions underneath the “Filing” stage in V1.
Get an inspection.
The FAQs for this step should consist of the set of questions underneath the “Appraisal” stage in V1, and some relevant questions underneath the “Adjuster Assignment” stage.
Branch: Total Loss. An additional step is added with information regarding a Total Loss
Receive an estimate.
The FAQs for this step should consist of the set of questions underneath the “Appraisal” stage in V1, and some relevant questions underneath the “Adjuster Assignment” stage.
Schedule repairs.
The FAQs for this step should consist of the set of questions underneath the “Appraisal” stage in V1, and some relevant questions underneath the “Payment” stage.
Branch: Subrogation. An additional step is added for subrogation.
Receive payment.
The FAQs for this step should consist of the set of questions underneath the “Payment” stage in V1.
“After” Language:
Your claim has been filed.
Your car/property has been inspected.
You have received an estimate.
You have scheduled repairs.
You have received payment.
These steps will change slightly depending on if it is a Home or Auto claim, and if certain branches, like Subro, are activated. Our competitors, and our own internal language, had significant overlap in how they described their Home and Auto claim overviews, so that similarity has been mirrored here.
It should also be clarified that regardless of the Before or After status of a certain step, the relevant FAQs should still be visible. This allows insureds to revisit questions not answered before, and remind themselves of previous information.
Conclusion
After presenting these findings, I recommended creating a prototype with the proposed language and visible FAQs. This prototype would then again be presented to the Digital Specialists for further feedback, focusing specifically on FAQs.
These FAQs will also need to have comprehensive answers. As mentioned before, a number of the questions brought up in this study are already answered on various Amica.com pages. For these questions, it’s simply a manner of gathering the existing materials. For questions that are not currently answered on the site, new FAQs must be drafted and vetted.
Once a prototype with FAQs is created, testing with our actual insureds can begin.