New Research Uncovers the Importance of Fast Time to First Contact for P&C Claims

Hi Marley, creators of the only digital collaboration platform built for the P&C insurance industry, today announced the release of new research that studied time to first contact and its effect on the customer experience and claims handling process. Time to first contact (TTFC) is defined as the length of time it takes for an adjuster to contact a claimant once they’ve opted-into text messaging.

The research analyzed customer data tied to a representative sample of 100 high caseload adjusters from across Hi Marley’s carrier partners, including more than 2,500 customer satisfaction survey responses, conversation length, and cycle times.

The study found that adjusters who engage with customers quickly at the start of the claim are more likely to take an empathetic approach, provide timely service and sustain excellent communication throughout the claims process. The top-performing adjusters respond to at least half of their cases in or under three minutes from the moment a claimant contacts them via text message. These adjusters drove higher customer satisfaction ratings, lower cycle times and cost savings. Longer TTFC resulted in a higher propensity for sub-optimal communication, a trend toward poor responsiveness throughout the claim lifecycle, longer cycle times, and lower customer satisfaction scores.

TTFC is a strong indicator of adjusters’ overall attention to customer service.

When it comes to the customer experience, policyholders are placing more importance on carrier responsiveness. Evidence of this is documented in Hi Marley’s recent report "What Drives 1-Star and 5-Star Customer Satisfaction Scores in Claims," published in March 2022. The report shows that an empathetic approach by the adjuster is the top driver of five-star ratings, followed closely by the timeliness of overall service, including fast response and prompt resolution.


Key data from Hi Marley’s new research include:

On average, the highest performing claims adjusters respond to 50 percent of their cases in or under 3 minutes and 80 percent of their claims in under 3.5 hours
The lowest-performing adjusters take roughly two days or more time to respond to first contact in 50 percent of their cases
Average customer satisfaction scores for the bottom 25 percent of adjusters with the longest TTFC are lower than the rest of the sample group
Top-performing adjusters with the fastest TTFC resolved claims 10 percent faster than the lowest-performing adjusters, averaging three days of reduced cycle time

"In my years of claims leadership, I saw how, more often than not, excellent initial and ongoing responsiveness by adjusters positively impacted customer experience and ultimately impacted policyholder retention," said the report’s co-author, Mark Snyder, Principal Consultant, and Claims Subject Matter Expert at Hi Marley. "Carriers have so much data at their fingertips, it’s hard to know what metrics to track. Our research confirmed that time to first contact is a key indicator of how well an adjuster will serve customers and handle a claim throughout the lifecycle. By measuring and improving this one metric, carriers can drive tangible business outcomes, including increased customer satisfaction and cost savings beginning with just a simple text message."