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When it comes to adopting new technology, the insurance industry is one of the more cautious sectors , according to IT experts.
However, a Waterloo, Ont.-based wireless applications company is hoping to change this attitude by helping to reduce "claims creep" or the tendency of insurance claims costs to balloon as processing time lengthens.
Symbility Solutions Inc. says its Web-based mobile claims reporting system can be up to six times faster than using pen and paper.
"The faster you can process a claim, the lower the claims creep," said James Swayze, CEO, Symbility.
A large number of companies, Swayze said, still use pen and paper to record claim information.
Information gathered at a site has to be brought back to the office for transcription. The information is then entered into the insurance company's system and relayed to other parties concerned allowing adjusters to process a claim in a single visit.
"Using traditional methods, this process can take up to six visits to the site as people involved request or add new information. In that space, some claims tend to rise as more items are added on," Swayze explained.
This was one of the challenges faced by brothers Chris and Kevin Bacon, San Francisco-based independent adjusters. The Bacons investigated claims by New Orleans homeowners whose houses were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
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