The Realization Of Claims Virtualization

Five years ago, if someone mentioned “claims virtualization,” it most likely referred to an insurance carrier’s mobile application, or possibly just conjured visions of VR goggles used for high-tech simulations.

These days however, the idea of virtual claims handling, or as Lexis Nexis defines it, “photo or video estimating in which no insurance employee physically inspects the vehicle,” has firmly taken hold with touchpoints from First Notice of Loss to Total Loss and all points in between.

It seems everyone is racing towards virtualization now, so to understand the solutions, it’s important to first understand the market drivers that have converged to make this virtual concept a reality.

According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), millennials have overtaken baby-boomers as the largest living generation and will outnumber all non-millennials by the year 2030. So what do they have to do with virtualization? Born just before the turn of the century, millennials are the first generation to grow up in an internet-enabled world.

For the younger millennials, smartphones and handheld internet devices were an integral part of life, beginning in their grade school years. Those “kids” are 25 to 40 years old today, having spent their formative years learning how to research, shop and provide feedback from a piece of glass in the palm of their hand. Naturally, this has influenced their expectations.