On-demand insurance distributor Duuo is now implementing an automatic claims assessment feature for customers of its Rent-my-Stuff Insurance.

Straight-through processing (STP) is becoming more common in insurance underwriting and claims, especially in personal lines, individual life and small commercial.

By finding opportunities for digital transformation within the claims function, insurers may reduce costs and increase performance. The reduction in profitability due to rising claims rates is creating pressure.

Since March 2020, online mediation has established itself as the safest way to mediate cases. In this context, ‘safety’ is a relative term.

Although the claims adjusting profession has undergone a lot of change over the last decade, last year was unlike any other, CRU Group executive vice president Skip McHardy said during a recent web conference.

What happens when a key data source becomes less available, reducing carriers’ ability to evaluate risk? This has happened during the pandemic in workers’ compensation.

In workers’ compensation, OSHA is one of the top data sources that underwriters use. In particular, underwriters will look at OSHA inspections and violations to measure some aspects of the risk.

The U.S. health care system is comprised of many independent silos — primary care physicians, specialists, hospitals, pharmacies, labs and more.

Prior to COVID-19, the U.S. boasted historically low unemployment and a roaring economy. Nearly every industry was expected to face a severe talent shortage within the next 10 to 20 years. But then March hit, and the world turned upside-down.

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers were investing in digital transformation, spurred by the rise of startups. Those investments took on new urgency as the pandemic forced businesses across industries to move to digital operations to stay afloat.

From Microsoft’s sophisticated HoloLens to Snap Inc.’s somewhat frivolous Spectacles, smart glasses hit the market in 2013 and have shown that they’re here to stay.

Within the Biden administration’s first weeks, the Office of Science and Technology Policy has been elevated to a cabinet-level position. Biden has appointed Alondra Nelson as deputy director. She is a scholar of science, technology and social inequality.

There isn’t an insurance business in the land that isn’t talking about digital transformation. Whether talking about AI, robotics or platforms, the majority of the industry is confident it’s heading toward a brightly lit, digital future.

For organizations to ensure they can remain operational when disaster strikes, they must prepare their IT systems for potential disruptions before they ever arise. This year, states like New Jersey, Oregon and California saw their unemployment systems crash as a result of running on outdated mainframes, which are often over 60 years old and incapable of properly integrating with the internet and other modern technologies.

There’s no question that the pandemic has pushed the insurance industry fully into the digital age. Alongside changes to many of their processes, there’s also a heightened need for insurers to protect their clients and provide them efficient claims services by implementing digitalization effectively.

Multiple catastrophes, rising claims settlement costs, social unrest, a pandemic and lockdowns — 2020 was certainly one hell of a year!