Policyholders who need to make an insurance claim know the drill: Call and tell your story to an insurance-company representative, then wait for the adjuster to call.
But under a new approach launched in Douglas County last year by American Family Insurance, simple claims – a wedding band lost on a cruise, prized golf clubs stolen from a garage or a fender-bender in which no one was injured – could be resolved with one phone call.
The Madison, Wis.-based insurance company in December launched its “Claim Customer Care Center” concept. Unlike the traditional system, in which phone representatives take information from callers, then pass it on to adjusters to follow up with later, the company has given representatives the authority to handle straightforward claims on the spot.
“We would handle the low-level claims. That would give the adjuster the ability to do the more complex claims,” said Steven D. Rucker, regional care-center manager.
“The goal is to eliminate the number and frequency of calls,” he said.
Nearly 200 employees work in American Family’s Douglas County care center, which handles calls from eight states, including Utah, Colorado, Iowa and Nevada. There are no plans to hire additional staff, said spokeswoman Erin Johansen.
Insurance-industry experts see American Family Insurance’s plan as part of a trend in providing customer service in a competitive market.
Among insurance companies, “the trend is really addressing, ‘How can we make things easier for the consumer?”‘ said Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.
Policyholders often complain about getting tied up in red tape after a crisis, Walker said.
The care center allows the company to “be an advocate for them and help them through the process,” she said. “I think what American Family Insurance is doing is progressive here.”
Allstate Insurance in March announced a similar program, called Allstate Express, in Cheyenne, said Melissa Morris, a company spokeswoman.
“Straightforward claims can be handled on the spot,” she said.
American Family Insurance rolled out its care-center concept in Madison and St. Louis this year and expects to have its Columbus, Ohio, branch set up by February, said Rucker.
American Family serves 18 states. It has 334 agents in Colorado and about 500 employees based at its Douglas County location, which includes the care center.
The Douglas County call center handles 35,000 calls each month on a variety of issues, including customers seeking the status of their claims as well as those involved in major accidents. Rucker said he thinks about 25 percent of claim-related calls are handled without having to be forwarded to a staff adjuster.
In other cases, such as a fire that destroys a home, the representative might not be able to handle the entire claim in a day, but he or she is authorized to address immediate needs, such as getting a family set up in temporary housing, Rucker said.
“It does relieve that customer’s anxiety,” Rucker said. “In the past, all that would have to wait.”
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-954-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
